We should do a few things, some of which that will certainly never, ever happen in any political environment even half-resembling what we currently have:

1. Take zoning regulations away from localities and then overhaul and streamline them at the state level. All the usual suggestions of eliminating single-family-only zoning, parking minimums, minimum setbacks, along with a plethora of others can be tossed in here. Take away (most) opportunities for community input in regards to what developers can do on the properties that they own. This is going to result in a lot of new market rate housing.

2. Yes, do a little bit of rent control. Do it in ways that don't neuter the private market.

3. Implement a land-value tax so that the parking lot owners and the slumlords and single-family home owners will start to sell their lots in denser areas and those near to transit. This is unlikely to happen.

4. Make improvements to transit, both small ones like much better and more frequent busses and larger ones like electrified regional rail. This will reduce the crushing demand that surrounds our limited areas with great transit accessibility.

5. Get Congress to repeal the Faircloth amendment and pass laws that give hundreds of billions of dollars to states that construct and manage high-quality mixed-income public housing of all densities and sizes. Charge both market rate and below-market rate rents on a lottery system. After the government has recouped their investment rents should be set in a way that merely maintains the building and pays off any debts. This will never happen.

We live in a capitalist system so displacement is inevitable, whether you build or not, unfortunately. However I think that the world I pictured above would be a better one for displaced people and the rest of us.