I think smart living has a lot to do with this. If people lived a couple miles from their job and purposed to always be living near their job, commuting would be easy.
Walkable communities mean a lot too. I would love to have a gym within walking distance, but the nearest gym to meal is 2 miles away and is a SNAP fitness (not a real gym). The nearest real gym is 3 miles away.
The gym I go to is 1.75 miles and now that the weather is nice I jog to the gym and jog home. Only sucks on leg days but I don't have to bother with cardio.