Comments by "seneca983" (@seneca983) on "Why is US INFRASTRUCTURE so BAD? (And what is BIDEN’s plan?) - VisualPolitik EN" video.

@Lessk69 "As long as cities become increasingly too expensive [...] the suburban lifestyle will continue to grow." They're expensive because zoners zone low-density suburbs and the supply of denser urban areas falls behind demand.
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@Lessk69 "there is no lack of demand for dense population areas" Indeed. That was my point. Suburban life doesn't grow because cities are expensive. It's the other way around. Zoners oversupply low-density suburban areas and undersupply dense urban areas making the price of the former lower and the price of the latter higher than what they'd be if the supply of each better matched the demand.
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"Spain placed 7th in your list, lol they can’t even build proper on and off ramps on the highways here" I think the list didn't include only roads but also e.g. railways and airports.
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@Lessk69 "There is more to it than just zoning however." But in places zoning is the deciding factor. If zoning would allow developers to choose between single-family units and denser development they would likely surmise that at least in big cities there is enough demand to economically justify denser development. "people that think the idea of living in a big city is hell" Yet there is also demand for living in a big city or else it couldn't be expensive as you mentioned.
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@mrvwbug4423 "Given the choice most Americans are going to opt for more living space for the money they spend so they tend towards suburbs and exurbs." But I don't think these individual buying choices explain the prevalence of suburbs. Even if families are willing to pay more for a home in a low-density suburb they're probably not willing (or able) to pay so much more that developers wouldn't make more money by packing more families into a denser development, at least in high-demand areas. Why do they build low-density suburbs then? Because in many areas zoning only allows for R1 housing, which a political decision rather than the result of market forces.
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