Not just those. Look at Omaha, Kansas City, MO, Des Moines... all are building more high density, mixed-use housing downtown and in other areas and the rents/prices there are not cheap... and people still want to live there.

KC built a streetcar line to service theirs, and Omaha is in the process of doing the same. Denver has a light rail system now, and locations downtown and along that route are also trending towards high density housing and walkable neighborhoods.

From my perspective, quite a few of our current social ills (other than income inequality) stem from the automotive-driven push towards the suburban lifestyle.

People now sit in their McMansions, isolated from one another at home and in their armored steel conveyances. Kids can't even visit their friends without getting a ride from their parents.