Looking at social implications is smart. Regulations circumscribe certain things depending on where you live as it is.

I brought up the vehicle situation in NYC because it's one of those where you are not directly forbidden but soooo many obstacles are put in the way that it takes a great determination, plus willingness to do without certain things or large financial resources to foot the bill, in order to own and use a private vehicle inside the city.

Around here, building residential and commercial buildings is similarly circumscribed by a blizzard of agricultural preservation regs.

Ultimately, regs like the agricultural preserve, though they might originate with one group (for instance, the Evil Farming Intelligentsia), are subject to approval or rejection by the whole community. Sometimes they're approved, only to be rejected or modified later.

Ultimately, regs that govern things like private car ownership in NYC arise from the social pressures of urban living. If we live in places where space to keep cars is limited by sheer numbers of inhabitants, the space will command a high price, thus making vehicle ownership the prerogative of the wealthy.

The type of living situation Raoul describes will grow organically in the US, as does everything else, each with its own unique web of little rules, exceptions, and exceptions to exceptions that drive us nuts and make each one uniquely American.