The Health Risks of Small Apartments
New York City has a housing problem. Currently, it has 1.8 million one-and two-person households, and only one million studios and one-bedroom apartments. The obvious solution seems to be to develop more small residential units. But as New York City"s "micro-apartment" project inches closer to reality, experts warn that micro-living may not be the urban panacea we"ve been waiting for.
"Sure, these micro-apartments may be fantastic for young professionals in their 20"s," says Dak Kopec, director of design for human health at Boston Architectural College. "But they definitely can be unhealthy for older people, say in their 30"s and 40"s, who face different stress factors that can make tight living conditions a problem." Research, Kopec says, has shown that crowding-related stress can increase rates of domestic violence and substance abuse.
For all of us, daily life is a sequence of events, he explains. But most people don"t like adding extra steps to everyday tasks. Because micro-apartments are too small to hold basic furniture like a bed, table, and couch at the same time, residents must reset their quarters throughout the day. In this case, residents might eventually stop folding up their furniture every day and the space will start feeling even more constrained.
Susan Saegert, professor of environmental psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center agrees that the micro- apartments will likely be a welcome choice for young New Yorkers. But she warns that tiny living conditions can be terrible for other residents—particularly if a couple or a parent and child squeeze into 300 square feet for the long term, no matter how well a unit is designed. "I"ve studied children in crowded apartments and low-income housing a lot," Saegert said, "and they can end up becoming withdrawn, and have trouble studying and concentrating."
"When we think about micro-living, we have a tendency to focus on functional things, like is there enough room for the fridge," explained University of Texas psychology professor Samuel Gosling, who studies the connection between people and their possessions. "But an apartment has to fill other psychological needs as well, such as self-expression and relaxation, which might not be as easily met in a highly confined space."
On the other hand, Eugenie L. Birch, professor of urban research and education at the University of Pennsylvania, says this certainly isn"t the first time we"ve had this debate over micro-living. New York has grappled with the public health costs of crowded living conditions and minimum apartment standards throughout its history.
Rolf Pendall, director of the Urban Institute"s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center asks: Where would all these people be doing business and living without the density Would they be commuting longer distances or earning less, and is living farther from economic opportunities "better" for them In that context, Pendall says he welcomes micro-apartments as long as they fit within the larger housing ecology of the city, and don"t ultimately displace other types of units for families.
For this project, while New York may be taking a step backwards in terms of square footage, Eric Bunge, working at Architects, (the firm that created the winning micro-apartment design), is firm that the city is taking a big step forward in terms of actual living conditions. "The city sees this initiative as one mechanism in a set of complex issues," Bunge says. "Nobody is claiming that micro-apartments will be a silver bullet."

The tower of Pisa has been leaning so long—nearly 840 years—that it"s natural to assume it will 1 gravity forever. But the famous structure has been in danger of collapsing almost since its first brick was 2 .
It began leaning shortly after construction began in 1173. Builders had only reached the third of the tower"s 3 eight stories when its foundation began to settle unevenly on soft soil composed 4 mud, sand and clay. As a result, the structure leaned 5 to the north. Laborers tried to 6 it by making the columns and arches of the third story on the sinking northern side slightly taller. Then political unrest halted construction.
The tower sat 7 for nearly 100 years, but it wasn"t done moving. By the time work restarted in 1272, the tower tilted to the south—the 8 it still leans today. Engineers tried to make another 9 , only to have their work interrupted once again in 1278 with just seven stories completed.
Unfortunately, the building continued to settle, sometimes at an 10 rate. Finally, between 1360 and 1370, workers finished the project, once again trying to correct the lean 11 angling the eighth story, with its bell room, northward.
In 1989, a similarly constructed bell tower in Pavia, Italy, collapsed suddenly. Officials became 12 worried the tower of Pisa would suffer a similar fate that they closed the monument to the 13 . A year later, they rallied together an international team to see 14 the tower could be brought back from the brink.
By 2001, the team had decreased the tower"s lean by 44 centimeters, enough to make officials 15 that they could reopen the monument. The actions taken by Burland and his team could, 16 , stabilize the structure forever. The real threat now comes from the masonry itself, especially the material in the 17 stories, where most of the forces caused by the centuries-long leaning have been directed. If any of this masonry crush, the tower could collapse. And even a 18 earthquake in the region could have devastating consequences.
After 200 years, another intervention may be required, but the 19 available to make improvements could be far more advanced and 20 the tower for another 800 years.

The Health Risks of Small Apartments
New York City has a housing problem. Currently, it has 1.8 million one-and two-person households, and only one million studios and one-bedroom apartments. The obvious solution seems to be to develop more small residential units. But as New York City"s "micro-apartment" project inches closer to reality, experts warn that micro-living may not be the urban panacea we"ve been waiting for.
"Sure, these micro-apartments may be fantastic for young professionals in their 20"s," says Dak Kopec, director of design for human health at Boston Architectural College. "But they definitely can be unhealthy for older people, say in their 30"s and 40"s, who face different stress factors that can make tight living conditions a problem." Research, Kopec says, has shown that crowding-related stress can increase rates of domestic violence and substance abuse.
For all of us, daily life is a sequence of events, he explains. But most people don"t like adding extra steps to everyday tasks. Because micro-apartments are too small to hold basic furniture like a bed, table, and couch at the same time, residents must reset their quarters throughout the day. In this case, residents might eventually stop folding up their furniture every day and the space will start feeling even more constrained.
Susan Saegert, professor of environmental psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center agrees that the micro- apartments will likely be a welcome choice for young New Yorkers. But she warns that tiny living conditions can be terrible for other residents—particularly if a couple or a parent and child squeeze into 300 square feet for the long term, no matter how well a unit is designed. "I"ve studied children in crowded apartments and low-income housing a lot," Saegert said, "and they can end up becoming withdrawn, and have trouble studying and concentrating."
"When we think about micro-living, we have a tendency to focus on functional things, like is there enough room for the fridge," explained University of Texas psychology professor Samuel Gosling, who studies the connection between people and their possessions. "But an apartment has to fill other psychological needs as well, such as self-expression and relaxation, which might not be as easily met in a highly confined space."
On the other hand, Eugenie L. Birch, professor of urban research and education at the University of Pennsylvania, says this certainly isn"t the first time we"ve had this debate over micro-living. New York has grappled with the public health costs of crowded living conditions and minimum apartment standards throughout its history.
Rolf Pendall, director of the Urban Institute"s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center asks: Where would all these people be doing business and living without the density Would they be commuting longer distances or earning less, and is living farther from economic opportunities "better" for them In that context, Pendall says he welcomes micro-apartments as long as they fit within the larger housing ecology of the city, and don"t ultimately displace other types of units for families.
For this project, while New York may be taking a step backwards in terms of square footage, Eric Bunge, working at Architects, (the firm that created the winning micro-apartment design), is firm that the city is taking a big step forward in terms of actual living conditions. "The city sees this initiative as one mechanism in a set of complex issues," Bunge says. "Nobody is claiming that micro-apartments will be a silver bullet."

The tower of Pisa has been leaning so long—nearly 840 years—that it"s natural to assume it will 1 gravity forever. But the famous structure has been in danger of collapsing almost since its first brick was 2 .
It began leaning shortly after construction began in 1173. Builders had only reached the third of the tower"s 3 eight stories when its foundation began to settle unevenly on soft soil composed 4 mud, sand and clay. As a result, the structure leaned 5 to the north. Laborers tried to 6 it by making the columns and arches of the third story on the sinking northern side slightly taller. Then political unrest halted construction.
The tower sat 7 for nearly 100 years, but it wasn"t done moving. By the time work restarted in 1272, the tower tilted to the south—the 8 it still leans today. Engineers tried to make another 9 , only to have their work interrupted once again in 1278 with just seven stories completed.
Unfortunately, the building continued to settle, sometimes at an 10 rate. Finally, between 1360 and 1370, workers finished the project, once again trying to correct the lean 11 angling the eighth story, with its bell room, northward.
In 1989, a similarly constructed bell tower in Pavia, Italy, collapsed suddenly. Officials became 12 worried the tower of Pisa would suffer a similar fate that they closed the monument to the 13 . A year later, they rallied together an international team to see 14 the tower could be brought back from the brink.
By 2001, the team had decreased the tower"s lean by 44 centimeters, enough to make officials 15 that they could reopen the monument. The actions taken by Burland and his team could, 16 , stabilize the structure forever. The real threat now comes from the masonry itself, especially the material in the 17 stories, where most of the forces caused by the centuries-long leaning have been directed. If any of this masonry crush, the tower could collapse. And even a 18 earthquake in the region could have devastating consequences.
After 200 years, another intervention may be required, but the 19 available to make improvements could be far more advanced and 20 the tower for another 800 years.