Houston has a similar problem to what you described in DC. More ring roads they build, more they encourage sprawl. However, feeder roads parallel to interstates specific to TX lead to more sprawl. But that’s a topic for another post.

Cities are only more efficient when the necessary public infrastructure is in place. When it is not (as linked to above) you get serious health and economic issues. People will clearly just go from boom city to boom city, causing massive overpopulation and all that it entails. When it gets too bad, they move on, leaving poisoned and now bubble burst cities laying in their wake.

This is why urban planning is important. Building infrastructure to this year’s needs is horrific. Anyone who has driven the “Beltway” in Washington, DC can attest to this. By the time it was constructed, it was 5 years too small. When they expanded it, again, too small.