The problem is that housing is a major investment vehicle, people in these cities always complain about what's going to happen to their property values so they

The problem is that housing is a major investment vehicle, people in these cities always complain about what's going to happen to their property values so they prefer exclusionary zoning. Developers have a hell of a time building in these areas even once they get zoning variances, because abutters will show up and complain about every single detail and try to make the property as small and unprofitable as possible. You start off with a 12 unit building with no parking and you end up with a 6 unit building with 12 parking spots in a garage that no one uses. There's one instance in my neighborhood where the city and developer have been meeting with residents over the course of a year to try and come to an agreement on what should be built. There's just a derelict single-family house on the lot.