Oh, and look, we've got all this demand for housing that isn't being addressed at the moment.

Maybe what you're describing is a positive outcome?

You can't be "we can't build roads because it will cause houses to be built" and "it's a crisis that nobody can afford a house" at the same time.

The demand for housing has nothing to do with highways.

Highways proscribe a particular way in which to build housing. Low density sprawl. Which results in horrible commutes people hate.

We don't need that. We need high density transit. Which results in high quality of life.

The reason housing isn't built is because cities abuse zoning laws. It's time for states to take back zoning regulations.

To each their own. Most Americans hate high density. I'd rather drive 2 hours than live high density.

High density is awesome right up until you have kids and then it's awful. I think a lot of young people who don't have kids have trouble understanding this.

If I had no kids I'd love to live in a downtown high rise apartment. Really wish I had done so when I was younger. Among a lot of things I wish I could go tell my younger self to do...

I love having kids that I don't have to drive because they can go to school or meet their friends by walking.

I'd rather have that than spending half an hour or more driving 2 overweight kids to school twice a day, then having to taxi everywhere they want to be after school.

plenty of non-Americans live in high density areas, have children and are very happy they don't have to drive them anywhere and everywhere all the time.

Yeah, it seems like a huge personality disconnect and critical lack of comprehension that other people simply dont like what they do. Ive spent a lot of time in excellent dense European cities and it still doesnt appeal to me. I dont like going out to bars, crowds, or general city life.

I like privacy, having a workshop, chickens, fruit trees, and a garden. I like having a huge kitchen, a pantry, a meat smoker, and hosting dinner parties. I like having room for an off-road vehicle and camping gear.

It is hard to keep my eyes from rolling out of my head when someone tells me how much better dense urban living is. I have never met anyone IRL that would happily trade their suburban home for urban life.

Well meet me. I hated having to spend hours taking care of a garden instead of going for a bike ride.

Also you can have a workshop while having high density.

Suburban is probably the worst of both world for me: expensive, impractical and not even quiet/isolated enough for when you need that. I'd rather have a flat in a european city + a small rural house in the middle of nowhere than a house in US suburbia.

All this to say that we don't have to agree on what is best for everyone because everyone do not value things the same way.

I agree, but I think we draw different conclusions. I like both having housing and being treated when I am sick.

The point of building and expanding highways isn't to reduce traffic, but enable more people to go places. Zero Highways would mean Zero traffic. a $1000 toll would mean zero traffic.

People around me go less to the doctor/hospital for "small" things, mostly because of perception of how long and expensive one session can be. Sometimes it makes them neglect preventative things. More hospital would induce this demand and make people consult doctor more often.