In a triumphant victory for the producers of Hoarders, the city of San Francisco gave developers the go-ahead on Tuesday to enter a trial run of 375 “micro-apartments.”
At 220-square-feet, these Lilliputian dream homes were planned with the utmost efficiency in mind — space-saving hydraulic furniture, included — in order to follow the Board’s stipulations: Developers must allot at least 150 square feet to living space and bathroom and kitchen must be kept separate.
The tiny homes are marketed towards single adults who want to live in the city without breaking the bank. A current San Francisco complex with similar apartments, “SmartSpace,” is just barely roomier at 285 to 310 square feet and carry a price tag upwards of $US959 a month.
But San Francisco isn’t the only metropolitan city in the US thinking small. Back in July, NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to launch a pilot program for replicable micro-unit abodes.
If this is anything to go off of, these new glorified sleep pods will more likely attract young techies wanting to use the apartments for weekend getaways, a complaint posed by the more family-centric dwellers. Its factors like these that played into the Board’s decision to allow this on a strictly trial basis. Critics also voiced concerns about the potential for the pint-sized apartments to attract low-income families, which could decrease demand for family units.
Still, there’s just as many proponents singing the micro-apartments’ praises, and the need for affordable, compact living is becoming inescapable as city populations continue to grow. [Wired]
Image: Shuttershock, Pal Teravagimov