I live in NYC, and I think this is a weak argument, because these coping mechanisms are not viable for people with families. NYC has the long-standing problem where people can scrape by if they are a single person with a good job and no dependencies, but as soon as that person wants to form a family, their options are to be very rich, or to move out of the city. In my case we moved to Queens, which we like well enough, but even here the Rent Is Too Damn High.
It's not good for the health of a city to be continually pushing out all but the richest families.
I also don't understand why everyone in NYC insists on comparing apples to oranges.
If median rent basically everywhere else in the US outside of a select few neighborhoods gets you at least a decent sized one-bedroom apartment - then comparing it to a 200 sqft room you share with another person without a kitchen or a bathroom is strange.
I don't need a lot to be happy - but I think I want at least 600 sqft with a decent floor plan, good natural light, my own bathroom and kitchen, and a tiny outdoor space big enough to sit a couple people comfortably.
That's A LOT of money in Manhattan - probably more than ~$4400 on average. It's not a lot of money almost everywhere in the world.
It's not good for the health of a city to be continually pushing out all but the richest families.