Gravel is only permeable with permeable undersurface. This is usually not the case, because non-permeable plastics are used to prevent weed from growing in gravel area.
There are water permeable barriers that resist weeds too. It’s solvable.
Those surfaces are quite a bit more expensive than asphalt, so most companies won't put them in unless they are incentivized through something like a non-permeable surface tax.
True, it's up to the people involved. My point was more that it's possible