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Downsizing the McMansion: Study gauges a sustainable size for future homes:
What might homes of the future look like if countries were really committed to meeting global calls for sustainability, such as the recommendations advanced by the Paris Agreement and the U.N.'s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?
Much wider adoption of smart design features and renewable energy for low- to zero-carbon homes is one place to start -- the U.N. estimates households consume 29% of global energy and consequently contribute to 21% of resultant CO2 emissions, which will only rise as global population increases.
However, a new scholarly paper authored at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) assesses another big factor in the needed transformation of our living spaces toward sustainability -- the size of our homes.
The paper published in the journal Housing, Theory & Society makes the case for transitioning away from the large, single-family homes that typify suburban sprawl, offering new conceptions for what constitutes a more sustainable and sufficient average home size in high-income countries going forward.
The article surveys more than 75 years of housing history and provides estimates for the optimal spatial dimensions that would align with an "environmentally tenable and globally equitable amount of per-person living area" today. It also spotlights five emerging cases of housing innovation around the world that could serve as models for effectively adopting more space-efficient homes of the future.
"There is no question that if we are serious about embracing our expressed commitments to sustainability, we will in the future need to live more densely and wisely," said Maurie Cohen, the paper's author and professor at NJIT's Department of Humanities. "This will require a complete reversal in our understanding of what it means to enjoy a 'good life' and we will need to start with the centerpiece of the 'American Dream,' namely the location and scale of our homes.
"The notion of 'bigger is better' will need to be supplanted by the question of 'how much is enough?' Fortunately, we are beginning to see examples of this process unfolding in some countries around the world, including the United States."
Maurie J. Cohen. New Conceptions of Sufficient Home Size in High-Income Countries: Are We Approaching a Sustainable Consumption Transition? Housing, Theory and Society, 2020; 1 DOI: 10.1080/14036096.2020.1722218
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday March 10 2020, @03:54PM (2 children)
Miniaturization. My grandmother had an appliance the size of a small cube refrigerator, and all it was, was an AM radio. Didn't even have FM. Today, of course, a radio easily fits in a far smaller space. Now, we don't need books all along a wall of a study any more. Digitized versions can all fit on one flash drive. Same with the music collection. Lose the vinyl and the optical media. For some time now, the desktop computer hasn't needed to be the size of a kitchen sink. Flat screens have replaced the far bulkier tube monitors and TVs. Over the centuries clocks have shrunk from 6 foot tall grandfather clock size monstrosities to wristwatches to just another part of a smartphone. LED lighting fits in smaller spaces than incandescent, and doesn't burn or melt everything that gets too close.
Lot has already happened to make smaller housing possible.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 10 2020, @05:04PM
Yes, all this is a vital part of the solution for people in Hong King living in rented cages stacked one above the other.
For the fortunate rest of us, I think a basic amount of space so you're not bumping into other people is the greater driving factor.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Tuesday March 10 2020, @07:01PM