The Wall Street Journal reports that the “latest urban trend” is “less elbow room” as measured by an increase in accessory units and additional homes built on the lots once occupied by only one home. To illustrate this “trend,” the Journal had to travel to Vancouver, BC, which Wendell Cox ranks as second only to Hong Kong as the least affordable urban area in the English-speaking world.
That lack of affordability, in turn, can be traced to the region’s mindless pursuit of densification via urban-growth boundaries. In other words, this “trend” may actually be just a response to planning-induced housing shortages, not to any real desire of people to double up on individual home sites.
Consider, for example, some other evidence: the Census Bureau says that the average size of homes built in 2012 reached a record 2,340 square feet. More than 40 percent of homes are now built with four bedrooms. Even new condos have reached a record average size of more than 1,400 square feet. The average size of rental apartments, however, is a paltry 1,110 square feet.
