I live in Vancouver, easily top 10 city, probably top 5. And yeah you’re right, I do know two people who advocate, my aunt and uncle. No one else I know is even remotely passionate about urbanization efforts. Lots of people I know use public transit, but they don’t view it as something that can be relied on as their main form of transportation. Yes, the fact that our public transit is not nearly as good as it could be is a huge part of it, but the point remains that most people do not feel strongly about improving it.

I’m sure my privilege has kept me in a bit of a bubble but there are seriously very few people who feel strongly about public transit and cycling infrastructure. Even my less privileged friends are hardly advocates for better infrastructure and the people I’ve met through sports leagues all drive, I’m literally the only person I know who rides a bike everywhere they go. I used to frequent a local news website and any article that mentioned road diets or public transportation became toxic battlefields between pro and anti car folks.

There is absolutely a significant group of advocates in the city, but I really feel like you’re misjudging the percentage of people who support urbanization efforts.