Yep. I live in Markham where your photo was taken. No questions Markham has been increasing its density for the past 20 years as part of the Growth plan. We need higher density to make transit practical and offset the poor highway infrastructure.

I would argue that much of the increase in price has not been because of the greenbelt (there is still plenty of land left) but rather the influx of foreign buyers. Since the turn over of Hong Kong to the Chinese in the mid '90s we have seen most new buyers from HK or more recently from mainland China as they become more affluent.

There is only so much inventory and only so many homes in good location (close to shopping, entertainment, etc). Prices have no where to go but up.

I'm not complaining about our Chinese immigration.  I just don't agree with the G&M finding that the greenbelt is a major contributor. Nor would I like the alternative - sprawl. Scarborough experienced bad sprawl in the 70's and has had challenges ever since.