Yes, town houses aka row houses are much better than traditional picket-fence houses. Also, though, cities in the east have far better public transit systems. Vancouver does well for the west coast, but it's system is dwarfed by those in New York or Chicago. And North Americans have firmly decided against public transit.

My understanding is that it's fantastically hard to evict a tenant in BC. I've heard stories of landlords taking a year to evict a tenant who wasn't even paying his rent anymore, and destroying the apartment in the process. Though I guess most people will leave when asked. And from what I remember, annual rent increases are capped at 4% or something? The first 3 years I lived in Seattle, my rent went up 50%.

Basically, though, rents aren't bad in Vancouver, and that's the most critical aspect of housing. People can afford to live there. The situation could be easily improved, especially regarding housing ownership...by encouraging more building.