• How parking affects missing middle housing

    Missing Middle Housing types are key to affordability, but parking (and zoning that requires off-street parking) impacts the cost. This analysis by Dan Parolek of Opticos Design, author of Missing Middle Housing , shows that fourplexes—one missing middle type—may yield from 21 to 49 units per acre...Read more

  • Building ‘missing middle,’ first step to suburban retrofit

    For much of the last six or seven decades, we’ve seen limited housing options in suburbia—generally single-family housing for sale, or apartment complexes with units for rent. In Gainesville, Florida, a South Carolina developer is offering a different option—namely cottages, for rent, with the...Read more

  • Ending exclusionary zoning is one way out of our housing crisis

    Reforming zoning to allow missing middle housing would create more paths to homeownership and mitigate a national housing shortage.
    The US is experiencing a severe housing crisis that will require a wide toolkit of strategies to mitigate. A recent study released by Up for Growth estimates that there is a 3.8-million-unit housing shortage nationwide, affecting urban, suburban, and rural areas across the country, not just a few...Read more

  • Missing middle where the trains used to run

    A cottage court called the Railroad Cottages shows how abandoned rail lines converted to trails have potential for incremental development.
    The US has a wealth of abandoned rail lines—tens of thousands of miles running every which way across America. Many sections have been converted to walking and bicycling trails. Less often, planners use these corridors as an amenity that attracts compact housing or mixed-use development. The 22-...Read more