Given the supply of land is fixed (the old real estate joke about their not making any more) while the population and the economy are both growing, we should expect to see a rise in land values over time in real terms.
Housing land (houses are a deprecating asset) should be an asset class that mirrors population and economic growth.
The supply of land is fixed but it's not full yet, and filling it up with single-story buildings is a practice that can certainly be improved upon.
The obstacle to building new housing is not the availability of land, it is the zoning laws. Even a geographically constrained place like San Francisco, surrounded by water on three sides, could accommodate far more housing units simply by building taller structures.
The car-centric nature is a consequence of filling the land up with single-family homes that have garages. Mass transit is only ever popular when it is more convenient than driving and parking a car.
It makes sense for housing land cost per acre to grow steadily. However, that's fully compatible with a scenario where housing land cost per person is steady or even decreases, as long as you allow for increased density.
Housing land (houses are a deprecating asset) should be an asset class that mirrors population and economic growth.