I live in Austin, where rents have jumped 40% since 2019, and every new tower seems to be luxury condos with ground-floor banks. City council keeps saying density is the answer, but I rarely see mid-rise housing that teachers or baristas can afford. Is 'build more housing' actually the fix for unaffordable cities, or are we just repeating mistakes from other boomtowns without addressing land speculation and zoning rules? I'd love to hear from people in places like Portland or Denver who've watched similar policies play out for years — did the supply theory hold up there?