The main difference is that Adam Smith wrote about real land, i.e. natural resource, while current discourse about rent is focused on buildings/apartments - human produced capital.
I think the argument still applies even if you don't go past the land itself. The land itself is the primary cost of housing. This is why we were able to build most of our most famous skylines in much poorer economies than the the people currently struggling to afford to to buy or to rent those same properties.
