It's true that the right-leaning government will override local control when it comes to most controversial issues in the blue cities, but when it comes to land use, Texas leaves cities alone. I grew up in Dallas, now own a home in Los Angeles. Aside from the local zoning ordinances (Dallas is "zoned", but compared to Los Angeles, no it's not; and Houston doesn't have any formal zoning at all), California has _way_ more state-level codes than Texas when it comes to land development.
Also, I would argue that, for better or worse, Marfa, TX in West Texas is a real manifestation of this essay. It's only a town of about 5000, completely walkable, and homes that were selling for $20k when news got out it was a secret artist enclave just 10 years ago are now going for north of $1 million. And, to assuage your concern: yes, it's blue (not enough to turn the rest of the rural county blue, but close enough to make the vote of the county 48% Biden - 52% Trump, almost exactly mirroring the overall result in the state). Marfa even disbanded its entire police department in 2009, and the red state government still left it alone.
https://www.themanual.com/culture/marfa-texas/
https://www.npr.org/2012/08/02/156980469/marfa-texas-an-unli...
Also, I would argue that, for better or worse, Marfa, TX in West Texas is a real manifestation of this essay. It's only a town of about 5000, completely walkable, and homes that were selling for $20k when news got out it was a secret artist enclave just 10 years ago are now going for north of $1 million. And, to assuage your concern: yes, it's blue (not enough to turn the rest of the rural county blue, but close enough to make the vote of the county 48% Biden - 52% Trump, almost exactly mirroring the overall result in the state). Marfa even disbanded its entire police department in 2009, and the red state government still left it alone.
https://www.themanual.com/culture/marfa-texas/
https://www.npr.org/2012/08/02/156980469/marfa-texas-an-unli...