Maybe more thinking before building condos would make them more appealing. There should be more parks and community spaces around condos to make the lack of backyard paid off. 2-3 condos together should have a park with tables and bbqs. If you calculate the number of units in 2-3 condos, they are more than the number of houses for which a park is built. There should be things to make the difference between living in a condo or in a house smaller.

Toronto and Vancouver are cities built on water, with the downtowns close to water. They can only grow in semicircle shape compared with other cities that have double the area they can expand to keep the same distance to downtown (where many jobs and events are). This should be a reason for the planners/architects to design accodingly.