It's a common mistake to think of public transport as something imposed on unchanging cities, but it actually drives considerable change as well. Whatever the flaws of Honolulu's LRT may be, it will drive increased density in the corridor it serves, and that's exactly how it's supposed to work.
This does, however, assume that zoning near stations is also adjusted to allow this, which is something that many US cities including the Bay Area are notoriously bad at.
People can see how highways affect development: you only need to look at any overhead view of any major city outside the pre-WW2 core. Metro Atlanta is full of little outposts dangling off roads.
Everything else cost money or was too far away. I think underdeveloped imagination is why so many people can't see that better transit options would have the same effect, but with increasing density rather than increasing sprawl.
This does, however, assume that zoning near stations is also adjusted to allow this, which is something that many US cities including the Bay Area are notoriously bad at.