I think this is another large flaw in our voting system, where things are too local (like zoning). You get a small community of rich people in Berkeley block an

I think this is another large flaw in our voting system, where things are too local (like zoning). You get a small community of rich people in Berkeley block any new housing, and you want to live there but have no influence on the zoning laws. Japan's zoning is national and doesn't have this problem. Thus Tokyo is far more affordable than San Francisco, Mountain View, etc.