We can criticize the walkability, aesthetics, and safety of building a neighborhood of stroads and towers, but I’m going to focus purely on economics. Building a tower is expensive; the cost of construction is in the hundreds of millions of dollars (goodbye, small developers), and the larger the project, the more expensive it is to adapt or rebuild for the next generation of owners of that parcel of land.

Condominiums can get around the concentration of ownership, but large condominiums pose their own problem; you are locking your city into having this building permanently because they are nearly impossible to redevelop in the future. In most cities, to redevelop a 250 unit condominium, you'd have to purchase all 250 units at market rate.

Union City, New Jersey

I’m not anti-towers, but building up is not the only way to achieve density. Brickell achieves a population density of 27,302 people per square mile. In contrast, Union City, New Jersey has a population density of 51,810 people per square mile (89% higher) without resorting to towers.