Culture : Space

Interesting Reads

From Atlantic Cities:

One of America's Oldest Shopping Malls Converts to Micro-Apartments

What Is It Exactly That Makes Big Cities Vote Democratic?

New York's 'Affordable Housing' Isn't Always Affordable

San Francisco Chronicle:

Gentrification no longer a dirty word

New York Times:

Born to Wait

Jane Jacob's Vision and Gentrification

Interesting post from the New Republic:

The Real Problem with Gentrification: A phenomenon that revived cities can also make them monotonous

By Inga Saffron

Excerpt:

"It turns out that the old complaint against gentrification, that it drives out minorities, is far too simplistic. Instead, we should be worrying about a different concern: It hasn’t built the diversity that Jacobsian urbanists envisioned, and that cities need."

 

Americans Still Desire More Space

Source: Business Week.  Death of the McMansion Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

 

McMansions may not be as popular after the Great Recession of 2008, but Americans still want larger homes.  The National Association of Home Builders recently released their nationwide 2011 survey "What Home Buyers Really Want."  NAHB surveys new and potential homebuyers preferences for "home type and size, room layout and design, kitchen and baths, windows and doors, accessibility and outdoor features, electronics and technology in the home, energy efficiency, choosing a community, and trade-offs buyers are willing to make."  

Thank you to The Urban Land Institute for providing an overall summary of the data. 

Some interesting findings: 

1) The average new single-family house is now over 2,500 sq. ft. and continuing to trend larger.

2) This trend reflects the preferences of higher-income families that can afford large downpayments and financing in a tight mortgage market.

3) According to the NAHB most buyers aspire to own a home with a median of 2,226 sq. ft.

4) The majority of people surveyed want 3 to 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. 

5) Most interesting:  apparently 6 of 10 people surveyed would go without a living room.