Shelter is a basic need for all humans. In addition to protecting us from the elements, shelter ought to facilitate the ways in which we carry out our unique daily activities. Throughout our history we have constructed innovative housing types to fulfill our ever-changing needs. In the 21st Century, these needs are more dynamic and diverse as ever. Why hasn’t our housing stock been updated to follow suit?
In the last century, suburbanization has dominated the American landscape, with the concept of the nuclear family paving the way for this phenomenon. As a result, housing stock in American cities has taken a homogenous form, dichotomized by the high-rise apartment building and the single-family home. The former is typically occupied by those working toward the latter: the idealized form of the American Dream. The gap between the aesthetic and practical uses of both of housing forms has created an American housing crisis that excludes so-called unconventional living situations and pushes lower-income residents to the periphery. The core discourse around race and class struggles in the current American landscape is in many ways defined by historical prevalence of single-family zoning.
Housing stock is single-family zoned in (Brookings):
• 47% of urban neighborhoods
• 77% of surburban neighborhoods
• 73% across all American neighborhoods
What follows is an economic disparity between those that can afford to live in these neighborhoods and those that cannot: it is estimated that 46% of renters spend 30% or more of their income on housing costs, with 23% of that group spending over half their income (Pew Research). These costs on housing restrict families’ ability to spend on other areas such as healthier foods, supplemental education, and future financial planning (Live Affordably Colorado)
Modern cities ought to construct spaces that accommodate a variety of unit types. Townhomes, triple-deckers, duplexes, and triplexes are all examples of different housing types that cater to different family sizes and living arrangements.
Those with unique living arrangements would no longer be in competition with wealthier nuclear families to bid on rents/home prices. As a result, housing prices will become more affordable for these residents and will allow them to better integrate into their communities.
The contemporary homogenous neighborhood has catered solely to those that can afford them for too long. Segregating our neighborhoods has created vast disparities along neighborhood lines and formed the current race and class tension within our communities. Diversifying our housing stock will better integrate our neighborhoods, providing better economic opportunities for all its residents. If all neighborhoods within a city score better on social metrics such as income, life expectancy, and education, the city as a whole will prosper.