Families are smaller than they were years ago, but the housing options for first-time home owners really haven't kept pace with the changes. There has to be some housing option between an apartment in a box holding 35 other such apartments and a stand-alone house that occupies about 10,000 sq. ft. of land.
I would like to see additional options in the starter home market besides a bilevel w/ just 900 sq ft finished. Rowhouses are a great option. Owners have their own front door, unlike some condos that are just like apartments in that your in one cell in a big box. Rowhouses also give young couples w/ a toddler or two the chance to have their own small piece of green space and access to a sidewalk to try out those tricycles. Kids often need some green space--but it's difficult to let them have the time & space to run when you're three floors up. It's much better when a parent can be watching them from a kitchen window or from a front porch.
Rowhouses or brownstones are highly valued housing stock in other parts of the country and could be a great asset here as well. They would be ideal for infill housing in the older parts of the city and would increase overall density.