You see, if Americans had the same value for "not being a nuisance" as the Japanese, then you could pack us like sardines in a can, and we'd all get along fine. "Changing the character of the neighborhood" is an actual concern that real people have, and trucking over them to build more housing will probably just cause another wave of white flight. Ideally, Americans would value respect over freedom, but I think the right to do whatever you want is too deeply ingrained in our culture at this point.