CHPC - Citizens Housing and Planning Council

One Size Fits Some:
Taking a Fresh Look at the Housing Unit

Our Project

This project seeks to re-examine the housing unit. To advocate for changes in all regulations that relate to housing and space standards, so that they can better satisfy a 21st century population, in a 21st century sustainable city. See below for various CHPC features associated with this project:

One Size Fits Some International Symposium
This symposium brought together six housing design and planning experts from Tokyo, Barcelona, Leipzig, Montreal and San Diego, who shared their unique insight into designing and planning compact, shared, and flexible housing for real 21st Century households. See here for all reports and videos from this event.

Why should we care about this issue? (pdf)
Publication written by CHPC Executive Director, Jerilyn Perine and Policy Analyst, Sarah Watson

Fires and Illegal Occupancy

Background

Throughout the 20th century, New York City applied its innovation and zeal to eradicate appalling slum housing conditions. Pioneering reformers established housing laws and codes that transformed people’s lives. The regulations sought to establish a set of standards for our housing units; from the size to the shape to who should live together. These 20th century housing standards are still in place today.

The existence of such housing standards raises three key problems:

As standards favor larger units designed for families, more people are unable to afford the basic, legal, minimum standard.
Social trends, lifestyles, technology all change over time and affect housing need. If the legal standard fails to keep up with these changes, there are fewer legal, suitable, safe and secure housing options that follow needs.
New realities and goals emerge that need to be incorporated in the housing stock. The green agenda is an important example. 20th century housing standards did not incorporate the goal of energy efficiency or reducing carbon emissions.

The result can be seen in the housing pressures of New York City today. Hundreds of thousands of illegally occupied units (people living in non-residential spaces or sharing units in a way that contravenes the housing codes and laws); growing homelessness; an affordability crisis; and severe regulatory restrictions to developing smaller, denser, greener, more efficient housing types.

Useful Links

Tiny Homes of the Future
By Bendix Anderson, housingwatch.com, December 9 2009

Illegally Divided Homes Pose Dangers but Fill a Need
By Judith Kurens, Gotham Gazette, December 2009

Proposed: NYC Should Have Even Smaller Apartments
By Bendix Anderson, CityLimits.org, October 5 2009

How Shared Housing Can Mean Market Share
By Alec Applebaum, Faster Times, September 29 2009

Japan Society Weekly Newsletter
www.jetwit.com, September 21 2009

New York's Underground Housing
CHPC Urban Prospect, June/July 2003

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CHPC's letter of support for the MOA on the Local Brownfield Cleanup Program

Zoning Committee letter on the zoning proposal to allow car sharing

Brand New CHPC
in-depth report on NYC's Third Party Transfer Program

Inside Edge on June's Columbia University Eminent Domain decision