A New South Wales state plan to build apartments around Sydney train stations has run into local opposition.

Australia is grappling with a deepening housing crisis. Yet when it comes to the most obvious solution — constructing more apartments — city dwellers are pushing back against taller buildings.

Placards reading “Save Sydney’s Lungs” and “Wrecking Ball Coming to You” were waved by residents and councilors this week protesting a proposal from the New South Wales state government to boost density by allowing six-story apartment blocks to be built around suburban train stations. That will cause social problems, be destructive to the environment and the city’s heritage, opponents argue.

Yet a lack of apartments is causing problems too. Fueled by rapid immigration growth and insufficient supply of new dwellings, more and more people are being priced out of Sydney, where the average home now costs 13 times incomes and surging rents are adding to a cost of living crisis.