5 ms·
City of San Francisco says it's illegal to live in a box
- polishninja 11y agoIt looks like that box would be a death trap if there was a fire.
- entee 11y agoFirst of all, why not build the walls to the top of the ceiling? Seems like so much vertical space could be used! Second of all, how long can this last? People criticize the tech economy for causing displacement and surely that's happening. But even people making extraordinarily good livings can't afford to live alone. Eventually, people will be unwilling to spend more than 50% of income on rent isn't sustainable. It seems to already be happening: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11196718 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11196718 I wonder if this is just the peak and soon there will be some form of return to rationality.
- nradov 11y agoBuilding walls to the ceiling would require a building permit. Which the county wouldn't grant because it would be hazardous and violate the building code.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- pjc50 11y agoThis may be the new normal. It's certainly the future predicted to us in Stand on Zanzibar.
- brudgers 11y agoBuilding codes in the US typically require minimum dimensions for habitable spaces. These minimums reflect experience developed over the millenia and the requirement that laws and regulations have objective criteria and that governments generally apply them uniformly.
- grahamburger 11y ago> And then Berkowitz mentioned his plan to a friend living in a three-bedroom apartment with four other roommates and a spacious living room. 6 adults living in a 3 bedroom apartment? Seems crazy I don't think I could do it.
- anon4 11y agoMost college dorms have two people per room, so if you've just graduated, this won't be anything you're not used to.
- tomjacobs 11y agoRents in SF are out of control. https://medium.com/@TomPJacobs/what-housing-crisis-3c0568a5dd44 https://medium.com/@TomPJacobs/what-housing-crisis-3c0568a5d...
- ryao 11y agoJapan has capsule hotels that reduce costs through better space efficiency and the weird hotel that reduces costs through automation. If someone were to make a startup that combines the two, they could solve San Francisco's problem of high rent.
- bruceb 11y agoNot exsctly the same. Those are for short over night stays mostly. Also you are sleeping a tube but the end is covered with a drape. That being said, some micro apartment progress could be made in SF
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- brador 11y agoSan Franciscos problem is building restrictions not high rent. Most of that is from the investor who owns a high % of property in san fran and his weight in the city. With building regs like other cities we'd have skyscrapers to accomodate everyone who wants to live here at reasonable cost.
- seanp2k2 11y agoThe problem with that theory is: name a city where one can rent in a high-rise affordably.
- brador 11y agoFor that to not be a trap you'd have to define affordably as a percentage of income.
- brianwawok 11y agoChicago. Very easy to high-rise as a software dev for 25% or less of income.
- galfarragem 11y agoMoving out from San Francisco would be a simpler solution.. This guy is having dificulty to think outside of the box..
- x5n1 11y agoIt would if you could just take your job with you to mexico you could live for 1/3 the cost with better weather. Here you go, just 8 hours away, only $450/mo. 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment Much better than a box. http://www.vivanuncios.com.mx/a-renta-inmuebles/tijuana/se-renta-departamento-en-la-colonia-juarez-450-dlls/1001179080920910691627409 http://www.vivanuncios.com.mx/a-renta-inmuebles/tijuana/se-r...
- 1024core 11y agoMore power to him! Saving money when you're young is a great attitude to have. When I hear that 50% of Americans have less than $1000 in their savings accounts, I can only shake my head in despair.
- jkmcf 11y agoI'm kind of surprised people haven't built more dorm-like apartment buildings with more shared spaces, especially in NYC where people spend a lot of time out of their apartments.
- brudgers 11y agoIn the US there are typically legal limits on how many people can be crammed into buildings and rooms. Those limits are based on experience in general and those of fire and rescue personnel in particular. Unlike many laws and regulations, those governing buildings tend to be more data driven than is common. The trigger for technical and empirically driven building and land development regulations in the US was the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. Much of the data on human safety in buildings was drawn from the insurance industry's actuarial and claims data. Many of the improvements in life safety driven by that industry, e.g. UL is "underwriters laboratories" and the National Fire Protection Association [NFPA] is funded by the insurance industry but it's technical documents are based on consensus with professional fire fighters.