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Analysts say commuting costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars in lost productivity, as well as the social cost of families spending less time with each other and in their communities.
Building more affordable multi-family housing closer to downtown could ameliorate some of the aesthetic, environmental and transportation challenges of urban sprawl.
The biggest missing piece in many cities is the affordability factor. With more condos, apartments and attached homes, the urban housing market could really take off.
Legislators and planners in many big cities have already made the call for more density.
In California, Gov. Jerry Brown wants to fast-track apartment and condo developments that include restricted prices for modest-income families.
In Seattle, proposed legislation would require 8 percent of units in new multifamily projects be affordable to people who make 60 percent of the area median income.
New York City, Providence, RI, and Austin, TX are experimenting with 260- to 360-square foot “micro-apartments” to deal with the growing number of small households.
Real estate professionals need to be at the forefront if and when these changes catch on.
Across the country, they’re developing the incentives for multifamily construction, undoing rules that restrict development, and persuading Americans that apartment buildings are good places to live.
Interspersing more small apartment buildings and condos with single family houses and shops makes downtown neighborhoods vibrant and diverse. Seen around the world, it creates an ambience people want to visit and live in.
Major cities from Tel Aviv to Tokyo have effected such zoning changes in urban planning, and high-density single family housing drives – and thrives – in their respective real estate markets.
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