6 ms·

Not ideal, but a step in the right direction. We used to have SROs -- Single Room Occupancy -- units for singles, childless couples, retirees. We've torn down a

Not ideal, but a step in the right direction. We used to have SROs -- Single Room Occupancy -- units for singles, childless couples, retirees. We've torn down about a million of them since WWII. We need to update the concept and bring it back in some fashion. If your life is online, you don't need that much space. You don't need rows of bookshelves when you can download kindle books. Founders of online businesses are notorious for dressing down and often have no need to dress to impress.

poorbutdebtfree 3y ago
SROs became airbnb private rooms listings, which were hilariously neutered in SF only after marginalized hosts in low income neighborhoods started getting a piece of the tourism pie.
trimethylpurine 3y ago
If your life is online you don't need to be in SF. There are plenty of third world countries to move to where Americans won't be ashamed to call you a compatriot.
hardcopy 3y ago
Relevant book http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6j49p0wf/ http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6j49p0wf/
kranner 3y ago
More than a step, this oversteps the mark by quite a bit. A human being shouldn't have to live in a space that small. I can't imagine it not screwing up anyone's mental health when just looking at a picture of it is giving me an anxiety attack.
- strangesmells02 3y ago
  I think they just sleep at it and there's huge common areas they can actually live in for the most part like a Navy ship.
- Retric 3y ago
  These are basically just individual dorm rooms with communal living spaces. At 700$/month you can also afford a place outside of SF. Perfect for someone working 4 days a week who wants to commute well outside the city for the other 3.
- DoreenMichele 3y ago
  Well, I don't entirely disagree with you (about it overstepping the mark). But I also think you are exaggerating the negatives here. I would like to see SROs updated. This is not that.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  > More than a step, this oversteps the mark by quite a bit. A human being shouldn't have to live in a space that small. I can't imagine it not screwing up anyone's mental health when just looking at a picture of it is giving me an anxiety attack. It works well in Tokyo. These are common housing for kids who might only have part time jobs at convenience stores.
  - xkekjrktllss 3y ago
    > It works well in Tokyo. These are common housing for kids who might only have part time jobs at convenience stores. By this logic, homeless encampments under freeway underpasses work well in the US. They are common for people who can't afford anything else so why fix what's not broken?
    - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
      Actually housing, even if small, works better than homeless encampments. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - xkekjrktllss 3y ago
        Then why do so many people use homeless encampments instead of houses?
- BurningFrog 3y ago
  > A human being shouldn't have to live in a space that small. The moral instinct that opposes renting out beds like these, but has no reaction to people sleeping on the street (because no one gets paid) is fascinating!
  - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
    That's making a pretty big assumption about the poster and their views.
    - fragmede 3y ago
      The assumption is that people have thoroughly thought out positions on things that aren't full of contradictions. Something like this challenges each of us to figure out how to square the circle on our world views with how things are and how things should be.
    - BurningFrog 3y ago
      I don't know the poster specifically, of course, but this is a very common view. It's known, at least by its opponents, as "The Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics".
- krapp 3y ago
  Automation and AI are going to destroy the value of human labor (physical and mental) over the next several decades, and under capitalism, the market value of a person translates directly to the amount of calories they can eat and cubic feet of shelter they can afford. When your value to society is all but nil, it makes sense that your allotment of space is little bigger than a coffin. This is a quirky neo-bohemian thing for techies now but I can see it becoming commonplace under a pay-as-you-go no contract rental system in the future. Although I also think homelessness is going to be normalized in the future as well so this sort of thing won't look nearly as bad as the alternatives for most people when the climate change apocalypse really hits.
- HDThoreaun 3y ago
  Shouldn't have to pya $5k in rent either but here we are. People should be allowed to make tradeoffs that they deem beneficial.
strangesmells02 3y ago
Also parking for vans. A van is an awesome way to live if you can get parking. If you make the rent like 1000 a month for the space, it will keep the riff raff out. Put up a workspace and a some showers. If something like that happened it would start a movement.
- rm2040 3y ago
  Like this? https://www.kift.com https://www.kift.com
  - strangesmells02 3y ago
    Exactly like that! Ive spoken with them and that is a great group of folks! Im in their discord and I think theyre onto something huge. Theyre more targeted for remote though. I was thinking more along the lines of somewhere in the suburbs for people who need to go into the office. You could have 5000 square foot property and rent 10 van spaces at 1000 a month each. OR have a duplex at 3000 a month each for 6000 total. Plus for the landlord theres minimal maintenance.as vans are pretty off the grid. You could credit screen and do background checks...etc.to help keep the riff raff out. If the zoning would allow it I think it could be a real solution to housing.
    - rm2040 3y ago
      Gotcha. The other day I saw some RVs here by google: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZaPAEhWhnfW4Bn6XA https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZaPAEhWhnfW4Bn6XA I don't know the legal set up is but it's close to what you describe.
      - strangesmells02 3y ago
        Yeah, I'm assuming that's either some sort of city sponsored safe parking program or the cops get rid of them every now and then. I want a more upscale van life experience where it's working people and nice facilities.
  - kilolima 3y ago
programmarchy 3y ago
This reminds me of the “Architect from Pluto” scene in Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain. The architect reveals his new efficient apartment design: a matrix of coffins. He received a thunderous applause from his investors. [1] “A man doesn’t need a home. All he needs is a shelter. If we can sell him on the idea of a shelter, we’ll make millions.” [1] https://youtu.be/FASvJF21yXU?feature=shared&t=70 https://youtu.be/FASvJF21yXU?feature=shared&t=70 (contains nudity)
- defrost 3y ago
  Or more closely the sleeping pod scenes in Tokyo in Wim Wenders Until the End of the World (1991) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfFWBWKwQT8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfFWBWKwQT8 Just the trailer - it's a 5 hour film and hard to find the specific scene on youtube
  - tivert 3y ago
    > Or more closely the sleeping pod scenes in Tokyo in Wim Wenders Until the End of the World (1991) Can you give a more detailed description? Was just a run-of-the-mill Japanese capsule hotel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel)? Those were already common in 1991 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/glenhsparky/4820691940 https://www.flickr.com/photos/glenhsparky/4820691940), and would have been certainly exotically sci-fi to an early-90s American audience. > Just the trailer - it's a 5 hour film and hard to find the specific scene on youtube Wow. some time ago that film connected with me for some reason (why, I have no recollection), so I have a VHS copy (because it was unavailable in any other format). That cut is much shorter.
    - defrost 3y ago
      Wenders filmed scenes in Japanese capsule pod hotels of the time ... it's relative to be sure but IMHO these are closer to the rentable pods depicted in the article than the scenes from the Jodorowsky movie. The motivation here was admittedly to respond to one arthouse film drop with another. I'm kind of old and while not in the film and TV business I've been tangential enough to work as an extra, tech runner, location support etc for various productions - notably in Berlin for Wings of Desire and in Australia (where I live) for some of the central Australian location work for Until the End of the World. ( Australian band in Wings of Desire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPf6SWcENWo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPf6SWcENWo )
userbinator 3y ago
[flagged]

poorbutdebtfree 3y ago

SROs became airbnb private rooms listings, which were hilariously neutered in SF only after marginalized hosts in low income neighborhoods started getting a piece of the tourism pie.

trimethylpurine 3y ago

If your life is online you don't need to be in SF. There are plenty of third world countries to move to where Americans won't be ashamed to call you a compatriot.

hardcopy 3y ago

Relevant book http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6j49p0wf/ http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6j49p0wf/

kranner 3y ago

More than a step, this oversteps the mark by quite a bit. A human being shouldn't have to live in a space that small. I can't imagine it not screwing up anyone's mental health when just looking at a picture of it is giving me an anxiety attack.

strangesmells02 3y ago
I think they just sleep at it and there's huge common areas they can actually live in for the most part like a Navy ship.
Retric 3y ago
These are basically just individual dorm rooms with communal living spaces. At 700$/month you can also afford a place outside of SF. Perfect for someone working 4 days a week who wants to commute well outside the city for the other 3.
DoreenMichele 3y ago
Well, I don't entirely disagree with you (about it overstepping the mark). But I also think you are exaggerating the negatives here. I would like to see SROs updated. This is not that.
seanmcdirmid 3y ago
> More than a step, this oversteps the mark by quite a bit. A human being shouldn't have to live in a space that small. I can't imagine it not screwing up anyone's mental health when just looking at a picture of it is giving me an anxiety attack. It works well in Tokyo. These are common housing for kids who might only have part time jobs at convenience stores.
- xkekjrktllss 3y ago
  > It works well in Tokyo. These are common housing for kids who might only have part time jobs at convenience stores. By this logic, homeless encampments under freeway underpasses work well in the US. They are common for people who can't afford anything else so why fix what's not broken?
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    Actually housing, even if small, works better than homeless encampments. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - xkekjrktllss 3y ago
      Then why do so many people use homeless encampments instead of houses?
BurningFrog 3y ago
> A human being shouldn't have to live in a space that small. The moral instinct that opposes renting out beds like these, but has no reaction to people sleeping on the street (because no one gets paid) is fascinating!
- yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
  That's making a pretty big assumption about the poster and their views.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    The assumption is that people have thoroughly thought out positions on things that aren't full of contradictions. Something like this challenges each of us to figure out how to square the circle on our world views with how things are and how things should be.
  - BurningFrog 3y ago
    I don't know the poster specifically, of course, but this is a very common view. It's known, at least by its opponents, as "The Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics".
krapp 3y ago
Automation and AI are going to destroy the value of human labor (physical and mental) over the next several decades, and under capitalism, the market value of a person translates directly to the amount of calories they can eat and cubic feet of shelter they can afford. When your value to society is all but nil, it makes sense that your allotment of space is little bigger than a coffin. This is a quirky neo-bohemian thing for techies now but I can see it becoming commonplace under a pay-as-you-go no contract rental system in the future. Although I also think homelessness is going to be normalized in the future as well so this sort of thing won't look nearly as bad as the alternatives for most people when the climate change apocalypse really hits.
HDThoreaun 3y ago
Shouldn't have to pya $5k in rent either but here we are. People should be allowed to make tradeoffs that they deem beneficial.

strangesmells02 3y ago

Also parking for vans. A van is an awesome way to live if you can get parking. If you make the rent like 1000 a month for the space, it will keep the riff raff out. Put up a workspace and a some showers. If something like that happened it would start a movement.

rm2040 3y ago
Like this? https://www.kift.com https://www.kift.com
- strangesmells02 3y ago
  Exactly like that! Ive spoken with them and that is a great group of folks! Im in their discord and I think theyre onto something huge. Theyre more targeted for remote though. I was thinking more along the lines of somewhere in the suburbs for people who need to go into the office. You could have 5000 square foot property and rent 10 van spaces at 1000 a month each. OR have a duplex at 3000 a month each for 6000 total. Plus for the landlord theres minimal maintenance.as vans are pretty off the grid. You could credit screen and do background checks...etc.to help keep the riff raff out. If the zoning would allow it I think it could be a real solution to housing.
  - rm2040 3y ago
    Gotcha. The other day I saw some RVs here by google: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZaPAEhWhnfW4Bn6XA https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZaPAEhWhnfW4Bn6XA I don't know the legal set up is but it's close to what you describe.
    - strangesmells02 3y ago
      Yeah, I'm assuming that's either some sort of city sponsored safe parking program or the cops get rid of them every now and then. I want a more upscale van life experience where it's working people and nice facilities.
- kilolima 3y ago

programmarchy 3y ago

This reminds me of the “Architect from Pluto” scene in Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain. The architect reveals his new efficient apartment design: a matrix of coffins. He received a thunderous applause from his investors. [1] “A man doesn’t need a home. All he needs is a shelter. If we can sell him on the idea of a shelter, we’ll make millions.” [1] https://youtu.be/FASvJF21yXU?feature=shared&t=70 https://youtu.be/FASvJF21yXU?feature=shared&t=70 (contains nudity)

defrost 3y ago
Or more closely the sleeping pod scenes in Tokyo in Wim Wenders Until the End of the World (1991) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfFWBWKwQT8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfFWBWKwQT8 Just the trailer - it's a 5 hour film and hard to find the specific scene on youtube
- tivert 3y ago
  > Or more closely the sleeping pod scenes in Tokyo in Wim Wenders Until the End of the World (1991) Can you give a more detailed description? Was just a run-of-the-mill Japanese capsule hotel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel)? Those were already common in 1991 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/glenhsparky/4820691940 https://www.flickr.com/photos/glenhsparky/4820691940), and would have been certainly exotically sci-fi to an early-90s American audience. > Just the trailer - it's a 5 hour film and hard to find the specific scene on youtube Wow. some time ago that film connected with me for some reason (why, I have no recollection), so I have a VHS copy (because it was unavailable in any other format). That cut is much shorter.
  - defrost 3y ago
    Wenders filmed scenes in Japanese capsule pod hotels of the time ... it's relative to be sure but IMHO these are closer to the rentable pods depicted in the article than the scenes from the Jodorowsky movie. The motivation here was admittedly to respond to one arthouse film drop with another. I'm kind of old and while not in the film and TV business I've been tangential enough to work as an extra, tech runner, location support etc for various productions - notably in Berlin for Wings of Desire and in Australia (where I live) for some of the central Australian location work for Until the End of the World. ( Australian band in Wings of Desire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPf6SWcENWo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPf6SWcENWo )

userbinator 3y ago

[flagged]