3 ms·

Tearing down old units is not enough. The construction works need to actually increase the overall housing stock. If old tenement buildings disappear and are re

Tearing down old units is not enough. The construction works need to actually increase the overall housing stock. If old tenement buildings disappear and are replaced by oversize luxury apartments the overall stock goes down and the situation for the poor is made worse.

thrownaway2424 11y ago
That trend has been going on in SF for a long time. Dwellings are getting larger steadily over many decades, and the number of people who live in a dwelling has been getting steadily smaller.
- greggman 11y ago
  Do you have any links that show this research?
  - thrownaway2424 11y ago
    The census tracks people per household. In 1940 this stood at 3.08. In 2010 it was 2.26. A "housing unit" built today simply doesn't hold as many people as it once did.
    - greggman 11y ago
      Isn't that the opposite of what you posted above? I thought you were claiming dwellings are getting bigger in SF. My intuition is that they are getting smaller. The old houses are all subdivided. The new apartments are all small. The exception is some large lofts in SOMA but there are plenty of tiny lofts in China Beach, 5th and Mission, 8th and Mission, 10th and Market. I'm not saying the average is smaller since I don't have any data only personal observation. It sounds like your extrapolating that 2.26 people are getting more space than 3.08 people were before?
      - thrownaway2424 11y ago
        Dwellings are getting bigger. All the new construction is larger than average for the given number of bedrooms. Dwellings are larger, and fewer people are living in each of them. Both of these factors are headwinds for the housing market.
raldi 11y ago
Old tenement buildings do not disappear, at least not in the Mission: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11092556 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11092556

3 ms·

Tearing down old units is not enough. The construction works need to actually increase the overall housing stock. If old tenement buildings disappear and are re

by gradstudent 11y ago

thrownaway2424 11y ago
That trend has been going on in SF for a long time. Dwellings are getting larger steadily over many decades, and the number of people who live in a dwelling has been getting steadily smaller.
- greggman 11y ago
  Do you have any links that show this research?
  - thrownaway2424 11y ago
    The census tracks people per household. In 1940 this stood at 3.08. In 2010 it was 2.26. A "housing unit" built today simply doesn't hold as many people as it once did.
    - greggman 11y ago
      Isn't that the opposite of what you posted above? I thought you were claiming dwellings are getting bigger in SF. My intuition is that they are getting smaller. The old houses are all subdivided. The new apartments are all small. The exception is some large lofts in SOMA but there are plenty of tiny lofts in China Beach, 5th and Mission, 8th and Mission, 10th and Market. I'm not saying the average is smaller since I don't have any data only personal observation. It sounds like your extrapolating that 2.26 people are getting more space than 3.08 people were before?
      - thrownaway2424 11y ago
        Dwellings are getting bigger. All the new construction is larger than average for the given number of bedrooms. Dwellings are larger, and fewer people are living in each of them. Both of these factors are headwinds for the housing market.
raldi 11y ago
Old tenement buildings do not disappear, at least not in the Mission: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11092556 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11092556