American cities need to grow up, and let housing be built (theatlantic.com)

Canadian cities even more so.

Or, people need to accept that they aren’t entitled to live where costs are higher than they can afford and move to other communities.

While I agree that multi-tenant urban housing is lacking in America, the real question seems to be why no other American city has made significant progress on catching up to the Northeast corridor. I don't think that Washington DC is the prime example of the problem. If anything, it's the only city in America to have a true European feel due to the height constraints. When I lived in NYC, the dense skyscrapers of Manhattan were very constricting compared to Brooklyn, where I ended up moving. Manhattan is great for office buildings but less as a relaxing abode outside the Village. Even Shanghai & San Paolo has more space between large buildings with room for light, trees, sky.

If the city is in a state that has little or no water, this doesn't make sense. Water in the U.S. South West is now a scarce resource with no solution in sight.