"It's just economics" will make sense when there is by-right authority to build arbitrarily dense housing everywhere in the city. As it stands, existing reside

"It's just economics" will make sense when there is by-right authority to build arbitrarily dense housing everywhere in the city. As it stands, existing residents can't afford to buy out all potential high-density development, but are asserting their right to preserve low-density neighborhood character all the same. It shouldn't be a right to live where you choose, but it is something society should optimize for. It shouldn't be a right to block urbanization either. If we took away the capability to block urbanization, a lot more people would get to live where they choose.