Europe is full of charming little walkable towns that bleed people every single year, because the majority of economic opportunities are in a small number of big concrete jungle cities that may be walkable in part but are on the whole full of cars, pollution, and the assorted unpleasantries of big city life.

Different people enjoy different things. I'd say policy should try and make things cost more or less what they should cost, and let people express their preferences by paying for what they want.