Sarah Watson makes the case for micro-apartments, those controversial 250-350 sq. ft. units that neighbors often oppose but meet a critical need.
A 50-member team from the San Francisco's SPUR organization went to the Big Apple to see what San Francisco and the Bay Area could learn from the country's largest city. Like San Francisco, singles make up a huge share of the population - about a third. (It's even higher in S.F. @ 38%). Sarah Watson, Deputy Director of the Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC) which authored the Making Room initiative in New York City, asks, "Why aren’t we designing housing for that demographic?"
One reason it is difficult for policy makers, and the market, to digest these astounding numbers is our confused definition of household. Since the 1950 census, “household” has been synonymous with “family.” Data splits households into family and nonfamily categories, relegating single people and their housing need to an oddity.
This explains why housing is usually categorized as either single-family homes or multi-family buildings. However, the demographic composition of single-person households may not be what some think it to be.
(I)n New York City, only 19 percent of single-person households are under 35 years old. Twenty percent are 35–55 years old and just over 50 percent are over 55.
Watson also points to the numerous "repercussions of failing to respond to single people’s need for appropriate housing", such as singles forced to live "in shared arrangements in housing that is not designed for it."
FULL STORY: Time to Make Room
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service