one of the things it discussed was the fact that separating where we live from where we work (suburbs, industrial parks, etc) is simply not normal, or rational. leads to the long commutes, the tremendous reliance on oil, contributes to the national epidemic of obesity, a disconnect at so many levels.

http://designinghealthycommunities.org/

and they must find work where they can. Selling a home can be problematic (with children in school or elderly parents nearby), so a commute becomes necessary. Not saying some don't choose a drive for an opportunity to have "bungalow bills," but a commute is not always a choice, especially when economic conditions dictate it.

Humans notice negative factors far stronger than they notice positive things. (Any motivational speaker worth his money knows this.)

The happiness of owning said house is just short-term. After a few months you stop noticing that new good part of your life and it becomes the new normal.
Your expensive mansion turns into the place where you sleep.

Instead of keeping on pumping good things into your life, a better strategy is to simply keep bad things out.
Plan for a comfortable life, rather than an impressive life.

lived near where I work. Now I'm so near where I work, it's down the hall from my kitchen.

(edited because my inner spelling Nazi made me do it)

at least in my case, an hour of it was on the bus where I could sleep, and 25 minutes of it was a brisk walk through manhattan, which was certainly good exercise. so it wasn't really all lost time. harder to do this when the entire commute is driving, though.

then walked back home to their neighborhoods near the factory, maybe ten or fifteen minutes each way.

Now we have the eight-hour day. And if we commute two hours each way... such is progress.

Point: A lot of people take those mega-commutes because that's how far outside the city they have to be to live in a lily-white neighborhood.