There's a widespread NIMBY view that small apartments are part of a "race to the bottom," and by enforcing a high minimum standard for living space, we can make

There's a widespread NIMBY view that small apartments are part of a "race to the bottom," and by enforcing a high minimum standard for living space, we can make all families better off. But of course, if you're in the market for a small apartment, you're not getting a large-lot single family home to yourself. You're getting a roommate situation in one. Five commuting adults in a house is arguably a worse strain on infrastructure than a small apartment building would have been.