At a building industry trade show held last week, the new trend was for houses constructed with extra space for renters or extended family. In other words, depreciation comes standard.
Laura Kusisto provides a dispatch from the International Builders' Show held last week in Las Vegas. In a bit of trendspotting, Kusisto identifies an unexpected design concept that emerged during the show: roommates.
Kusisto focuses on the example of the concept for the New American Home, "that included nontraditional living arrangements to help ease families’ financial burdens." The New American Home is a staple of the show—this one was built by Las Vegas-based developer Element Design Build.
The 5,200-square foot home, perched on a hill overlooking the Vegas skyline, includes a second-floor unit that can house aging parents or recent college grads with shaky employment prospects. If necessary, the home, constructed by local developer Element Design Build, could even accommodate two families pooling their resources.
Another way of looking at the attention paid to configurations that would allow households to double up or even rent extra space: the industry is exhibiting concern for the affordability of houses on the market. Kusisto cites a lot of data about rising prices and additional data and case studies provided by other developers and home builders about the demand for such units in the market.
FULL STORY: New U.S. Homes Make Room for Airbnb Crowd
What Happened to the Tiny Homes Revolution?
Tiny homes were one of the hot button topics of the previous decade. In 2023? Not so much.
Short-Term Rentals Continue to Evade Regulations
City leaders around the world are struggling to control the short-term rental market, which many fear is jeopardizing the housing supply and displacing longtime residents.
Study: Vacation Rentals Compounding South Florida Housing Crisis
A new study suggests that short-term rentals are contributing to the region’s housing shortage and helping drive up costs for renter households.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
USDOT Revokes Approval for NYC Congestion Pricing
Despite the administration’s stated concern for the “working class,” 85 percent of Manhattan commuters use public transit to enter the city.
Tiny House Villages for Addressing Homelessness: An Interview with Yetimoni Kpeebi
One researcher's perspective on the potential of tiny homes and owner-built housing as one tool to fight the housing crisis.
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Investigation Reveals Just How Badly California’s Homeless Shelters are Failing
Fraud, violence, death, and chaos follow a billion dollar investment in a temporary solution that is proving ineffective.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research