Why North America zoning and building codes mean developers can't build nice family friendly "missing middle" housing/apartments
Why North America zoning and building codes mean developers can't build nice family friendly "missing middle" housing/apartments
We need to make our cities and towns more family friendly. This is called the "missing middle" in housing, and it's why in north america all we see are either large condo towers or single family homes, which also drives our urban sprawl problems. Which exacerbate out dependency on cars.
Almost all new large towers/buildings in north america prioritize bachelor's units 1 and 2 bedroom units. Trying to find a well priced 3 or 4 bedroom in a "lively" downtown center, close to transit and work, with plenty of schooling in the area is almost impossible. It's also a factor in why cities became so empty during the pandemic, ie. Not to many families living permanently in cities.
Here's a good article that also talks about the same issue with some different apparment layouts, and why developers don't provide adequate family units.
https://www.centerforbuilding.org/blog/we-we-cant-build-family-sized-apartments-in-north-america
This together with zoning requirements in north america is pushing most cities and developers to only cater towards large towers or single family housing.
Another factor is the obsession for everything needing to be large, including living space (US in particular). My 1BR condo back in Asia was a little less than 400 sqft. In the US, 1BR apartments are at the minimum 600 sqft. That window limitation on the 2 staircase rule can be remedied if bedrooms were a little smaller, or if the living room was smaller if you want bigger bedrooms.
There are absolutely 1br apartments in the US that are < 600sqft, because I lived in one.
Also, implying that a large living space is a bad thing is kind of a weird take.
I didn't say large living spaces are bad. I just said that most things in the US are designed to be larger than they should be. Also, my comment pertains to high density living in urban megacity areas, which is what I lived in back home. Obviously there are cases like that in the US, most notably NY or SF, but a lot of them leave more to be desired. Small doesn't have to be cramped or uncomfortable.
I’m not buying the idea of single staircase being the problem, and I’ll keep preferring to have a second means of egress, thank you. Although I have to admit if Canada really requires it about 2 stories, that may be excessive. My town has a lot of three deckers, which are really built like normal houses and that should be fine. But once you get to many” units, not so much.
Similarly with the other discussion on building materials: I can see something like a three decker being built to the same standards as any other house but once you get to “many” units, materials the are more sound, water, fire proof become more important.
I agree with the need for higher density housing, but too many proposals amount to cheapness that will impact the lives and safety of the tenants. It’s really not an acceptable tradeoff
Exacerbates* 😅
But, "make out cities" sounds fun/horrific, depending on a few factors.
Like Mortal Engines, only instead of city cannibalisation there's giant robot kissing.
If you're looking for more on this, the book Arbitrary Lines by M. Nolan Grey makes good arguments for abolishing/reforming NA zoning laws and also has some good explorations of the arguments for zoning.