I think we see a slowdown in creating of "iconic" buildings in the US because of reasons like this - not just NIMBYism but because there's less need to replace

I think we see a slowdown in creating of "iconic" buildings in the US because of reasons like this - not just NIMBYism but because there's less need to replace stuff that's already built - but I think you overlook a couple things (in addition to the ongoing construction in NY discussed below): 1) A lot of what makes up Manhattan or SF today won't last forever. Cramming new stuff in is hitting points of diminishing returns. But as those buildings get more and more aged and/or obsolete, there's gonna be a higher need that doesn't exist today. 2) The Star Trek time frame is really long! NIMBY's a hundred or two hundred years from now will probably have very different tolerances for what they'd be willing to see created.