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It's because in north america zoning laws only allow developers to build single family homes or large condo/apartments.
To build an apartment that is allowed by zoning and building codes, developers first need to find 5 or 6 parcels of land that may have a home on them already. These 5 or 6 owners then need to agree to sell all at the same time. The developers then need to consult the city for a variance to join the multiple parcels into one parcel. All this together has the effect of raising the costs on the development and the final cost of each unit.
Single family homes on the other hand are built for a family of 4 or more, and are usually not in the budget or not desired by younger individuals, or in some cases our older aging generation.
The answer is what is being called the "missing middle" in housing. These are things like duplexes, laneway housing, and low rise complexes. All of these are currently made illegal to build in neighborhoods. So developers do not build them, but they also don't propose to build them as they are not approved by the city in the first place. There is a cost associated with even a proposal for a potential build.
These missing middle homes are more affordable and provide more options in types of places to live for individuals and families. They are also in most cases cheaper to build as a developer would only need to buy one parcel of land and could potentially fit 4 or 5 units of various sizes on that parcel.
The added benefit of this densification of housing is that with more individuals in an area transit becomes more viable such as trams/trains/bus routes/subways right into the center of a suburb.
You can solve the housing shortage, and the transportation issues, as well as make communities more engaging all starting with a shift in zoning laws.
If this were the sole reason, or even the most significant issue, we would be seeing that type of housing pop up in the outskirts or other undeveloped areas. But we aren't. Even areas with falling populations have skyrocketing rents/housing costs.
If you look at the building code as it is written now, when a building goes over two levels, it requires two exit stairwells. This is the most stringent rule in the code and is only implemented in north america.
This means a plot of land that would fit a single family home would now require to give up the area of two stairwells combined if a three floor home/building is proposed on this parcel.
This means a large chunk of square footage disappears and the cost of the units in this development go up. Where you could have fit two units on a floor in this proposal with one exit stairwell, you may only now fit one unit with two exit stairwells (which makes no sense)
Thus it's more likely a developer will buy up 5 or 6 plots of land next to one another. They can then build a condo with a single corridor down the middle and units on each side. Two exit stairwells are then added on each end of the long corridor. You are now left with an apartment complex which is probably higher then 5 levels to maximize profit and has 10 or more units per floor.
Here are some great short videos that explain this concept really well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRdwXQb7CfM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX_-UcC14xw