I'm not sure what the problem is. Land prices for multifamily-residential zoned parcels would reflect the most efficient multifamily-residential structures allowed. I'm not terribly concerned with the price of land in my neighborhood: I split ~5 houses' worth with 500 neighbors via a 35-story building.

There are many countries with a larger proportion of middle class and at the same time less sprawl than in USA. For example Denmark, Japan.