(author here) I'm also strongly in favor of abolishing the restrictive zoning that prohibits building up, but in many ways it's less politically practical to i

(author here) I'm also strongly in favor of abolishing the restrictive zoning that prohibits building up, but in many ways it's less politically practical to increase density in built-out areas than build new dense areas. If we don't use small amounts of land close to cities to build new housing we'll continue with our default of using large amounts of land far from cities. This destroys more of the environment, pollutes with more driving, and wastes more time commuting.