Zoning limits the density of housing. I live near an area that used to be rural, now is suburban, and zoning around here often requires more than 1 acre per house.
The major developers are able to figure out how to rezone and build houses on less than a quarter acre, but if you wanted to do it on a small scale (i.e. buy an old house on 4 acres, tear it down, and build a small subdivision instead) it's just not practical.
In more urban areas, it can be similar. But rather than requiring 1 acre per house, the restriction is that you can't build multi-family, etc.
Past methodology applied to public housing has resulted in problems. Historically the method was “how cheaply can it be made so the local building cartel can make the most profit.”
America really needs to deal with the mid-1900s mafia family like mentality still running US politics; electoral turnover flushes rent seeker politicians and their financier’s political support: https://www.nber.org/papers/w29766
The US was trending progressive before it opened it arms to post World War racists and migrants fleeing Europe. Oh what an ironic narrative their progeny babble today