I’m the end, it almost always comes down to money. If I own a house on a tree lined street with other houses, I’m not going to be very happy seeing those trees come down, a large building goes up that now obscures the view I used to have - and I may have to deal with months or years of construction and the negative things that come with that. During the process and even after it, the value of my home drops substantially.

That’s often why people vote and protest against these things. The money. Even in Manhattan - if I have a view of the River and a sky scraper is built across the street and I now have the view of someone’s window and get less light - obviously the value of the apartment goes down - so I might find reasons to oppose that skyscraper from going up.

That’s not to say it doesn’t need to happen. But development should probably be encouraged in underutilized previously commercial areas (like what DUMBO was 30 years ago, before places where you can expect opposition.