I don't think there's any way to take a reasonable position here, because the underlying situation is irrational. In a rational economy, each city would adopt a

I don't think there's any way to take a reasonable position here, because the underlying situation is irrational. In a rational economy, each city would adopt an urban form that could efficiently support its population in a reasonable land footprint, and would change that urban form as the city evolved. This would mean that housing costs would be broadly similar across all cities. This hasn't happened, so housing costs are absurd, which results in absurdity in other areas.