The article highlights the entrenched nature of unsustainable urban practices (low-occupancy vehicular transport, inefficient building designs, ecologically harmful infrastructure, and a decline in walkable public spaces) and calls for strategic efforts to dismantle systemic barriers to achieve sustainable urbanism. The paper discusses how economic incentives, professional practices, legal standards, and regulatory codes create a 'lock-in' effect, and therefore there is a critical need to identify and address specific mechanisms that perpetuate unsustainable urbanism, informed by insights from economics, technology, and social sciences.