This attitude is a good-sized chunk of the reason why the article was written. The constant focus on "how to make it as cheaply as possible, now" has brought some benefits: we can make housing that in many ways (not all) is better and cheaper than it ever has been in the past. But ... building neighborhoods of "desirable" character is about more than how much your house costs right now. It's about the legacy a culture leaves to the future. It's about the difference between driving through small towns in America and small towns in Europe (probably the middle east and asia too). It's an investment, not in your home, but in your culture's future.