>The use of space is denser That is precisely why land in cities is more expensive. There are more people wanting land in a given area but the given area does

>The use of space is denser That is precisely why land in cities is more expensive. There are more people wanting land in a given area but the given area doesn't scale to the population, so people start paying more to have more of that limited space thereby driving out those who can't (or don't). It's like how some people will pay for first/business class or premium economy class on a jetliner so they have more of the limited space in a flight cabin than those who didn't pay up. The problem, which frankly isn't an actual problem, is that some people feel like bitching up instead of paying up for a good that is valued highly. We can discuss endlessly whether the valuation of city real estate is too high, but the conclusion is always going to be either paying up or getting out.