The only thing that could categorically make new development more cost-effective is if you're allowed to slide on building standards. If the projects are held to an equal building standard, you don't save money by clearing a site and starting over from scratch. That's also a waste of building materials and land impact. There are a dozen things that are wrong with this picture--things that are simply not allowed in most other cities.

Today, the Oklahoma land run mentality has gone from being about free land to nonexistent building standards.