When you look at American apartment architecture it is just a slightly fancier version of the style that everybody used to make fun of in the old Soviet Apartment Complexes. It's ironic that world's greatest proponent of free market economics has decided to basically emulate the Soviet model (I won't call it communism because true communism was never practiced in the USSR) for apartment construction. To be fair the multiple staircase rule is not necessarily a bad thing since it's part of the fire code mandated multiple access points in case of emergencies. There's actually no reason why larger bulkier apartments can't be modeled to at least look like the smaller apartment buildings of cities like Amsterdam. But doing that would cost a lot more money and EVERYTHING in this country always comes back to figuring how to build the cheapest product possible and then sell it for the most money possible.

Stairs, stairs, stairs. A lot of what was shown didn’t include elevators. All good except for people with disabilities, the elderly and families with young children. I support densification and building this type of housing but they need to be accessible to all of us.

So instead, they're building Townhouses that are 4 and 5 stories high with only one staircase. SMH

Shared Density's idea at 5:17 is cool, and Talus House at 5:33 is cooler, but the architects at hieraKEY clearly have no idea what "community" means 5:44. No adult ever wants to walk on those things more than once, but you know who does? Kids. Most of these buildings could be better than ones we have, but they're all mostly modernist ugliness. Why do no architects design good looking buildings instead of boxes? They had a contest to remove all constraints and the designs all maximized floorspace. Guess aesthetics are done with.

SFU MENTIONED 🍁

What's going on? Liberals and their overuse of rules. EVERY. FREAKING. TIME.

Seattle doesn’t have the authority to ease that requirement. It’s required under national law (the NFPTA)

Just to remind North-Americans that Amsterdam (and the Netherlands as a whole) hasn't become the biking capital of the world overnight. It's taken more than 40-50 years, and is STILL being updated to this day. You don't need to tear up the entire city to make way for bikes, just update the roads that require maintenance with safer bike infrastructure And to add to it, cycling doesn't need to be done with a racing bike, as evident by the B-roll footage

We damned well better keep this requirement. Less than two separate staircases are a fire hazard.

I go to a private school thats like a 10 minute drive away and i have another school really close and i been thinking on switching there idk should i switch?

0:50 this isn't just a problem in the US, it's a problem everywhere. The Netherlands has the same issue. I've seen 4 apartment complexes go up around me, and only ONE was labelled as social housing/affordable housing. All the others have been "luxury apartments." One of the towers even had the gal to put up a banner saying "just done with your study and want a place for yourself? Check out these luxury apartments."

Honestly if I ever get enough cash, I'd wanna do smth similar to this. The whole idea of maximizing profit has fcked over the world and at this point gotta end. Like I'm all for free market trade, but certain industries are NOT suited for it and shouldn't be Milton Friedman'd into oblivion

As to adding more housing, the solution is to go into areas which currently have no houses. It's much cheaper too.

It causes bigger apartments so obviously the same should be exported to Europe, not fought against. What you want to live like an animal in a small stable?

democracy is dangerous when not outright fake. if 1 person manages to gain power and influence over 51% of the voters, is that really democracy?

One thing that would help to change as well is the personal/societal expectation/demand that one "must have" an SFH. Create more larger/family condos and apartments and make them desirable places to live. My late grandparents moved back to Europe for retirement, and they lived in a mixed-age condominium. Their were families. The building itself didn't have a courtyard but there is a public park nearby and plenty of walking trails. My grandparents rented a garden plot for growing veggies and fruits, while their health allowed. Full disclosure: I own a detached home as of 2023. I am not in a rich/crazy-overpriced city. In Vancouver or Toronto a comparable house would have fetched roughly 5x the price, about $2 million! It has a basement suite and lacks a backyard. I grew up on a farm with a large yard so that was my biggest hesitation when putting an offer on the home. I have a nice deck and am across the road from a large city park. I'm in walking distance of a skating rink, swimming pool, several eating/drinking establishments, and a school so not having a "private backyard" doesn't seem so bad.

I live in Richmond where nonprofit or coop housing is terrible. But Vancouver coops won't take people who don't already live in Vancouver😢

No one should be able to own more than one residence. Housing is a human right.

I’ll tell you why I’m so many ways: because the people who look like the host (only richer and from China) keep going to Vancouver and buying up the property then pushing around local government to keep it that way for them. I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking. Also, look at the race of the mayor. Enough said.

How did they get approval to remove so many units in kits and replace them with these 3 homes? That’s wild.

I’m curious with all regulations are here why? Because builders keep cutting cost and safety? Do they not understand the regs and have to redo work? Like what is the real problem with regulations and how can it be addressed without simply cutting regulations?

I demand all buildings have safety slides, for quick escapes...and fun!

Luckily, we have no lack of land in the USA.

Toronto condo builders only build for investors. The apartments are tiny and generally suck. Any alternative could easily be better.

The problem.with wrapping around single stairwell is thst you forgot about lift/ elebatora

Great video. I retired in Thailand. I am happy here. My living expenses in Thailand are very low. 1. Housing - Condo fully furnished that is a five-minute drive to the beach, the rent is $207 + elec & water $105 = $312/month, (I have a video of the Condo) 2. Food - I eat out all the time - $360 (shrimp fried rice with vegetables and an egg = $2.05) 3. Vehicle - 2022 Honda ADV 150 rental - $160 4. Debts - I do not pay others for money I do not have. 5. Care - Hair cut -$3, other stuff - $20 6. Insurance - Health $145 (I am over 60) $250,000 policy 7. No pets 8. $25 - googel phone 9. Gas - I fill up about once every 3-4 weeks Scooter $20 10. Sevices - $40 (my Wifi speed is 927mb/s down, 513 mb/s up, $19/month) Total = $1,082, I live in Pattaya Thailand I did not include entertainment. You live next to the beach; you can get a beer in a bar on the beach for $2.50. PS I paid $2,600 for my Custom Matalic Lamborgini Orange Honda ADV 150, so I do not have a scooter Payment. You can buy a condo like mine for $30,000. If you take the condo and scooter price out it is Total = $715 The Thai people are great (land of smiles). Crime is very low; so low I do not worry about it. I left my phone on my motorbike for four hours. When I came back it was still there (I have done this twice so far).

I've been watching the housing market closely, Prices have been skyrocketing for years. It's going to be tough for first-time buyers to enter the market." how can one diversify $280k reserve .

Parking is extremely important. Just ask any New Yorker. You can't add dozens of cars to a street without penalty.

Nobody wants to live in multi-family housing. Ugly, noisy, crowded, and less private.

The pictures from Auckland are exactly what most people who live in single detached housing dread. You buy a nice home in an average area (or maybe even expensive considering these million dollar price tags) and suddenly your view is a 3 story wall that blocks the sun and there are 12 cars on your once calm street. Lots of locals have fought against removing these restrictions because they moved to their neighborhoods for a reason. Not only that but these dense set ups often lead to widening of roads and cutting down trees/existing greenery. I’m just glad I live in the middle of nowhere 😂 Give me all the house with far away neighbors and almost zero car sounds 🧘🏼‍♀️ 🌲🌿

Even your CHEAP rents are horrendously high. What do you guys make? 100k a year?

Russian guy here, we have quite an experience with apartment buildings 😂 Although most of our panel houses are large, they still offer one staircase for one entrance, no matter the height, so flats could be in pretty much any configuration) in more modern ones stairwells are separated space for fire safety

“Why weren’t there many development applications between Jan 2020 and 2022??” Hmm gee I wonder what might’ve happened between Jan 2020 and 2022 that might’ve stalled development… hmm Nope. I’ve got no idea at all. I can’t think of a single thing that happened during that time that might’ve stalled business growth or construction development at all! The lockdowns? Nah! The global shipping crisis resulting in skyrocketing timber and building materials? Nah! Russia’s “special operation” into Ukraine thusly setting new highs for cost of oil and gas, which always leads to more expensive everything because everything is transported and/or made with gas? Nah! You know what… I have no clue what could’ve slowed things down economically or dinted the construction industry at all between January 2020 and 2022. Nothing at all. They were perfectly normal years. Nothing to see here, comrade.

People will pin point at corporations for their problem (not entirely wrong) but would never consider the government influence to the corporations decision

public hearings are attended by people who don't want any change, because for them life is good as is. Otherwise they wouldn't be living the comfortable life that grant's them the time to attend a public hearing.

Can't believe $2000/month for 2-bedroom is considered affordable. Smart young man.

I agree, in Europe much more family friendly apartments. Many apartments in Europe are the size of our penthouses, 4 units per 1 block floor instead of 8-12 units.

The problem with democracy the video

Yea, more crime riddled areas in the cities, if we keep stacking renters on top of renters nothing go9d can happen! Cities are no place to raise children!

I think there should be a public hearing about publlic hearings.

You gotta love how he acts as if the costs are the same to build it without a profit incentive vs with a profit incentive. Realistically, it would jump from $1900 to $3000 to build or more.

What he fails to mention is how a non profit is able to obtain funding and why on a larger scale such a model doesnt work. Just because I am a higher wage earner doesnt mean i am going to apy for you mate

Ban public hearings tbh

in China ，the code is residential buildings which have more than stories,need 2 stairs. Most of the residential buildings in China alike the last residential building represented in this video

Excellent video. Luxury Housing is a very misused term that does not help anyone understand the crisis we’re in. We need more housing, and the only housing that can be built because of costs need to be very expensive. Build build build until the prices come down.

Outlaw zoning laws with the exception that industrial infrastructure be separated from mixed urban/commercial areas

But wait what’s up with this project now?

It was just dressed up gentrification

I like that while you opened up with the "developers are greedy" argument, you didn't stop there. You dug deeper into the breakdown of costs to illustrate the broader picture. Most arguments I see when the topic of discussion is price stops at "the producer is greedy" and everyone just echo chambers from there.

That first rule doesn't even make things safer because if you make the building footprint as big as you want as long as it has two staircases, you just have to go further to get to one of the two staircases which means you're more likely to die of smoke inhalation before you get there.