> We don't really have shanty towns in the states.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tent_cities_in_the_Uni...

Tent cities != shanty towns. Shanty towns are like semi-permanent buildings, tents are just...tents you buy at REI and then set up at the park with your stuff. We had one nearby my house at the Seattle Ballard commons that lasted during COVID (and is gone now). I wouldn't have called it a shanty town like I saw in the Philippines.

Go to skid row in LA. Going on 50 years or more.

If only we can have something between a McMansion filled North American suburb and Kowloon Walled City.

Hong Kong is super dense and super expensive, Shanghai is similar, but at Mainland Chinese prices. I'm all for density, but anyone who thinks that density alone solves affordability issues simply hasn't travel enough.

Density is a way to deal with expensive housing. Not a cause of it.

Density is a way to make cities more livable and attractive, and to scale up public transit investments.

After you've done all this, you'll find that your city is more expensive than the surrounding cities without, not less.

Eh, Skid Row is pretty famous, but if you're willing to broaden the definition a little the US has lots of slums [0].

[0]: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/08/more-am...