Sprawl simply is not an answer for most people. There is a limit to the commute anyone will tolerate, and people don't want to live in some cookie cutter house

Sprawl simply is not an answer for most people. There is a limit to the commute anyone will tolerate, and people don't want to live in some cookie cutter house in the middle of nowhere. It's hard to build real livable towns quickly. American cities hesitate to raise construction limits until the problem gets really bad - selfish homeowners will voted against rezoning because they profit from the rising demand that prices others out of the area. It's extremely rare for a city to let supply freely follow demand. > Alternately, you can ask why does density keep declining even though we have the technology to build taller buildings? E.g. the skyline keeps going up but people/square meter in built up areas keep declining? Source?