Hey James, I can't tell if this is a serious reply or not given you've zoomed out to the point where you're likely looking at ~100 sq miles of urban living here. 

I am currently building high spec homes and multifamily condo's in Los Angeles, these range from urban infill to land development to demolition of existing structures - all of which can be anywhere from $400 to $700+ per sqft.

I want to provide a different way of educating people, I want to help improve my community, I want to upgrade society as a whole, and much more.

https://www.realcrowd.com/blog/2013/09/san-francisco-a-case-study-for-the-urban-renaissance/

How houses change with the changes and needs of the society during any particular time in history.

We cannot sprawl so there is a shortage of inventory and with as slow as metro works and the nonsensical properties they bring into the Urban growth boundry nothing is going to change supply and demand in many years.

lots of good resources here...if you become interested in investing or partnering in self-storage or urban infill development, feel free to ping me!

@Brian Bond Regarding Germantown, on a personal level, I see that the area has a lot to offer - it's one of Philly's most historic areas and still retains a lot of that charm, it has great transportation links to center city and beyond, it's urban in character but still has some great greenery, strong (although needs improving) business corridor.

Yes I am looking for markets with strong urban renewal, high job creation and a young educated workforce.

Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core.