Developers often forget that sound is also a part of space. Designing a home that isn't very good at blocking out noise in areas with high traffic is a really big problem in big cities and no one wants to talk about it. High noise levels are associated with high levels of stress to so we need to include it in the conversation of housing.
Or we look at the problem from another point of view. Cities aren't inherently noisy - cars are. Designing cities in a way that makes cars obsolete is going to solve the noise problem and thus eliminates the requirement to design sound-proof housing to shield people from the awfully noisy environments motorized traffic in cities produces.
1.need more mixed-use zones. (commercial + residential 2. fewer space devoted to low capacity transport 3. fewer incentives for overseas ownership. Lower prices and/or taxes if you live there 90% of the year.
How about a rising house tax for people who own but don't live in the house. Like year one 5% of the value, second year 10%, third year 20%, fourth year 40%, fifth year 80% and if you still keep it the sixth year, you pay 160% of the value. Combine it with a tax on the earnings you make on property sales and renting out, if they exceed a certain number based on a model of how much space a family or person needs, so that a more reasonable percentage of peoples income will go to housing and a more reasonable amount will be freed up to use IN the surrounding society. So that lower income people might still be able to live within a city in housing that is not a "tiny house", even though smaller housing is good for environment in many ways, it is not easy to do unless you are creative+crafty+patient, have time and money to create it and also the security of not having to move out soon again. And if the "tiny-part" becomes too extreme, so that you cannot get out of bed and do something like taking a shower or making some food in the kitchen without your spouse having to get out of bed as well, so the bed can be folded up etc, then the square feet/meters become overly expensive, since their real value should really drop, due to the hassle that it actually is. And by the way; hats off to those who manage this, but to be fair all square meters/feet are not equally useful and attractive. So the great ideas and the limited foot print should be awarded, but for those who actually live in it. Not for some house company that develop cramped space for other people to suffer in. Sorry! And if someone sells or rents out at a price above what is fair the should be taxed even more. Everything to push the housing market in the right direction, meaning down to where it is not looked at as an opportunity to make a lot of money, but just a boring practical exchange of usage of space, for those who needs it at a given time. Imagine it being so easy and boring, so that people would realistically look for a place near where they work and not really have the us for two cars or even one. The cities and the states could in theory still make money, perhaps even more than now, if they had the guts to try and control the market. Perhaps they have reasons that they don't. Personal gains etc...? Or the fear that all sorts of country folk might start to move in from the sticks creating even more problems and demanding even more affordable living. But it is important to take control and know what you want and not to get blinded by a fast buck or a cute idea. I think you are so right!
Thank you for this important episode. It works in Amsterdam because there are mandated percentages, which I fully support. Our communities are truly more healthy and vibrant when there is diversity of all kinds. And the massive concentration of wealth and income inequality -- having nothing at all to do with how hard people work -- is the root of so much fear and segregation.
I am a big fan of creative and thoughtful design and there are so wonderful ideas here. However, there is an assumption that housing will be cheaper if built on these “dead” spaces. However, that is not true, if profit can be maximised builders, contractors, owners will do so. We cannot rely on goodwill. This needs a clear policy, otherwise these smaller homes will also become unaffordable and push up the prices of larger homes.
I agree, but in the US at least we desperately need increase in supply above all else and our policies are typically poorly thought out or intentionally overly bureaucratic to limit accessibility. I'm sure other areas with more representative governments could come up with good policy though.
Remote work is the answer to affordable housing. We don’t need to live in cities in order to have jobs. These insane people just want us to live in shoe boxes. Most jobs can be done online therefore there is no need to live in cities.
@@KBS_ar 100% agree. Remote work can also massively reduce C02 emission, air pollution, and enable small communities to thrive which are perfect for raising children.
I absolutely love this series! What an important issue, and you cover it with such grace and creativity. I wish more Americans embraced this type of reimagining of our shared spaces, instead of the suburban sprawl and gated communities so popular, yet unaffordable to many. I grew up on Roosevelt Island in NYC and it had mixed housing. It was a wonderful way to live with a very strong sense of community. Thank you for this series!! You are my favorite channel to watch :)
Roosevelt Island is lovely! I live in Brooklyn now :) this made me want to not be in America anymore, but good to know that this kind of community isn't too far away!
Rob McGauran makes such great sense, especially about how we can look after each other as a community, and how those most in need actually provide an opportunity for the rest of us to support them for our mutual benefit. It only takes a bit of bad luck for "us" to become "them".
The talking heads in this video brought me to tears of joy with the way they see community cohesion. Such compassionate design can only do good for the world.
I am very pleased that finally disabled and elderly people are being included in these affordable housing projects, and also within the local community of these housing projects 😀. Absolutely 💯.
Another solid episode. Thank you. This is one of my favourite RU-vid channels. I've always been very passionately interested in ethical development and design. With the ever growing mental health pandemic, I feel that discussions regarding our domestic spaces are far more important than ever before. Hopefully our local councils start taking this more seriously and insist upon thoughtful design and development going forward, instead of ruining our streetscapes with the usual identical brick and tile monstrosities. Greedy developers and builders who have deluded themselves into believing they are designers need to be discouraged. What we need are urban planners, architects, social workers and psychologists working together to create successful, sustainable communities. Can't wait for the next episode!
This is such a beautiful series filled with innovative ideas about how we should live - I hope something like this gets made in London! As we have a huge unfair housing crisis! At times the city feels like it's losing it's soul, as people aren't able to live here anymore - as buying a house here is becoming impossible for young people, as so many houses are just bought for investment and left empty!!
Funny how Vancouver is featured but no examples are given. They definitely know it's not a good example. While I love the homes featured in this video, the message behind this particular video is a little vague beyond Smaller=Better footprint. I wish it could go more in depth with how infrastructure accessibility combines with affordable housing. it's not just affordability, but maximizing affordability x accessibility to make a city truly efficient and get rid of the terrible 1 hour plus daily commutes that plague north america road systems.
You should watch some of the projects they’ve published here like Nightingale. Maybe you’d understand. This series is new but it builds upon previously featured buildings
I love the new content so informative and real. The cohousing concept I think is wonderful to be honest why all need laundry at home when we can be shared in the building, having a common garden or terrace is also pretty cool, people is to selfish where I live now and probably in many places and the idea of sharing spaces scared them but I think in cohousing there is big opportunity for a better society and to create real communities. Also what they do in Amsterdam sounds great instead of making neighbors of rich, middle income or low income they mix all that's very nice I have to remember this 40% rule.
I really appreciate this series and the ideas. The vision and direction seems reasonable, but here is the true test: Are the people directly responsible for making such proposals also willing to live within the environment they suggest?
Great question, most of our talent do live in small footprint homes of their own. Especially the architects like Brad Swartz, but also people like Rob Adams who lives in a smaller terrace home.
Another incredibly insightful episode. This series makes me excited for Mondays to come around! Fascinating to hear about Amsterdam’s 40/40/20 rule for new developments. Thank you for de-stigmatising social and affordable housing. Such an important message 👏🏽
I am very interested in that rule as well. Here in Southern California it seems like its 90/10 with 10% set aside for "affordable housing." The definition of affordable housing here is important as well. A developer that I photographed a project for had a few units in a building set aside as affordable units. I believe they were around 400sqft, renting for $800 per month, but you had to make less than $25,000 per year to be eligible. If you make $25,000 or less per year, $800 rent plus utilities will take up most of your income making it really not very affordable.
I believe the social/affordable housing in Amsterdam is much less restrictive and instead takes into account a few factors like age, the kind of work they're doing etc.
@@jayspot8894 Agreed! A few years ago I looked into some of the affordable housing programs in my city. Most of them were only affordable if you were debt-free or hiding income. Even as a single person with only student loans I was priced out of affordable housing.
One question won't leave me alone: is the affordability issue not connected also to speculation? Are the existing apartaments in the cities rented and used efficiently, or rather kept empty to keep the rental fees / sales prices high, or maybe even higher and higher? Also Airb'n'b did some awful job in terms of skyrocketing the prices for regular city inhabitants. This is at least what I observe in some places in Poland :(
@Natalia Pięta Wielu polaków pracujących za granicą kupuje w Polsce za zaoszczędzone pieniądze mieszkania z myślą o wynajmie, a firmy kupują mieszkania ponieważ zakładają, że szybciej znajdą pracownika z zagranicy jeśli będą dla niego mieszkanie, i tym samym zatrzymają go na dłużej. Tym samym koło się zamyka, a ceny rosną. Miłego dnia.
@@29wik jasne. Ale to nie jedyny mechanizm ;) M.in. deweloperzy wykupują tańsze mieszkania z rynku wtórnego, żeby manipulować ich dostępnością = ceną. Inwestowanie w nieruchomości w Polsce na tle Europy jest też bardzo niskokosztowe, nieograniczone i nie ma mechanizmów, które by wymuszały "rozsądek" cen lub utrzymanie mieszkań "w ruchu" - np. dużo wyższy podatek od każdej kolejnej nieruchomości, regulowane stawki, etc. Po prostu brak zrównoważonej polityki mieszkaniowej takiej jak np. w Wiedniu czy Amsterdamie.
The 40, 40, 20 plan is very interesting. I also found the idea of having buildings designed for different stages in life. In the US it's all about $$$ and personal freedom which leads to separate and unequal lifestyles. Most SFH are a shade if beige with a front door that is only used to bring in packages. In SLC we have either SFH or apartment blocks, almost no two family or four unit bldgs.
When I watch video talking about affordable housing in big cities, I can’t help but to feel lucky that in Singapore, majority of the population lives in public housing, with community facilities, pedestrian centric features. I hope one day this channel pays Singapore a visit
A measure of an effective and compassionate society is how well the less fortunate are treated. I am so glad this episode is talking about the issue of social housing for those that need it.
Love this-small spaces don't HAVE to be unliveable if they're well thought out with the person at the centre of the design. I wish the UK government would see this series, and maybe find a way to put appropriate regulations and incentives (and disincentives for some things) in place that actually could HELP our insane housing crisis. I live in one of the cheapest area's of the country, and I still can't afford anything but the crappiest of housing. I would Very happily live in any number of the variations we see on this channel of well designed small spaces, especially the ones with community well thought out. Love the idea of ALL housing being designed for disability too!! Again looking at those apartments, it doesn't need to mean oodles of space if it's done well. I have ME and I would love to have housing designed for disability, but there is NONE! Like totally none. I actually live in a retirement community housing right now, and even that isn't designed with usability and disability in mind. Why not?? Our government must act. Because housing companies themselves here will not. Or they would have done so by now.
I’m really enjoying the new Small Footprint content! I hope these philosophies on architecture will become more of the standard rather than the exception. It’s refreshing to see the inclusive perspective that these builders are sharing. I find too often that people are getting priced out of their own neighborhood and the neighborhood they work in.
A ruse to get you to pay more for less. Greed is the issue. I’ve lived in two different apartments in Warsaw that were both 38 meters. One was in a planned estate from communist times the other was in a communist block in the absolute center of the city. While living in the center was more enjoyable, both apartments were cramped despite good storage. Keep in mind I live alone. I recently moved into a 51 meters squared spot in a central neighborhood, beautifully designed and it’s remarkable the change I feel inside. How was I able to do this? The landlord wasn’t interested in cashing in. PERIOD.
About time ...the main speaker in this. Shows that everyone is equal to one another. And everyone deserves the same or similar listings. Thanks for sharing. 👍great job
Those buildings in Amsterdam resemble many of the old-motels-converted-apartments in Melbourne, except that the ground level is usually occupied by carpark for the residents. The old concierge / office would either be fitted out as a small gym, or be turned into rather spacious entrance hall, and depending on the original style of the motel, the apartment block may have some shared features such as internal gardens or a laundromat. Some of the much larger scaled establishments would also have quite a number of apartments on the ground level with their own little courtyard gardens, and because Melbourne has grown so much over the years, these buildings tend to be in very desirable locations in / near the CBD, and they are generally 30+ years old. We lived in one such apartment for a few years, and it was nice to pass your neighbours on a much more regular basis during the day, even our cat got to meet the kitty living on the top floor one day, and he also had a number of adventures down in the courtyard garden :)
the problem of affordable houses also involves real estate speculation, because the house is in the city, people ask for more money because they know there is someone to pay because there is demand, perhaps because the house is in the city, you can only take a certain fee and the rest of the value by the size of the house
Am loving this new series. So fabulous seeing how other cities are addressing the issue with small space living and integrating people from all age groups and social backgrounds. Something that the UK seriously lacks the ability to do.
I really love this series. Every episode introduces unique solutions and perspectives, and makes me think about what is important to myself when it comes to housing and how I want to live for a more sustainable future.
This is a beautiful series. Social housing not on the fringes, density done right insteadof unendign suburbs. Al the questions that need to be addressed and answered. Colin has put together this wonderful series that all town planners, city architect...every one of us needs to watch and pay heed to. Thank you Never Too Small for this.
These new videos are excellent - expanding the conversation from "small is good" to how we can accommodate people in spaces designed with their needs, and the need for building community, uppermost in the design philosophy.
So inspiring to see people all around the world knowing what is the better way of living together in our cities. Sad to see on the other hand how many municipal governments don't give anything on such things helping to more and more disrupting our communities...
I look forward to your videos soooo much and you never fail to disappoint… hearing your thoughts and ideas about the future of housing in cities and the possible solutions for affordability and diversity gives me hope for the future - I HOPE & pray city planners and councils are sitting up and taking notice of forward thinking people like yourselves. Many thanks
Congrats NTS on this approach's new series. It is super necessary on this times to have the chance to buy a house, and it's mandatory for the parts to play like a team. Developments + Credits + Incentives, etc. PD> The 40/40/20 rule for new developments is huge and an example to be followed everywhere.
I hope people is finally waking up for a consistent solid concept of a "City": a living organism where each part has its role... the same should be for the Companies and any kind of human social organised group activity... 🙌
I wish we had more developers like that care to create a community rather just thinking of the money they can make off of people. Please come to Vancouver Canada! We need more affordable housing that resemble these co communities rather than bunch of high rises.
Very, very clever and caring words in this video ❤🤗 Thank you so much for sharing this important massage with all of us: We ARE one big family, and rasing the ones in most need, is raising all of us. So true ❤
Plenty of really interesting stuff here. However having got really into Oscar Newman's concepts of Defensible Space, the big flat expanse in the middle of the Amsterdam development seems way way too exposed to me - it relies on residents to buy their own plantpots/dividers/planters to carve out any sort of "patio" personal space, and even just one constantly-outside-smoking neighbour could make the whole area feel surveilled and unfriendly. Thoughtful, modular use of outdoor communal and semi-private spaces are so often shown on this channel, it's strange to see a development where the internal composition was so thoughtful but the landscaping is an afterthought.
I love this! I remember how I encountered this channel and it was just some architects from Australia and the videos were only getting a view thousand views, now it feels like an entire movement happening internationally! Keep it up NTS Team!
Housing is unaffordable because was growth among low and middle income groups has been low for decades and many nations have cut public housing programms.
I'm from Mexico, and omg, she's right, here, government and architectual design don't worry about space, about small footprints, a good quality life and comfort
Always admired the corten steel planters garden at the drill hall, never knew there was social housing right above, that is so cool. Interesting to learn that similar patterns are happening across countries, cities getting too expensive, residents being priced out and settle in mostly car dependent suburban sprawl with dull streets. Once suburbs become walkable and cbd like (e.g. Brunswick) they are always priced out for most buyers, which is probably where quality social housing needs to be normalise like in Vienna.
In 2012 we found ourselves (husband & wife, older couple) using less than half of the 180 sq m single family detached homes. Now we live in 50 sq m coop apartment in a block of 60+ units, for seniors over 55 years old. Having a Murphy bed and side cabinets in our BR/sitting room was brilliant.
Fantastic . New zealand facing same issues . Land expensive but large old buildings or schools not being used . Low income and single people finding it extremely difficult to find appropriate affordable housing that doesnt isolate or make them unsafe .
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A lot of food for thoughts! 💡I think that housing rules alone cannot solve the issues: at least in Europe, we have very concentrated super-cities, where EVERYTHING is: government power, better paid jobs, most of your friends, diverse activities, fast connections by trains. It's like it sucks in all activities from other cities. Wanna go from Paris 🗼 to Bordeaux 🍷 by train ? 2 hours 🚄. If on the other end you depart from Blois, a lovely small town that's actually closer to Bordeaux, count at least 3h when not 4h 🚂. And that's because we're this circle of building up the attractivity of super-cities when they are already struggling to house current inhabitants.
I really hope this concept reaches the states soon because it sounds like the perfect solution to affordable housing. I wish I was a developer to replicate this wonderful idea. I loved the apartments in the Netherlands. Hate the washing idea, I like doing the laundry in the comfort of my home. I'm going to send this video to my state government officials.
Wonderful discussion. It relates so well to so many things I have observed and read about. A couple I used to know, poor white medical student and his wife, happily lived in an affordable housing complex years ago in the Chicago area about 40 years ago. It was extremely diverse and actually good for the community. There is a book that I found titled, "Palaces for the People" by Eric Klinenberg, and it relates how social infrastructure can help all of us to connect more, to be part of our own community and to be more tolerant and kind with each other. I do think there is a way to blend urban planning, a growing desire for diversity and building to bring some of this to fruition.
Example /or place 1 at the rail line. Transit oriented development like Nightingale 2 can be a solution but it has some drawbacks most significant building in place with high noice pollution due to regular train services a kind of noice that is very unpleasant. This issue and the implications on health have to be taken into account. It requires special noise isolation that is fairly expensive but trade-offs like this can be made.
Vancouver has hundreds of people on wait lists for each building for affordable housing. People have no choice there but to move or live an hour out of town if they are lucky enough still to find a place to rent, let alone purchase. Minimum wage is $15 an hour and to afford to live you need like $23 an hour just to get the bare minimum. It’s really sad as a person born and raised in British Columbia to witness the income gap depth.
Individuals who fit the “low income” requirements can make a killing buying low and selling for huge profits...But only if they’re can get to the front of the line. Unfortunately, those managing the application process will be busy qualifying friends/family for the first crack at the “low priced” units.😭 Builders will often get government kickbacks for these “inclusive” projects.
The opportunity to develop small neighborhoods of affordable housing sounds good and has many positives. Unfortunately, when people do not maintain the beauty and upkeep for such developments with lack of awareness, discipline, and love these same communities may crumble. The culture of Canada is diverse, embraces very clean and orderly housing projects as a habit/lifestyle various cultures from around the world no matter the socio-economic status. Cultures with the mindset of loving community in action upkeep both personal residence and community as a common ground for sustainable living no matter race, religion or nationality. The United States has specific areas in which these type of developments may prosper and be of incentive for those in transition, retired or disabled. Hope we can see Canada as a possible blueprint for how many American communities may embrace diversity and at the same time create spaces for those who have the awareness of treating communities as clean spaces free of clutter, violence and pollution.
I was born and raised in Vancouver but I had to leave, it got way too expensive. My friends and I have salary jobs and still can't afford to rent a studio apartment, hell I know people who save up 100 grand and still can't put down a downpayment for a house. Vancouver and Canada in general needs to focus on making more affordable housing.
Define affordable. I live on the Age Pension and I have been forced to live four hours away from Melbourne. I would prefer to be close to my friends and family in the city. I am worried about living in a small country town with petrol prices going up. There seem to be no alternatives for people like me. I own my own place but it is not a standard house and if I sell I won't be able to buy a standard house or even apartment ... anywhere. So what is affordable in real terms? Pensioners can't even afford rent anymore. These developments still lock out people like me.
this series is phenomenal and really articulates ideas and strategies that have been in the back of my mind for sometime. i do wonder how affordable some of this affordable housing is, in the case of Melbourne. Nightingale for example, is still beyond the means of most first home buyers for example.
Love the format of this series. Are you approaching Australian councils, developers with your ideas as we now live in one of the most expensive realestate in the world, segregated by affordability? Very unfair. Greed and lack of foresight from developers has translated Into high rise blocks with tiny spaces, and no green areas. We are suffocated by cement and lack of community spaces. You bring really wonderful solutions.
The secret is keeping your cities flat. Dont build over 5 story buildings and make centers of interest and not just only one center. Basically contemporary cities are set up to fail for the middle and lower class if you want to have any kind of dignified living.
Having grown up in Chicago, I am very familiar with public housing programs, such as the Robert Taylor homes or Cabrini Green. The failure of these developments was the fact that they took inner city residents out of the ghettos and shuffled them into cell-block style highrises, without any socialization or education. So of course they simply turned their new dwellings into slums. These projects were notorious for being a hotbed of crime. But ultimately, their demise was the result of rising property values in surrounding neighbourhoods. As gentrification inched closer and closer, the land became too valuable to support public housing. The buildings were razed. The residents were forced to move out and hastily relocated to the suburbs. Now in their place are million-dollar townhomes. Most often, the reason for the lack of affordable housing can be blamed on developers who want to maximize their profits by catering only to the rich.
Melbourne has seen some very similar results from our older public housing programs here James. Thankfully we're in the middle of a huge construction effort to build better public housing that doesn't exclude people, we can only hope it works better this time!
Here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we face a similar situation with México. Affordable housing means small, poorly constructed, replicated buildings that are usually very far away from the city center. If you visit our city and only stay on the south/center zones, you will loose the experience of what Rio really is. The tourist are algo responsable for raising awareness of these situations. If you come to Rio, try learning ALL city history. Help us grow equaly as a city. Thank you.
I absolutely love the thought process and attitude behind all of this, but are these going to be government -run facilities (since they’ll be cheap and (hopefully) no private company is allowed to come through and jack it all up to make money)? If so, I see this going very poorly in many places in the world, especially America. Our government facilities (like foster care) are absolute shitholes, full of employees that don’t make enough to do what they do. Obviously having an apartment is better than being homeless period, but the whole point of this seems to be not only allow more people more opportunities, but to also give the lower class somewhere genuinely beautiful to live in. The worst part about places like the foster system and homeless shelters and even prison is that it’s all so ugly and worn down. Poor people deserve beauty too, and I do NOT see our government upholding that standard in these inner city apartments.
One important, perhaps the most important, element to this problem that is not addressed - the monumental amount of greed on part of the developers and speculators.
Affordable housing in America is only open to the very poor and thus middle class citizens are left out from living in the city with affordable rents. Only the rich and the poor can live in the city at this point. I just wish the price of housing to be more reasonable to where it’s only 20% of our income rather than it being more than 50% of our monthly income.
If I'm not mistaken, mortgage lenders in US have used about 28% of your gross income for housing expenses as threshold for making a home loan (after a down payment of 10 to 20%). That's a lot for too many people! 😬
For all those who are new here Welcome In case you feel this as being vague or not giving examples That is because this channel is experimenting with newer content that builds on the houses and ideas that have been previously showcased Please watch those too Especially the Nightingale buildings
