people don't just want to live in cities, they want to live in a few specific neighborhoods within those cities.

for example, a peculiar thing has been happening in baltimore. average housing prices have been steadily going up while the population is actually shrinking. there is a glut of supply citywide, with entire blocks sitting vacant. but the competition over units in a few cool neighborhoods is enough to totally offset that.

we could provide satisfactory homes and services to everyone in america, if we made it a priority. but we will never be able to build enough supply in the most desirable neighborhoods. people just need to get over that.