The first thing the Italian, Greek, Portuguese, etc. peasants who immigrated to Canada did was to fulfil their dream by buying as big a house on as big a lot as they could afford, and  grow fruits and vegetables in the yard.

Today 's immigrants from Asia likewise come here to get what is difficult to get in their own countries, a large individual house.

All over the world, the rich get at least one large house, and if they can, more than one. They may have a pied-à-terre apartment in London, Paris , New York, etc., but they also have vacation homes with large yards, pools, etc.

The American dream was that ordinary people could also enjoy what only the rich could afford in "the old country".

Also, people may want different types of housing at different phases of life. I loved the suburban life as a kid, hated it as a teenager, lived for a couple of decades in an apartment in the middle of the urban "action", then moved back to a leafy, private suburban house..