Along those lines a lot of Scandinavian cities are actually pretty low-density outside of the traditional core areas we normally see. Copenhagen for instance goes from walls of 6 storey walkups to SFHs pretty quickly. Yet are served by far better transit than anywhere in North America. It's absolutely a mindset and delegation of priorities.
Random streets a 5 min walk from higher order transit (even if technically commuter rail):
https://maps.app.goo.gl/VxCAhcypqb4qgHNV6
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rWY7WEHq8cT3iNtw6
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ALuT3NobTMrVpUKm7
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5n2ZLUT5imvxyaxQ6
The last example is about the same distance from the old core of CPH as Parkdale is from Toronto's financial district.
Even a grand Imperial Capital like Berlin has some surprisingly low density areas served by the U-Bahn, much less the S-Bahn.