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  "path": "/videos/stewarthicks-why-this-tiny-apartment-is-taking-over-american-cities/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-26T13:00:15.000Z",
  "site": "https://nebula.tv",
  "tags": [
    "Design",
    "Urbanism"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n**Why are apartments shrinking across America — and why does every tiny unit look exactly the same?**\n\nIn 2017, Chicago's first purpose-built micro-apartment building opened, and people couldn't understand why anyone would choose to live in 350 square feet. But since then, these tiny units have become the norm in cities across the country — renting for $1,000 to over $2,000 a month, roughly what a two-bedroom costs elsewhere.\n\nIn this video, I break down why micro-apartments all share the same oddly specific layout, why building them actually costs _more_ than larger units, and why the real story behind their spread isn't developer greed — it's a collision of plumbing logic, accessibility codes, zoning laws, and a massive demographic shift toward single-person households.\n\n**Topics covered:** — Why micro-apartment floor plans are essentially dictated by building codes — The surprising math of micro-unit development costs vs. revenue — How the average American household shrank from 3+ people to about 2.5 — Why 40% of Chicago households are just one person — What happened when Seattle tried to restrict micro-housing — The real housing types that are missing from American neighborhoods\n\n**Sources & further reading:**\n\nUrban Land Institute. _The Macro View on Micro Units_. Washington, DC: ULI, 2014.\n\nInstitute for Housing Studies at DePaul University. _The State of Rental Housing in Cook County_. Chicago: DePaul University, 2023.\n\nU.S. Census Bureau. \"Households by Type and Size: Chicago City, Illinois.\" _American Community Survey_ , 5-Year Estimates, 2022.\n\nParolek, Daniel. _Missing Middle Housing: Thinking Big and Building Small to Respond to Today's Housing Crisis_. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2020.\n\nGlaeser, Edward L., and Joseph Gyourko. \"The Impact of Building Restrictions on Housing Affordability.\" _Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review_ 9, no. 2 (2003): 21–39.\n\nSightline Institute. _Micro-Housing in Seattle: Policy Lessons from the Front Lines_. Seattle: Sightline Institute, 2016.\n\nJoint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. _The State of the Nation's Housing 2024_. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2024.\n\nNational Low Income Housing Coalition. _The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes_. Washington, DC: NLIHC, 2024.\n\nPew Research Center. \"Americans' Views of Housing Affordability and Supply.\" Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2024.\n\nKlinenberg, Eric. _Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone_. New York: Penguin Press, 2012.\n\nCity of Chicago. _Chicago Building Code, Title 14B: Chicago Zoning Ordinance_. Municipal Code of Chicago.",
  "title": "Why This Tiny Apartment is Taking Over American Cities"
}