[Bartweiss]

> For some reason it's just not happening.

A major part of that issue is the voting population. Only people who have already overcome the "getting housing" hurdle are permitted in the elections that shape zoning laws.

There's still some variance there: homeowners profit from high housing prices, while renters profit from low ones. But even for renters, who theoretically want zoning laws relaxed, it's often not a top issue. Given that "weaken zoning laws" is a broadly conservative position here, weak-zoning candidates are usually blocked by the general liberalism of urban areas.

(And at least where I live, technocratic Democrats who might support progressive policies and weak zoning get crushed by entrenched Democrats with more funding and union endorsements. A viable candidate would need to be technocratic only on zoning laws.)