Why can't we go up, after all our population has gone sky high

I feel very sad every time I read news like this:

While Panjab University will be allotted 100 acres in Kajheri and the area vacated after razing Colony Number 5, the PGIMER will be given 150 acres in the Sarangpur institutional area.
Confirming the development, UT Chief Architect Sumit Kaur said: “The PGIMER will be allocated land only in the institutional area, which may be split in parts.”
A senior UT official said PGIMER Director Prof YK Chawla had requested for land area closest possible to the existing campus in view of the emergency involved in patient care and quick commutation of staff and patients.

The  reason is that we as a society seem to be remarkably closed minded, not just to the idea of building up. Building up does not mean arbitrary increase in height of buildings. It is a conscious decision which may allow a far easier and more economical provision of infrastructure for a reasonably comfortable life. For example,

•  Waste management
• A complex can be compelled to have waste water treatment and recycling of that water for flushing and gardening
• Solid waste could be treated in the complex. I haven't heard anything more about the construction of biomethanation plant for waste treatment plant. I doubt if residents of 16 sector will quietly let the plant come up in their backyard.
•  Power management
• A complex can have a provision for power failures which are better and more economical than each home with its own set of inverters. (I wonder what happens to all the inverter batteries)
• If our society creates opportunities, solutions like the following may emerge from here
•  US teen designs compact nuclear reactor.
•  A startup says its technical advances could make fuel cells as cheap as grid power
• Lifestyle
• I can't think of an easier way to commute than walking to work aside from "Beam me up, Scotty"
• Adequate playgrounds in safe walking distance 

UPDATE: Came across the problem of garbage in the  garden city.

I find it very difficult to believe that

Simple solutions could lend themselves to cities across India. First, the city’s waste collectors should put a stop to picking up organic waste. These have to be composted in houses or within building communities.

I just don't see how millions of us can handle organic garbage within a house or a small complex. Had it been simple and economical, it would have spread virally. All people I know want to have clean surroundings. Most homes do not even have a garbage disposal unit like an InSinkErator for convenient disposal of waste food, which stinks a lot and very soon.