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The author may be assuming a conclusion: does America need small apartments because they are cheaper, or are they not built because people don't want them, and

The author may be assuming a conclusion: does America need small apartments because they are cheaper, or are they not built because people don't want them, and low demand keeps down the price? His economy of scale argument cuts both ways. Putting a few more units in a city does not appreciably increase the strain on infrastructure and density, but it does much more so in the suburbs where he seems to want them. "Failures" in urban planning are not necessarily shortsighted blunders that arose out of nothing waiting to be found by journalists.

jhbadger 10y ago
One issue is that smaller apartment buildings just aren't going to have the amenities that make living in an apartment attractive. I live in a large apartment building which has a reception that receives packages while I'm at work, a well furnished gym, and a swimming pool. A tiny building with only a dozen apartments wouldn't have the economies of scale required for that.
- kortex 10y ago
  There are a lot of these crappy 6-20 unit apartment complexes around me. They have all the downsides and none of the upsides of renting. They are usually the price of larger apartments but with none of the amenities. I'd far prefer a larger complex with a pool, gym, and reliable maintenance.
- TillE 10y ago
  Luxury apartments will always exist, no need to worry about that. But plenty of people don't really need those things, and certainly don't want to pay for them. 99.9% of apartment buildings in Germany do not remotely resemble anything in Manhattan, and it works extremely well.
  - Arizhel 10y ago
    >But plenty of people don't really need those things, and certainly don't want to pay for them. Those things don't cost very much when they're shared by a couple hundred units. That's why non-luxury hotels can afford to have such amenities for rather cheap nightly prices. A gym, in particular, is dirt cheap: ~5 exercise machines at even $1k apiece (a high estimate) is still only $5k, which is roughly a month's pay for many people. Spread that one-time cost over 200 units and that's $25 per unit. You can probably expect those machines to last at least 5 years, so that's $5 per year per unit. Whoopee. Definitely not "luxury", unless you're used to 3rd-world living conditions.
mark-r 10y ago
The best apartment I ever had was in an 8-unit building. The city tore it down so they could put in a park.

jhbadger 10y ago

One issue is that smaller apartment buildings just aren't going to have the amenities that make living in an apartment attractive. I live in a large apartment building which has a reception that receives packages while I'm at work, a well furnished gym, and a swimming pool. A tiny building with only a dozen apartments wouldn't have the economies of scale required for that.

kortex 10y ago
There are a lot of these crappy 6-20 unit apartment complexes around me. They have all the downsides and none of the upsides of renting. They are usually the price of larger apartments but with none of the amenities. I'd far prefer a larger complex with a pool, gym, and reliable maintenance.
TillE 10y ago
Luxury apartments will always exist, no need to worry about that. But plenty of people don't really need those things, and certainly don't want to pay for them. 99.9% of apartment buildings in Germany do not remotely resemble anything in Manhattan, and it works extremely well.
- Arizhel 10y ago
  >But plenty of people don't really need those things, and certainly don't want to pay for them. Those things don't cost very much when they're shared by a couple hundred units. That's why non-luxury hotels can afford to have such amenities for rather cheap nightly prices. A gym, in particular, is dirt cheap: ~5 exercise machines at even $1k apiece (a high estimate) is still only $5k, which is roughly a month's pay for many people. Spread that one-time cost over 200 units and that's $25 per unit. You can probably expect those machines to last at least 5 years, so that's $5 per year per unit. Whoopee. Definitely not "luxury", unless you're used to 3rd-world living conditions.

mark-r 10y ago

The best apartment I ever had was in an 8-unit building. The city tore it down so they could put in a park.