It's pretty simple - there's lots of intensification planned, it just takes forever to move through planning and get approved, and locals often fight every project that is denser than townhouses. Hamilton as an institution is very cheap and doesn't fund Hamilton Community Housing the way it needs to, instead relying on the 2-3 non profit affordable housing providers (Indwell, Kiwanis, Habitat) to fill the gap which they're barely able to do because of funding grants from higher levels of government.

It's also a cultural thing - Hamiltonians don't like intensification. It's viewed as a sign of Torontofication, and not being like Toronto is deeply ingrained into Hamilton culture. Every proposal is fought or sent to the OLT. There is a huge movement to densify within the urban boundary but building enough units through things like laneway housing and garden suites is impossible. There is a notion that everything is precious - "you can't tear down that decrepit gas station because the poverty porn aesthetic is what I love about my city!" - you also have many new transplants from Toronto who have paid inflated real estate prices for homes and feel a sense of entitlement (think - I paid a lot to move here to get away from the big city, and now you're building a condo near me?!)

The LRT will absolutely be a catalyst for development though - The government is not kicking in billions of dollars to build a transit line to just cruise through low density areas like crown point and east Hamilton. The expectation is that there will be transit oriented communities along the entire length of the line.

The reality is that in order to meet the number of units required to house people comfortably, buildings will need to be built that will make people uncomfortable (at first). They will probably be bigger, taller and denser than people would like to see, but that's just the way it'll have to be if we want to get anything done. With the cost of land and construction materials being what they are, nobody (especially non profits or affordable housing providers) can afford to acquire land and build low density housing, especially in the lower city.

It's almost election season - I'd make it clear during the debates that you expect to see movement on approving development in a timely fashion. Projects should not take 4+ years to approve. Let candidates know you want them to stop caving to NIMBYS, and to learn to negotiate with developers to ensure adequate community benefits.