Not even a little bit. Go read about exclusionary zoning in general or see your sibling comment's link for some reading on Vancouver specifically.
> Is it fair to say that the suburb layout is generally considered ideal to live in?
Is it considered ideal? Maybe. Is it actually ideal? No.
Aside from the huge negative impacts on pricing and equality that we've already discussed there's the environmental impact, isolation, car dependence, etc, etc.
> I would argue that most people would move to a suburb rather than a dense city all other things equal.
This is unfortunately true for Americans and I'd guess Canadians as well. I think this is due to some combination of:
- The absurd "American dream" vision that's been pushed by car manufacturers and other companies for many decades.
- Most American cities aren't actually very good, so most Americans have never experienced the alternative.
- Fox News and other conservative media pushing the narrative that cities are infested with criminals, terrorists, etc.
> Maybe sprinkle in some high-density apartments around to supplement the single-family housing?
Great. This is what would happen if there wasn't zoning.