Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 864

Click here for a short video (by Monocle) about Tokyo's nascent "kitchen car", or food truck, scene. (The soundtrack is fun.) Historically, street food stands, or " yatai ," have had a questionable reputation in Japan. They proliferated across the country following World War II when times were tough and food was being rationed. But as Tokyo prepared to host the 1964 Olympics, local governments began to clamp down on yatai. They were seen as unhygienic and a place for drunks to hang out . There may have also been a sense of shame around the country's post-war struggles . Whatever the case may be, these new food trucks have -- aided by technology -- changed the way people eat on the street.

Earlier this year, an 800 unit co-living project was approved in downtown San Jose. The developer is Starcity . And it is said to be the largest co-living project in the pipeline in the United States right now.

A few months later (presumably because of this project), San Jose also created a new "co-living" land-use classification. It is similarly thought to be a first for US cities.

I think it still remains to be seen how broad the market can be for co-living. Do older generations also want to go back to dorm-like living? Or is this a housing solution mainly for twenty-somethings?

At the same time, it's not an entirely new housing idea. I like the parallel that Sarah Holder of CityLab draws between today's co-living and yesterday's single room occupancy buildings (SROs).

There are, of course, many differences, including the amount of space dedicated to common areas (the community aspect). But in both cases, part of the value proposition is about affordability.

Where do you see co-living going?

Photo: Frank Gunn/Associated Press