Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities by Micheal Eliason arrives at a moment when the U.S. housing conversation is finally getting more specific. We are no longer just asking how much housing we need, but what kind and why the rules we rely on so often prevent us from building places people actually want to live in.
Eliason makes the argument that our housing outcomes are not the result of market failure or lack of innovation. They are the predictable product of a small number of regulatory choices that shape building form early and decisively. Once those choices are made, affordability, livability, and environmental impact are largely locked in.
At the center of Building for People is the idea that form matters more than we admit. Eliason shows how mid-rise, human-scale buildings, often four to six stories, deliver better outcomes than both suburban sprawl and high-rise towers. These buildings are dense without being overwhelming, compact without be…
