But "sprawl" is the point.
Progressives are not willing to address the reasons (many of which you pointed out) that people have historically fled our urban centers. Since they cannot/will not address these issues, the only way to get people to do what they want is via coercion; either economic or otherwise.
If they'd only address the reasons people leave, coercion would not be necessary. Alas, from their point of view, coercion is the faster/easier solution.