Communist countries built large cities for pedestrians and public transit. I grew up in a place like that, it was an amazing place for a kid. School was a 5 minutes walk away, there were hardly any cars within hunrdeds of meters of my building. There were large green yards, playgrounds etc. for kids. Very quiet, very family friendly. It was largely contingent on most people not being able to afford cars, and not missing them that much due to decent public transit.