I think this talk of "community" is a bunch of hogwash. People living in cities don't have communities, they barely know each other.
What they are really protesting is being unable to afford rising rent, which is caused by a lack of apartments, which is somewhat exacerbated by Airbnb, but zoning laws have a far bigger impact.
The same people who can't afford the rent anymore wouldn't want to live in (or next to) a highrise though, so the zoning laws still make sense.