downtown new builds/affordable housing

Why, when the city has proven it can do things right, like this early-1980s redevelopment:

would it continue to do things like this:

or worse, this:
It's a choice between communities like this:
and communities like this:
Some may prefer the later, that's fine. There's a place for you -- it's called Lancaster.

The city seemed to have started to get it right again, when it built these:
except for the fact that it immersed them in a sea of parking like this:

Why has it been so difficult for local officials to understand that planning for good urbanism is about density and design, not about turning radius and ample parking?