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I just read a really good article about why Tokyo, one of the biggest cities in the world, is also one of the most affordable for housing and pretty much everything else. Spoiler, they don't allow boomer nimbyism and they absolutely do allow a shitload of apartment building pretty much everywhere.
I recently looked up LA and SF and then other American cities in general for the first time on Google Earth. How much you could be allergic to apartments to let that happen? It's just really incredibly weird all these houses spaced out like nothing. I'd be really utterly surprised if US cities didn't have a rent problem with such a city design.
California is weird with its zoning laws, and those cities didn't start out large, nor have they existed as large cities for very long. My guess is that as time passes, those cities will start to look more like NYC, Boston, etc., which have more apartments/condos.
Most American cites spread out because they can. Building up is far more expensive at least in cost than building out...
And the average apartment size is 216 square feet.
Still bigger than the van I live in.