Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 412

A lack of affordable housing certainly feels like a global phenomenon. Companies are trying to 3D-print homes for under $100k. Berlin froze apartment rents back in 2019 because things were getting too expensive. And today, Hong Kong is working on building some sort of " light public housing " in an effort to reduce its massive wait times for new homes.

But depending on where you are in the world, it might be somewhat comforting to remember that this problem seems to be particularly pronounced, here, in English-speaking countries. Whether it's restrictive zoning rules or a general distaste for apartments and urban density , the English-speaking world has fallen behind on housing supply compared to places like continental Europe.

Here's an excerpt from a recent FT article :

Forty years ago, the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland had roughly 400 homes per 1,000 residents, level with developed continental European countries. Since then the two groups have diverged, the Anglosphere standing still while western Europe has pulled clear to 560 per 1,000.

And this shows in our home prices:

One argument is that continental Europe is simply more culturally accepting of apartment buildings, and that allows more new homes to be built. Seems right:

According to this chart, the average person from the UK or the US would not be happy unless they were living in a detached house. When you get to the continent, people start to become increasingly more positive around missing middle-type housing (something in the 3-4 storey range). Though, anything more than that and things get divided.

All in all, it doesn't seem to really matter where you're from, there's a clear preference for detached housing. But maybe liking apartments even a little bit is all you need to help with overall housing supply.

ICON, the 3D-printing home company that I wrote about a few months ago , has just launched a new global architecture competition called Initiative 99 . As the name starts to suggest, the goal is to generate new ideas for "accessible, beautiful, and dignified 3D-printed homes that can be built for under US$99,000."

The competition is open to all: architects, designers, builders, students, and/or people who are just interested in finding new ways to deliver affordable housing. However, the current website does ask for a zip code. So maybe you need to live in the US.

In any event, if you're selected, you might get money and you might get to see your design built. The total prize fund for the competition is US$1 million and ICON has also committed to building a selection of the winning designs. Registration begins May 23, 2023, but if you'd like to enter your zip code now and "stay informed," you can do that here .

Maybe it's my design background or maybe it's the extreme discomfort in my legs, but usually when I'm on a plane I can't help but think about redesigning the cabin interior. Of course, there are only so many options in economy when your femur doesn't fit between the seats. However, in business class, where airlines actually make their money, the options are endless.

Below is a redesign that Lufthansa just launched this spring. Co-created with Pearson Lloyd , the concept is based on three distinct travel experiences: calm, focus, and share. The idea here is that maybe you just want to sleep (calm). Maybe you just want to work (focus). Or maybe you want to work and/or hang out with someone beside you (share). And depending on what you're looking for, your seat should reflect that.

The result is 7 different seat types that are bookable depending on what " job you're looking to hire it for ."

It is about consumer choice instead of one size fits all. But I'm curious:

• Were they able to maintain the same number of overall seats in business class, or are they betting on higher revenue per passenger because the seats are now better?

• How does booking work? What happens if I really want "calm," but the only available seat is "share"? And then what happens if my "share" neighbor is really talkative?

• Has anyone looked at multi-seat arrangements in economy? Or is it a non-starter because you really need to squeeze femurs in order to make the math work?

Lufthansa, if you're reading this and you'd like me to do a thorough review of your new Allegris Business Class seating, I would be happy to accept a flight to Paris sometime this summer. Until then, you can all find more information about this new seating layout and the design process, here .

Images: Pearson Lloyd