yeah the transiency thing is huge. I think a big part of that is young people moving away from their home city for university and then for a job. It really breaks up the social fabric at an important stage and replaces it with uni friends and work friends. I find there is a bit less of that here because people are a bit more likely to get into the trades/small business so schooling doesn't uproot them as much.
The difference walking makes is interesting to me because rural communities are obviously not that walkable, though I guess as a kid I could bike to my friends' place (2km).
I really don't get the appeal of suburbs, I think they might just be a reaction to failures in cities, and companies inability to set up shop where their workers/customers are. I've heard of people who drive in 1:30 - 2:00 to their workplace in a major urban center, why wouldn't the companies just move out to where they live, drop their wages by 10% and everyone would have more time/money. So yeah, true suburbs make no sense, the only reason people choose them is because cities get expensive and/or scummy.
