Square feet aren't a great affordability measure (they tend to come in rather larger lumps).
In any case, why not just continue the era of abundance? We aren't really running short on space, and there is at least some indication that the lack of housing availability is a policy failure (rather than an expected outcome of some physical process or limit).
We lack space in the few urban areas people want to live in. If people were flexible about where they wanted to live, you’d think that the cheap land/lightly zoned places would prosper, but they don’t.
most of US cities have no public transportation, weird parking zonning rules that making it impossible to have small commercial scene and lack of parks.. just handful of cities are actual cities, not just offices for suburbs.
For sure. I grew up in the deep south outside ATL and houses there are still "cheap". They're certainly outpacing the poor folks who were born and raised there, but you can still snag a house with an acre or so of land in the 100,000s.
Beautiful land too. Forests, creeks, and wildlife.
In any case, why not just continue the era of abundance? We aren't really running short on space, and there is at least some indication that the lack of housing availability is a policy failure (rather than an expected outcome of some physical process or limit).