Technology wise, it helped create more room for more building, due to building up, instead of across.
Art wise, a lot of the buildings have beautiful trimming and materials used in them to look appealing while also being effective.
Hello friend,
I presume that Americans developed a "tradition of waste" because of how easy we have made things to do. For example we have made food so easy to get that it makes us lazy therefor making us not care if anything gets wasted.
Hope I helped!