Allison Arieff, former editor of Dwell, offers a commentary in the New York Times on the need for a new American Dream when it comes to housing.
Even though there’s increasing demand for more diverse housing — especially smaller, more energy-efficient homes and multifamily units in more walkable communities — too many homebuilders are inexplicably committed to the status quo.
For many in the homebuilding industry, the current scenario is seen not as a call to action but as a temporary problem of the market (I found the same thing to be true in the world of shopping-center builders, who pine for — and fully expect the return of — a go-go consumer culture that is likely gone for good). To address current market realities, they don’t look to innovation but rather to an easier fallback strategy: a new marketing plan. …
… we can’t make any progress in housing until we stop thinking about the home as decorative object and begin considering it as part of a larger whole. How does it work on the street? In the neighborhood? How is it served by transit? Is it adaptable, allowing for the housing of extended families or the hosting of an entrepreneurial endeavor? Can the owner build an accessory dwelling (a.k.a. granny flat) to do so? (Most zoning, homeowners’ associations and CCRs don’t allow for it currently.) …
We’re beyond the point of a fresh coat of paint and a new sales pitch. If we’re going to continue to hold on to the single-family home, we need to transform it. There is a demand for smaller, more energy-efficient homes in less car-dependent neighborhoods; all aspects of the industry, from designers to lenders to planners to consumers, should meet it.
In this era of anti-government fervor, subsidizing the American Dream isn’t an option; transforming it is the only one we’ve got.
Nice post, I enjoyed reading it. I think you’re absolutely right about how people are going to shop differently from now on. Things like parking space, location, square footage of bedrooms, proximity to work, and quality of construction all matter much more today, things that current builders just don’t seem to consider anymore. Here in Las Vegas, we have a market flooded with buyers and terrible houses so that any time a decent house comes on the market it’s fiercely fought over (20+ offers on a house that’s only been on the market for a couple days).