Terraced houses? In a place with high housing demand? Really?
You don't need to go to NYC heights, just look at what France and Germany do
They seem to hang on their historic buildings, with cramped accommodations that cost an arm an a leg to follow current regulations.
It's similar in Ireland, really.
What's wrong with terraced housing? It is more suitable for high-density developments than detached or semi-detached housing. A mixed development of houses and flats brings in a variety of different households and people. This makes a place much more attractive to live in than a place with only one type of dwelling. Well-planned terraced housing doesn't have to lead to sprawl.
In the UK, families with growing children have an aversion to flat living. It may be irrational, but this attitude hasn't changed in decades and is unlikely to change in the future.
It's less dense than apartments.
> In the UK, families with growing children have an aversion to flat living.
Maybe because of the abysmal quality and ridiculous size of most accommodations.
Brought to you by people that think carpet in a bathroom is acceptable.
Here in California showers and much other plumbing are required to have backflow valves so that hot and cold don't cross contaminate.
"Most bathroom sinks in Britain still have separate hot and cold taps today, 60 years after Mr. Churchill’s conversion and decades after nearly all dual taps were scrapped in the U.S. and most vanished from continental Europe. For reasons of thrift, regulations and a stubborn attachment to tradition, the British have resisted the tide of plumbing history. Even when they renovate old homes, many choose two-tap systems, and builders often install them in new, low-end housing. Separate taps account for an estimated 40% of all bathroom-faucet sales in the U.K."
From: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/mhillebrandt/entry/british_peculi...
Of course, if you're not rich and trying to get on the housing ladder now, things are pretty difficult.