Right now, a historic amount of multifamily housing is being built across the U.S. According to the Institute for Family Studies, in 2024, over one-third of new housing units were in buildings with 20 or more units; the highest share since 1974. But not everyone is celebrating this development. Surrounding communities are often quick to push back on new multifamily housing with familiar refrains: “the density is too high”, “there’s too much traffic”, or “their size blocks out the sunlight”. But what if there was a way to let more people live in popular areas without the downsides of big apartment blocks and high-rises?
