The option to improve blocks, via crafting would mean they all have the same prestige rating. The current system is to prevent people from just filling a plot with the same block and instantly having the best prestige, and to reward those who have invested time and skill in making the best items in the game.
There will be a certain amount of cat and mousing on this but it does seem like the system we have is going in the right direction, with maybe a few more additions and tweaking.