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We should legalize building apartments like these. For a family it’s far too small of course, but for a single person living in the big city? I would have absolutely preferred to save my money for other things. https://t.co/1ooYXFxXx8

@eshear 1R (and this isn’t even a central example of 1R given that loft) are pretty critical parts of the housing mix, including for young salarymen, blue collar workers, immigrants, single mothers currently lacking income, and retirees dependent on public benefits. (“1R” is a code.)

@eshear That code generally numbers multipurpose rooms and then includes L, D, and K depending on presence or absence of dedicated space for living room, dining room, and kitchen, so you could have 2DK for what Americans might describe as two bedrooms, a full kitchen, and a seating area.

@eshear A thing I wish I could get across to people: the availability of modest options doesn’t meaningfully prevent one from offering other options. It provides an anchor which means that other options need to provide additional value to justify a rent above e.g. $700.

@eshear And so if one thinks e.g. “It would be monstrous to ask a mother to raise children in a space like this!” then great you want a 20-something programmer the option to rent this 1R to free up a 2LDK so it rents at a price society can countenance paying for a mother w/o wages.