Selling Ice to Eskimoes

As flawed as the suburban lifestyle is, it definitely has it's appeals. However, there must be some way to sell a better urban design scheme to the masses. The current layout has practically turned the entire easter seaboard in the US into one giant suburb. And we obviously can't go back and make everyone tear down their homes to live in more compact communities. But, there must be a way to reform those communities into something better.
I guess the big questions aren't just "How?" but also "How to get people to buy it?".