Micro-Apartments Take Big Leap as Solution to Housing Needs

As population grows and economy suffers, one of the hardest hit sectors will be housing. Therefore, to make housing affordable to all, several high density cities around the world have been experimenting with innovative housing designs such as micro-apartments so that they are affordable and yet occupy less space.

For instance the city of San Francisco is contemplating promotion of micro apartments as 39 percent of San Franciscans live alone.

“While some people prefer and can afford large units, whether single-family homes or large flats, others do not need as much space or cannot afford it,” wrote Supervisor Scott Wiener of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in San Francisco Examiner.

“Students and transition age youth, for example, may not need much space and certainly need affordably designed housing. Senior housing is another candidate for small-sized units. Some seniors cannot afford a significant amount of space, while others are no longer physically able to care for a large home. Young workers, many of whom are making just enough to get by and aren’t home much, may also be interested in a smaller, more affordable unit,” he said.

Similarly, last month in New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the ‘adapt NYC’ competition to find solution to Manhattan’s ever-growing needs of housing. This contest, which is open till Sept 14, invites proposals to develop replicable designs for micro-units, a press release stated.

The venture is part of Bloomberg’s multi-billion dollar initiative to finance the creation or preservation of 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2014, and the idea is to make apartments available to people living alone or with their partners.

Currently there are close to 1.8 million people living alone or with their partners, but only 1 million studio and one-bedroom apartments are available.

“Developing housing that matches how New Yorkers live today is critical to the City’s continued growth, future competitiveness and long-term economic success,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “People from all over the world want to live in New York City, and we must develop a new, scalable housing model that is safe, affordable and innovative to meet their needs.”

The release stated that the proposal is for rental buildings consisting apartments measuring approximately between 275 to 300 square feet. But the current norm stipulates the measurement to be 400 square feet and does not allow an entire building of micro-units.

“As New York City continues to grow and evolve, our housing stock must do the same,” said Buildings Commissioner LiMandri. “This design competition is a unique opportunity to re-define the way New Yorkers live by creating a new type of housing model that is safe, efficient and affordable.”

However, there is a section that is not all gung-ho on the idea of micro-units. The Guardian reported that zoning might change with micro-apartments becomes a success, leading landlords to sell smaller spaces for higher costs. “There's also the problem that poor and middle-income families may actually be hurt by the creation of micro-pods for yuppies; they may end up paying proportionately higher rent for larger spaces because of micro-units raising prices in their area,” the report said.