New apartments and condos can house more people on less land, are cheaper to build, closer to downtown areas, and have better fire safety ratings than single-family homes according to says a new study from Pew Research.
Such benefits include cutting commuting times, reducing the home's energy consumption, and making it easy to access facilities.
"Multifamily housing can boost economic opportunity and foster growth while improving affordability; by increasing the availability of housing near jobs, stores, and transportation, it can also reduce commute times, traffic, energy consumption, and water usage," says Pew.
Pew argues that apartments can also address the current housing shortage and record homeless levels.
More NIMBY Zoning Prejudice
Some examples are:
- Public servants like police officers, firefighters, and teachers, can't afford to live in the communities they serve.
- Long commutes clog public roadways.
- Housing is especially difficult to find for low-income and minority persons.
- The elderly can't find suitable housing near their children.
Sounds familiar? It's extraordinary that this list was written 34 years ago, yet describes precisely many of the unaddressed problems that are still with us.
In the Event of Fire, You're Safer in Multifamily Housing
One key aspect of the Pew report addressed the unjustified fear that many have of being caught in a fire in an apartment block or condo. It may be that, sometime in the past, such fear was wholly justified.
However, since 2000, fire safety standards have greatly improved. Those living in buildings with self-closing doors, fire-safe materials and sprinklers should still take fire very seriously.
But they should be aware that while roughly 6% of Americans live in apartment buildings built after 2000, only 1% of all fire deaths in 2023 occurred in those buildings, according to Pew.
Yes, residents in modern multifamily housing really are six times less likely to die in a home fire than those living in single-family homes or older apartment buildings.
