"This is true but not in the way that you mean. As you said there is no shortage of space. But it's important to point out that on a global scale there is no ho

"This is true but not in the way that you mean. As you said there is no shortage of space. But it's important to point out that on a global scale there is no housing shortage either. Vacant dwellings outnumber homeless people by far in most industrialized countries where homelessness is rampant (for example: 3 million empty dwellings here in France)." I always wonder about public transportation. It never really took off in the US, but it IS way more efficient. If we had very fast subways / trains, we could theoretically stretch housing way out away from the city. Then there is more equal opportunity for jobs / attending universities without living on campus. I know this is a bit off topic, but it always seems to me like having QUALITY public transportation is efficient, but I can't quite defend it. Not even to the exclusion of cars. For example I know a lot of workers who drive their car to the subway station in Toronto (and other cities) and then spare themselves the traffic and gas cost of sitting on the highway for 2 hours. And this is the ONLY solution for a big city, since most can't afford to live by the jobs/colleges (even suburban single-bathroom costs are over a million 40 mins out from downtown). EDIT: I can see residents downtown paying the most taxes being against it though - all it does for them in personal terms is erode their power. Makes their real estate cheaper (removes exclusivity of quick access to offices / educational facilities) and makes the downtown areas accessible to people who can't live there.