I find it kind of mind-boggling to read an article like this and not mention <i>why</i> cities are so expensive. Is it because construction is expensive? No, it is because restrictive zoning does not permit an increase in supply, meaning nothing can compensate for the increased demand and prices go through the roof.<p>You can be in favor of restrictive zoning and still recognize that zoning policies are responsible for turning an increase in demand into a dramatic increase in price.<p>In the past cities were also highly desirable places for elites to live (think 5th avenue in the 1880's). But at that time the poor could also live there because construction was permitted. I don't advocate the massive slum-dwelling of that era, but I think it's important to recognize that it would be illegal to build Manhattan as it currently is anywhere in the United States now, or even in Brooklyn, despite intense demand for such density in areas like Silicon Valley. Essentially, the elite have made it illegal in most cases to construct their own preferred type of housing.