Why North America Can't Build Nice Apartments (because of one rule)

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Urbanarium

[graemestevens]

Housing minister Ravi Kahlon literally just linked this video in his announcement that they are allowing single-staircase builds in BC starting the fall. Amazing work, Utae.

[Maxime_K-G]

In Belgium, apartment buildings also require two separate fire escapes, but one of them can be a window. Ladder access is required unless a fire truck can easily reach it. This explains why the two-stairs rule starts at 6 floors, that's simply the highest our biggest ladder trucks can reach.
The fire department always checks building plans before they get planning permission and local governments will basically always follow their advice. So depending on the place, there can be stricter limits. Buildings with a higher fire risk like student dorms for example always have stricter fire regulations.

[Old.Man.Of.The.Mountain]

When I lived in Boston's North End, my appt building had a deck on the roof overlooking the waterfront. This allowed tenants to socialize in the evenings without any invitation of sort. My friends could also drop by and hang out with me on the rooftop. I felt that, mentally, we were better off for it. If I had to meet friends outside somewhere else in the city, it would almost always feel like we had to spend money and transportation cost to make it happen.

[LucasBenjamin-hvsk]

The issue is that either the renter or the owner must in some way pay insurance and property taxes if they want a "permanent roof" with utilities like electricity, gas and water. Because of this, many people—at least in California, where I currently reside—are living in tents. No taxes, rent, mortgages, or insurance. The number of people who tell me they live in their car that I meet amazes me. Its crazy out here!

[nimeshinlosangeles]

Oh man, the hotel analogy is too true! All the new luxury apartments in LA have these tiny units with windows on only one side going for $5, 000/mo rent, and when you open your front door, instead of being outside, you're in a (depressingly artificially lit) hallway. Each time I left a tour of a new apartment I thought to myself "I want to live somewhere that feels like a home, not somewhere that feels like they're just packing people in like a hotel - and certainly not for $5, 000/mo." Now I understand why I always had that feeling.

[GaryWinstonBrown]

We need to normalize a simple lifestyle and stop normalizing debt. Huge SUVs, huge houses and private universities are simply not necessary. I live within my budget and I sleep better at night knowing that if I lose my job tomorrow, ' be fine. I didn't buy the biggest house. I bought the one I could comfortably repay

[forgingluck]

As a former intern architect working on designing apartments in the USA, yes, this is 100% correct. Thanks for covering it.

[moos]

I live in Germany and while we used to build the thin apartment buildings in the past nowadays it's very uncommon and most apartment buildings look like the american counterparts, rather large blocks. The reason is, that rarely individual persons build apartment buildings anymore like it was common in the past but now it's housing companies (some large ones owned by the state/cities) that build large apartment blocks and it's simply cheaper and more efficient to build a large block instead of 20 individual units.

[sarah-jayne]

I've watched A LOT of apartment videos (Never Too Small, Apartment Therapy, House & Home etc.) and in a million years I never would have guessed that the apartment at 10:07 was in Seattle. My first thought would have been somewhere in Europe or Latin America.

I've gotten so used to seeing a certain layout in modern buildings in North America and I didn't realise it was window/staircase related until now. This video was such a fresh take and it's so interesting to see certain cities taking a different approach. Thanks for doing what you're doing!

[dutchcanuck]

I work in a building in Toronto with a scissor stair. The "long straight run" problem was solved by putting a small landing halfway down each staircase. So you only fall 7 steps max instead of bouncing down all 14. Units are positioned on either side of the stair box. Each unit has a 'front door' and a 'back door'. Each door opens into a big shared landing on each floor for the respective staircase. The front door of your unit is the door that leads to the staircase that leads down to the front door of the building. That staircase is rather nice looking. The 'back door' leads to the other landing, to the staircase that goes to the parking behind the building. It is very utilitarian concrete, like a fire stair. I think it's a reasonable compromise.

[regulaueli]

It's really wonderful to come across people who freely share valuable information online. You never know what kind of knowledge you might stumble upon that could have a lasting impact on your life.

[felisd]

I have lived in three-storey walls and now, in a two storey fourplex (with additional basement studio units). I like the solution they came up with for having two staircases: One in the front and one in back. No hallway connects the staircases; instead the staircases are separated and accessed through front and side/ back doors within the units. It means it is easier to have multi-br units with windows.

[yoohocho]

I like the material being presented in the recent episodes. Identifying regulations that unintentionally add additional costs and complexity to house construction

[densitydad]

This has been one of my favorite videos on this channel. Something of note; eliminating this rule could also help promote gentle density in areas where NIMBYs fear a big boxy, 4-story building would "ruin the character of their neighborhood". A 2-story building with one staircase could produce 10-12 units, significantly improving on housing stock while not setting off any alarms.

[JMcMillen]

Years ago I saw an interesting solution to the bedroom window requirement. I used to deliver appliances and TV's and one time went to this building where the apartment units themselves were two floors, with the living, dining rooms and kitchen on the lower floor, with the bedrooms on the upper floor. That meant both the bedrooms and living room could have an entire wall of windows.

[djtjpain]

This is very well put together. Investigative journalism that isn't seen too often these days in the mainstream media. I like how you take a position but look at the other side's as well - also not seen much these days. Thank you for your work!

[kubarwiszowaty]

Living in a Chicago walkup (and most buildings on my block being the same, roughly 3-4 stories) this staircase issue seems to be somewhat alleviated by having outdoor staircases attached at the back on the building. This being said, almost all Chicago blocks have alleyways in addition to the street so access is easier than other cities. Added bonus: Each unit in my building has a small outdoor space on the staircase landing where people set up small bistro sets, grills, and outdoor furniture in a mini patio setup. Not ideal, but my building was built in the 90s so compatible with the current building codes.

[Zantides]

One thing that keeps my brain twisted is why do so many appartment complexes have flat roofs with absolutely nothing on top. Imagine the social area they could've built up there.

[michaelelliott]

I think this illustrates a great point that applies across multiple areas (building codes, laws, lending rules, insurance guidelines, etc.) - which is that there should be a review on a regular basis to see if they are still necessary/applicable. Every code/law/rule should have an automatic cycle of review (every 5-10 years from the date of passage perhaps) to determine if it's still accomplishing it's intended purpose. Those that are not should be revised or repealed.
There are so many codes/laws/rules/guidelines in place where people do not even know their original purpose.

[TheMcChesneys]

5 main issues: Fire safety, Most families do not want to raise a family in the city. Single family homes property values fall drastically when multi family apartments move in near by. Parking issues. The cost of construction for brick, stone would cause the rents to be to high. This is very good topic and you many valid points on current codes. This was done very well. Keep up the work.