>When I think of "suppressed" demand, I think of economically useful demand that needs to exist. There are cases where this is true: https://citeseerx.ist.psu

>When I think of "suppressed" demand, I think of economically useful demand that needs to exist. There are cases where this is true: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=3fdc4c4014ec3e1ef73c1fbb25d4bc901aeafbb1 https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&d... When networks are deficient, roads can lead to large benefits: https://sites.bu.edu/neudc/files/2014/10/paper_243.pdf https://sites.bu.edu/neudc/files/2014/10/paper_243.pdf As networks reach sufficiency, the impact on economic activity decreases: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X1530024X https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X1... This is not something that can be accurately shoved into an all good or all bad perspective. Whether roads are positive for economic development is a necessarily quantitative question. >only a subset (which I would bet is minor) would prefer social housing over detached housing. The author is speaking from a British perspective, and there "social housing" means government-subsidized housing. It is not a form factor and cannot meaningfully be placed in opposition to detached houses.