McMansions

In the face of a recent report showing that sprawl was rapidly eating up developable land in New Jersey, developers have begun to ditch the McMansion in favor of taller and more dense projects.

October 11, 2010 - The New York Times

Edward L. Glaeser says that the government policy of encouraging homeownership through tax breaks subsidizes Americans to buy bigger homes which waste energy.

May 8, 2010 - The Boston Globe

New studies show that long commutes are significantly detrimental to people's happiness. So why choose the bigger house outside of town over the smaller house? Jonah Lehrer talks about the "weighting mistake" theory.

April 14, 2010 - ScienceBlogs

Builders John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods, hit hard by the downturn, is meeting consumer price points by creating compact home designs instead of the 4,700 sq. ft. homes that were their bread and butter.

November 15, 2009 - The Wall St. Journal

Author Kurt Andersen's new book describes the last three decades as a period of wanton growth, from homes to waistlines. He sees the economic bust as a way to return sanity and size appropriateness.

July 29, 2009 - Boing Boing

A survey of architects shows that a very low percentage of Americans are still clamoring for McMansions, indicating what may be a broad shift to smaller homes.

July 2, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

American artist Mike Bouchet constructed a full-sized replica of a standard American suburban home to float outside the Venice Biennale art exhibition. Instead, the house sank, suggesting new meanings for the artwork.

June 9, 2009 - AFP

A stalled and abandoned development along the Florida coast is being scouted by the Trust for Public Land as a possible site for "un-development" -- a return to its natural state as open space.

April 17, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

A new study from SMR Research Corporation reveals that people who live alone use 18% more energy than two-person households, and 30% more than three-person homes. McMansions are, or course, cited as big wasters.

January 9, 2009 - The Ground Floor

Fewer teardowns and new home starts back up the perception that the age of the McMansion is coming to an end.

January 6, 2009 - The Christian Science Monitor

Amid complaints of over-sized houses, officials in Seattle are considering enacting tighter regulations on the size of single-family homes.

July 2, 2008 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Despite the housing downturn, houses in excess of 20,000 square feet are still being built by the very wealthy — with no sign of a slowdown.

June 15, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Despite concerns about lowering property values across the city, the L.A. City Council moved to limit the size of newly constructed homes in older neighborhoods to about 4,000 square feet.

May 7, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

This video from CNN looks at a home being planned in Connecticut that will have 26 toilets.

April 25, 2008 - CNN

A New York developer is unveiling plans for a fleet of luxury homes that aim to comply with LEED environmental standards. But this article from The New York Times wonders whether that really makes the homes green.

April 12, 2008 - The New York Times

Stan Cox argues that the massive square footage of so many modern houses -- no matter how "energy efficient" the construction -- is a luxury the planet can no longer afford.

March 16, 2008 - Common Dreams

A recent ruling that upholds the right of local communities to control overbuilding may prove to increase the crackdown on McMansions -- and demand for design professionals and architects.

March 12, 2008 - Architectural Record

Local opposition to McMansions in suburban Seattle was prevalent long before arsonists burned down three luxury homes this week. But those opposed to so-called "rural cluster development" housing worry the criminal acts may work against their goals.

March 6, 2008 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer