Cities are the greatest economic drivers of societies the world over. Worldwide, people clamor to cities to improve their opportunities. Cities that don't manage this growth achieve congestion; cities that outright block growth experience longtime residents being priced out. Why wouldn't economic policy address one of the major challenges to improved opportunity?

Also, wouldn't you want your kids to be able to afford living in their hometown?

Many interests paint this as an all- or nothing- problem: "the developers just want to pave over Golden Gate Park!" "The NIMBYs just want their property values to increase!"

In reality, nobody credibly advocates this. Building high-density apartments in previously single-family home tracts is one solution. Paris is an excellent example of housing that is both beautiful and functional. Apartments are limited to six stories, and have good public transit available, so congestion isn't like Jakarta.