Upzoning usually means taller buildings. These are cheaper than houses, but still costly. But get rid of yard & parking requirements instead, and the bungalow court - a California invention from the early 1900s - may yet save us again. Thread 1/ 
Construction costs - and rents - have risen in California far faster than incomes. Even cheaper forms of new housing like 4plexes and co-living are out of reach for the working & middle class. Two types still within reach though: ADUs and Bungalows. 2/ mckinsey.com/~/media/McKins…
ADUs - also known as backyard cottages or in-law flats, are cheap since they're usually one story. When California revised its laws to make them cheaper to build, production shot up, and now 1 in 5 new homes in LA is an ADU. sightline.org/2019/04/05/la-… 3/
However, Accessory Dwelling Units have their limits. Not many homeowners want to be a landlord, so they're unlikely to deliver the tens of thousands of homes that booming cities need. Enter the bungalow court: it's basically a bunch of ADUs on one lot. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungalow_… 4/
Cost advantages of bungalow courts vs. midrise apartments:
- No stairs/hallways/elevators.
- Lower structural costs.
- No crane needed.
- More compact floorplans since homes have windows on both sides.
- Faster to build.
- Each unit cheap enough to be built without bank loan.
5/
- No stairs/hallways/elevators.
- Lower structural costs.
- No crane needed.
- More compact floorplans since homes have windows on both sides.
- Faster to build.
- Each unit cheap enough to be built without bank loan.
5/
Despite all these advantages, not to mention starring roles in Hollywood films, bungalow courts are rare these days. Parking and yard requirements made them illegal to build after the 1930s. Today, many are demolished for bigger buildings. la.curbed.com/2018/1/31/1586… 6/
Small-lot detached houses and townhouses remain popular elsewhere in the world though. All these homes in Tokyo fit in half an acre. In California suburbs, a half acre might only have 1-4 houses. 7/
Another example of high density, 1-2 story neighborhoods. This one's in Kabul, Afghanistan. Image by aka4ajax, from commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kabu… The key to high density at low-rise is narrow streets, and not wasting space on parking or front & side yards. 8/
Not only are bungalow courts cheap to build, they're also smol and adorbs. This one's in Alameda, CA.
Image by Jennvirskus, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exam… 9/
Image by Jennvirskus, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exam… 9/
So, how can we bring the bungalow court back? Parking lots on stripmalls are a great place to start. Zoning changes required:
- Allow residential use, no density limit
- Get rid of yard/parking requirements
but guess what: no change to height limits. Your zucchinis are safe! 10/
- Allow residential use, no density limit
- Get rid of yard/parking requirements
but guess what: no change to height limits. Your zucchinis are safe! 10/
There also needs to be more land zoned for apartments. Right now, it's so scarce that developers wanting to build highrises will buy up all the land. A broad but gentle upzoning would leave enough space for bungalow courts. 11/
Example of bungalow court - the first in 70 years - proposed in LA by a nonprofit. They estimated their costs to be 1/3 the cost of regular mid-rise apartments. la.curbed.com/2019/7/23/2070… 12/
Up until the 20th century, most towns would cover almost all their land with 1 & 2 story buildings built to the property line before going higher. This is a rentable floor area ratio of 1-2. It's surprisingly high density. Today's 6-story apartments rarely exceed 3. 13/
btw - if you want to add a couple ADUs to your house, @carla_org put together a how-to guide at carlaef.org/2019/10/09/how…
Now, an example of where bungalow courts aren't enough: San Francisco, with its combo of a huge job center & very little land within reasonable distance (who put downtown on the corner of a peninsula? 🤔). Places like that need highrise social housing to get to affordability. 14/
This topic wll be explored further in another thread, to be called "Why San Francisco Can't Upzone its way to Affordability (but the rest of California can)" 15/
meanwhile here is a previous similar thread, comparing the midrise 6-story apartments popping up across America to China's highrise towers in a park. 16/
as promised, here's the thread on San Francisco's unique conditions.
