In addition to newer regulations aimed at exclusion. After a burst of new development of upper-middle-class homes in my town, the new residents voted in a new mayor and aldermen, and the new leadership passed a law preventing the construction of any home within city limits of less than 2000 square feet. The old part of the city would be mostly illegal to build under current regulations.
And this happens everywhere. When you realize that most of the desirable places to live in the US are illegal to build, it really makes you wonder what the hell we're doing. The answer is that we'll suffer an immense burden of stupidity in return for order. If you've ever sat at a red light at midnight, you should know that feeling.
