Let me live in the pod!

The case for high-density dorm-style housing as an option for renters

Perfectly liveable. Just imagine how cheap it would be.

As a self-identified politically left wing person, I meet a lot of people (in real life and online) who are self-identified communists. I used to jibe better with them when I was younger, but I’ve lately grown disenchanted with communist thinking. That said I do sympathise with them— the 2026 communists are right about a lot of things.

My working theory, though, is that there would be far fewer self-identified communists in the Western political left if just a few things were different in the West, particularly in the United States. I believe that many of the communists who seek a total revolution and the destruction/rebuilding of all things are actually mostly upset with a handful of things; things so important and negatively impactful on their (our) lives that they make the conclusion that everything sucks.

I don’t think everything sucks. There are problems inherent with Western capitalist liberal democracy (especially if you’re in a marginalised group). I just think that some things suck. If we could fix those things, the impact would be outsized and positive.

One of those things is housing.

There are lengthy academic articles and More Perfect Union videos talking about the housing crisis in the West. I’m only going to make one small (albeit controversial) claim: I want the option to live in cheaper, crappier housing, the likes of which is currently impossible to build in most of North America. I want to live in the pod.

Urban housing for singles is broken

You might want to live in a fabulous urban metropolis such as Toronto, New York City, San Francisco, or London. Who doesn’t? These cities are wonderful places to be.

Let’s assume you’re single. You’re in school, recently out of school, or early in your career, so you don’t have much money. You probably plan to spend a lot of your time on a university campus, in an office, or enjoying the many “third spaces” that come with a wonderful place like Brooklyn’s Williamsburg or Toronto’s Annex. As such, renting a very small apartment that lacks laundry machines, a bathtub, a dining room, or a dedicated office space is a trade-off worth considering if the price is right.

Now assume for a moment that you are very rich. If you want to rent an apartment in Toronto or Brooklyn you have no shortage of options. You can get a place with a dedicated study, or a penthouse view, or any other host of features. There is no ceiling for what money can buy!

But there is absolutely a floor for what money can buy. It’s a studio apartment of about 300 square feet with an in-unit kitchen and bathroom.

Not everyone needs that!

Imagine if there was a tier of housing below the studio. Something that resembles university dormitories with small bedrooms, shared bathrooms/kitchens/laundry. A type of housing optimised to pack in many urban singles who aren’t likely to spend much time at home.

That type of dorm-style housing cannot be built in most of North America for renters in the general public. Dorm-style housing should be more common and more accessible. It’s more efficient, it gives renters options, and its ubiquity would bring down the price of more conventional studio and one-bedroom apartments.

Objections

When I raise this point with my friends/Reddit/Twitter I tend to get some objections. I will go through them now.

Not everyone wants to live in a pod.

Not everyone has to. This is going to be a minority of people. Feel free to pay a little more to live in a studio with your own bathroom.

Living in such a small space sounds awful.

If you spend a lot of time at home, then yes, this type of housing is probably going to be awful for you. This style of housing works best for people who don’t want to spend most of their work time/free time at home.

Indeed, the theoretical savings from living in a dorm rather than a studio would be enough to pay for a nice coworking space or to bum around in espresso bars all day. For a certain kind of person, an apartment just needs a bed.

I want my own bathroom.

Do you really? I mean, assuming it’s kept clean (which is easy), there’s no real reason to want that. You probably only use your bathroom for like 20 minutes a day.

I want my own laundry machines.

Again, you probably only use it for a few hours per week. That’s so inefficient.

I want my own kitchen.

This is a stronger argument, especially if you have dietary needs. But dorm-style housing lends itself to group cooking or even conventional bulk catering, which is more efficient than most home cooking. Consider that you can have both group cooking/shared meals and a shared kitchen where you can make your late-night kraft dinner or whatever.

It’s good that there are building codes and zoning laws.

I agree. We can have building codes to make dorm-style housing safe. Soundproofing, HVAC, fire safety, these are all salient concerns for dense living like this. But it’s 2026. We can built high density housing that is also safe. Engineering has come a long way since 1926 Manhattan.

This is tenement living. There’s a reason we don’t do this anymore.

But we do do this, still! Many cities have co-op housing that functions like this. Northern California in particular has a very strong group housing culture that mirrors what I’m discussing here.

All I am proposing is that these arrangements should be more normal, ideally in larger purpose-built buildings run by co-ops or private landlords that can use economies of scale to make single living cheaper and more efficient.

This will become the new norm and the price will go up.

Not if overall supply of housing goes up alongside dorm-style housing. I don’t propose “build dorm-style housing exclusively”, I propose “if we are going to expand housing supply (and we must), let’s include dorm-style housing in the mix.”

This sounds awful.

It’s probably not luxurious. But it could be very liveable for singles who spend most of their time at work and at matcha bars or whatever. If they grow up, increase their income, get married, or whatever, they can upgrade. That’s the biggest advantage of renting! You can just get up and leave!

---

I’m a Resident at Inkhaven 2 in Berkeley, CA. I am writing 30 posts in 30 days for the month of April. See my progress here!