At some point you likely also need eminent domain (with a fair-ish system for compensating people whom it affects). Somehow we are really good at eminent domain for building highways, but not skyscrapers or trains.

I don't think you really need eminent domain for skyscrapers. Economics + property taxes generally provide sufficient incentive.

We were completely awesome at eminent domain for trains. They just sort of went out of style. And the logistics revolution has made train freight more competitive than ever. The cost of air travel ( modulo whatever you suffer at the hands of the TSA ) is so low that trains almost have to be a custom travel experience to complete.

Eminent domain can only be used in cases of public use. Skyscrapers not being built by government functions are never a good idea. So, you cannot use eminent domain for developer acquisition.

Trains do not get a lot of eminent domain help, instead their is a lot of work to build within existing right of ways.

Cities with few or no zoning laws have also built out more than up. Dallas and Houston come to mind. Or Jakarta.

Houston still has minimum parking requirements, which pushes people towards cars, and it exists in a state that pushes car-oriented development.

This is basically what Portland, Oregon did, as I understand.