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Supply and demand. If people want the micro-apartments, why not build them? Building them would provide jobs, and cheaper housing options.
I've learned that there is not much politicians can do about the economy anymore.
Yes the government can get out of the way and let the economy heal itself. What do they do? Fire off yet another QE and now there is already talk that it isn't enough so QEIV will most likely be printed off by the end of the year. The madness isn't stopping no matter how small a box you crawl into. That is exactly what they want by the way. They don't want you to have property. I'm sure soon the cries will come from these box dwellers about the evil landlords stacking em in too.
The American Dream used to be grow up and get a job or start a business and save enough money to buy a home and get married and raise a family. Now it's to save enough money to move out of your parents basement to move into a coffin. Times have surely changed.
I would not even stop there. Think about if these apartments were used in cities like Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Atlanta, Chicago, and other cities. Rents could be even cheaper.
I would be in favor of razing the decayed parts of Detroit and building micro apartments in its place. There are literally abandoned parts of Detroit that could benefit from it. First Detroit has to solve other problems.
That makes no sense for Detroit though. Expensive housing prices and lack of land to build new homes isn't the problem in Detroit these days--it's that the economy is so bad that no one want to live there that real estate prices have dropped to the point where you can buy an old house in for $25,000 or less in some cases. A micro-apartment in Detroit with the housing market and economy there would have to be rented for around $100 or less--it wouldn't be cost-effective to build small apartments with so much vacant land that no one is already occupying in Detroit.
The reason that micro-apartments are already basically a reality in San Francisco and Manhattan is because there's a scarcity of land and high demand to live there--thus prices go through the roof. It's simple supply and demand. Detroit is the exact oppposite--and building smaller apartments isn't going to make it a more attractive place to move to.
That makes no sense for Detroit though. Expensive housing prices and lack of land to build new homes isn't the problem in Detroit these days--that the economy is so bad that no one want to live there that real estate prices have dropped to the point where you can buy an old house in for $25,000 or less in some cases. A micro-apartment in Detroit with the housing market and economy there would have to be rented for around $100 or less--it wouldn't be cost-effective to build small apartments with so much vacant land that no one is already occupying in Detroit.
The reason that micro-apartments are already basically a reality in San Francisco and Manhattan is because there's a scarcity of land and high demand to live there--thus prices go through the roof. It's simple supply and demand. Detroit is the exact oppposite--and building smaller apartments isn't going to make it a more attractive place to move to.
Sure it will make it more attractive to the green folks who want to reduce their carbon footprint and brag to all their buddies. Hey I got a micro apartment and that trumps your prius or volt. Take that resource user!!
I don't know how many green folks there are in detroit but you throw in a 3 year lease to a volt with that micro apartment and greenies would come running from all over to get a piece of that carbon reduction bonanza I'm sure.
but no intelegent person would want to live in the unlivable square footage of 150
we are talking about 150sf TOTAL for an entire apartment..to include a kitchen, bath and sleeping area
so we are tlaking a 12x12 room to include a bath....that's unhealthy
and what single person would want an area that they cant INVITE friends over for a beer
Per the article linked in the OP, they're actually 220 sf when the kitchen, bathroom and closet are included. Still tiny but not quite 12x12... more like 12x20. That's also a fairly standard apartment size in Tokyo, which isn't known for being full of stupid people with no friends.
because I could afford it, and because that is what i wanted in my home. masterbath not only has sunken bathtub, but also a separate shower large enough for 3 people and 4 person hottub in the bathroom.
I live in my dream home, and dream homes tend to have what people always wanted in them.
My current studio apartment is about 270 sq ft (bathroom, "kitchen") included. I never considered it "micro". With a little intelligence one can live well in a small apartment. And in the winter it is much easier to heat I even feel safer and more at home in a small apartment where I know every single inch, where there are no hidden angles, no closed doors to other rooms, just one door to the exterior, etc.
My previous apartment was about half the size of my current one, still, I managed to live in it.
It also depends on whether or not one is at home a lot and what the view and surrounding looks like. Here I can step on my 1x5 ft balcony and look down, talk to neighbors etc. And with the windows and balcony door open, it feels open and not like a small confined place at all.
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I even feel safer and more at home in a small apartment where I know every single inch, where there are no hidden angles, no closed doors to other rooms, just one door to the exterior, etc.
