Yeah, but the thing is, we are not really running out of flats/houses, we are running out of space in the cities. That is a way less bleak future than the parent proposed, it just means that poor people will leave far from the city center, but can we really blame that? Is that even a problem? People leave where they can afford, that's just the reality, as long as they can afford a good house with heating and all the other nice stuff, I think location is not that much of an issue.

Location is a big issue for people who rely on public transportation to get to their places of employment. It's not always feasible to live far away from where the jobs are and not everyone can simply telecommute or otherwise work from home.