I just hope that people remember this is just one factor affecting quality of life and making a city work.

"Density at all costs" ignores a huge set of tradeoffs that are equally as damaging to a city. Things such as urban form, street experience, long-term adaptability, integration with existing fabric, economic resilience, etc. These are the things that make a city work in the long term.

I’m a big proponent of building more housing. But a lot of it is being doing in very short sided ways that lead to huge externalities.

Things such as urban form, street experience, long-term adaptability, integration with existing fabric, economic resilience, etc.

I have no idea what any of this is supposed to mean as a negative to people being able to walk around their neighborhood for essentials. It sounds like a classic vague "what about culture" argument that can't be explained.