I'm not an expert, but here is my speculation. Historically, in many parts of Europe, wooden housing was cheap housing. In many places, only they rich could afford stone houses.
Several cities, seeing wood as a fire risk, even until this day have rules that forbid new wooden construction.
Then there's also the fact that streets are organised in a totally different way in many European cities. US visitors sometimes tell me they feel a bit claustrophobic in the streets of my native city. They _are_ quite a bit narrower than the average US street, and they're all townhouses built right next to one another.
Oh, and older generations seem to spontanuously associate wooden barracks with soldiers, prisoners of war and cheap post war emergency housing.
The tide is turning though, with wood and even straw building gaining in popularity year by year in many of the EU countries that I regularly visit...
Several cities, seeing wood as a fire risk, even until this day have rules that forbid new wooden construction.
Then there's also the fact that streets are organised in a totally different way in many European cities. US visitors sometimes tell me they feel a bit claustrophobic in the streets of my native city. They _are_ quite a bit narrower than the average US street, and they're all townhouses built right next to one another.
Oh, and older generations seem to spontanuously associate wooden barracks with soldiers, prisoners of war and cheap post war emergency housing.
The tide is turning though, with wood and even straw building gaining in popularity year by year in many of the EU countries that I regularly visit...