Family-Sized Apartments Harder to Find in Dense Neighborhoods

“As former warehouse districts become playgrounds for college grads rather than toddlers and yesterday's streetcar suburbs become today's targets for institutional investors' portfolios, families searching for an affordable, three-bedroom apartment accessible to public transit have found them nearly impossible to find,” write Barry Greene Jr. in Streetsblog USA.

In part, this is because “Developers typically receive less money for square footage when building three-bedroom units.” But Greene also attributes this change to cultural factors. “Increasingly, we've noticed in our own area that families with young children are being erased from the marketing of new urban residential developments, which offer amenities like dog parks, pet washing stations and even ‘listening rooms’ for music lovers rather than playgrounds or kid-friendly pools.”

This doesn’t only apply to the parents of young children. “ I share this sentiment with families taking in aging parents for care, families who chose multigenerational living for their children, and families who rely on remote or hybrid work,” Greene adds.

Greene sees several policy levers that cities could use to support more family-oriented housing. “For starters, at the absolute minimum, cities should enact zoning reforms to make three-bedroom apartments legal to build in walkable, transit-oriented areas.” Greene also suggests development incentives such as tax abatements to combat what he sees as “a frightening trend” that pushes families and children away from vibrant urban neighborhoods.