The tree of life has all the life, shame there's none left for you.

Seems the author of this piece didn't follow the first rule of commenting

Same for me. Definitely felt like one of the most important books we read. Watching the closeted racists squirm during the discussions was also pretty fun.

"I can't keep track of the names. I have no idea what's going on" Every major character's name starts with a different letter.

2 main factors:

1: supply/demand. Even a small apartment in a city is a pretty decent place to live due to proximity to all the city services.

2: real estate investment. Large investment groups purchase land as an investment. If they rent it out then there are many limits on how the property can be handled, modified, or sold due to renters protections. These limitations do not apply if kept empty. With the growth of services for short term rentals it has become practical to keep properties empty to take advantage of the greater liquidity and use short term rentals to help make up the difference.

It's called suburbs. Economically urban with excessively low density. Half an acre is a modest exaggeration, but in some wealthy suburbs it is standard.

In most cases the land is the most expensive part of having a house. If you want affordable houses stop using half an acre for a single family in urban areas. New construction techniques is cool though.