Simply isn't true. Look up some YouTube videos of Amsterdam's transport system. Biking and walking is faster than using a car because of the way they designed the city. And people aren't "stacked on top of each other" any more or less than cities in the US where there is much heavier traffic.

After WW2 US wanted to increase industrial base so we invested heavily in cars. Highways everywhere and spread out suburbs.

It made sense at the time but now we see nearly 50,000 dead annually and millions stuck in traffic at any one time. We're selling out our citizens for a little extra $$$.

There is another way. We can still have cars but cars don't need to be the priority in terms of transportation systems. Biking to work in 5 to 10 minutes is 100x better than sitting in traffic for 45.