So what I suspect happens is that in newer development communities, the people building them just seem to find it easier to level/bulldoze an entire plot of land to build a neighborhood. Then they just don't feel like putting plants and trees back in after construction is complete out of pure cost and laziness.

For older neighborhoods in the US, you'll find a lot more foliage. I love it when I go to an older neighborhood that has large trees that canopy the area. They do exist here...it's just that they have to be a bit older. My condo complex has some wonderful tall trees and plants everywhere. It's not a new complex though and they seem to care more about plantife than some others do. They even randomly planted a massive tree last year for some reason lol. Seemed to require some pretty big machinery to haul it and put it in lol.

Before I bought my current place, there was another complex I was looking at. The trees were even larger and provided even more of a canopy across the area. It was gorgeous. And again, the neighborhood was a bit older.