{"id":606588,"date":"2023-02-10T07:48:53","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T13:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/10\/housing-starts-to-look-the-same\/"},"modified":"2023-02-10T07:48:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T13:48:53","slug":"housing-starts-to-look-the-same","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/10\/housing-starts-to-look-the-same\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing Starts to Look the Same"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"story\">\n<div id=\"fullBleedHeaderContent\">\n<header>\n<div>\n<figure aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" ><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" ><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The new developments often come in the form of boxy, mid-rise buildings with a ground-floor retail space, sans-serif fonts and vivid slabs of bright paneling.\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2023\/01\/22\/multimedia\/20homogenization-fbpl\/20homogenization-fbpl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&#038;auto=webp&#038;disable=upscale\"   decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"385\"><\/picture><\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Ruth Fremson\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h2 id=\"link-54206317\" data-testid=\"headline\">America, the Bland<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Across the country, new developments are starting to look the same, raising fears that cities are losing their unique charm. But in the current housing crisis, does that matter?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\"><span>The new developments often come in the form of boxy, mid-rise buildings with a ground-floor retail space, sans-serif fonts and vivid slabs of bright paneling.<\/span><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span>Ruth Fremson\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span>By <\/span><span itemprop=\"name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/anna-kode\">Anna Kod\u00e9<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Anna Kod\u00e9 traveled to Seattle, Nashville and Denver, and interviewed dozens of residents, architects and housing experts for this story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section name=\"articleBody\">\n<div>\n<p>Charles Mudede was at the Post Pike Bar in Seattle in November, nursing a glass of white wine and having a heated discussion about a topic he felt strongly about: the state of new development in the city.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, residential construction in Seattle hit a record high with over 13,000 units built, according to data from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattleinprogress.com\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Seattle in Progress<\/a>, an organization that tracks construction. Mr. Mudede, 53, who has lived in the city for 30 years, was expressing his distaste for some of those \u201carchitectural abominations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s that new building?\u201d he asked the bartender. \u201cIt\u2019s an apartment building, but they put some bright blue, splashy thing on its facade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Motorworks building?\u201d the bartender responded, referring to the luxury apartments a few blocks from the bar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cNo, no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the one with the juice bar on the bottom floor, right?\u201d another person sitting at the bar asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, not that one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The guessing game went on for a few more minutes, with other patrons chiming in, until Mr. Mudede, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestranger.com\/authors\/237\/charles-mudede\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a filmmaker and lecturer<\/a> at the Cornish College of the Arts, sighed and said, \u201cNobody can tell because they all look the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div>\n<p><span>Image<\/span><\/p>\n<picture><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" ><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" ><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Advocates for multifamily housing say there are times when design has to take a back seat to necessity, and the current affordability crisis is one of those times. \" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2023\/01\/22\/multimedia\/20homogenization-zlgm\/20homogenization-zlgm-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&#038;auto=webp&#038;disable=upscale\"   decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/picture><\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Andrew Miller for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In 2022, an estimated 420,000 new rental apartments were built in the United States, the highest amount for new multifamily construction in a half-century, according to the latest data from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentcafe.com\/blog\/rental-market\/market-snapshots\/apartment-construction-2022\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">RentCafe<\/a>, an apartment search platform.<\/p>\n<p>The new developments look startlingly alike, often in the form of boxy, mid-rise buildings with a ground-floor retail space, sans-serif fonts and vivid slabs of bright paneling. The bulky design is conspicuous, jutting out of downtown streets and overpowering its surroundings. Over time, it attracts a certain ecosystem \u2014 the craft breweries, the boutique coffee shops, the out-of-town young professionals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>It\u2019s anytown architecture, and it\u2019s hard to know where you are from one city to the next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"preview-1\" role=\"figure\" aria-label=\"svelte\" data-preview-slug=\"homogenization\" data-sourceid=\"100000008730713\" id=\"20homogenization-quiz-4\" data-id=\"100000008730713\" data-source-id=\"100000008730713\">\n<section>\n<h2>Can you tell which city this is?<\/h2>\n<div><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 675px)\"  width=\"675\" height=\"450\"><source media=\"(min-width: 592px)\"  width=\"592\" height=\"395\"><source media=\"(min-width: 495px)\"  width=\"495\" height=\"330\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2023\/01\/20\/multimedia\/20homoginization-fpwg\/20homoginization-fpwg-tmagSF.jpg\" alt=\"scoop\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>This is not the first time that a single building style has been widely adopted and derided. Take, for example, the monotony of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/12\/19\/realestate\/levittown-ny-the-original-starter-community.html\" title>American suburbs<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1992\/07\/04\/us\/life-in-a-trailer-park-on-the-edge-but-hoping.html\" title>trailer parks<\/a>, which took off in the 20th century as low-income housing but were criticized for their cookie-cutter nature.<\/p>\n<p>Yet advocates for multifamily housing say there are times when design has to take a back seat to necessity, and an affordability crisis, exacerbated by inflation and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/30\/realestate\/housing-market-prices-interest-rates.html\" title>brutally low housing inventory<\/a>, is one of those times. The current construction has been \u201cdriven by pent-up demand for apartments nationwide, especially as some renters postpone their dream to become homeowners,\u201d according to the RentCafe report.<\/p>\n<p>As developers scramble to build, The New York Times visited three places \u2014 Denver, Nashville and Seattle \u2014 in search of the sameness and what it means. Are American cities destined to lose their unique charm? In the current housing crisis, does that matter?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div>\n<p><span>Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Ruth Fremson\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2 id=\"link-1229039e\">Municipal reviews and cheap materials<\/h2>\n<p>In Seattle, most new private development projects must undergo a design review process. The city has eight design review boards, each for a different geographic district, and all are made up of volunteers. The boards are tasked with determining if a proposed project fits city and neighborhood <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattle.gov\/sdci\/about-us\/who-we-are\/design-guidelines\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">design guidelines<\/a>, which cover aspects such as outward appearance, vehicular access and landscaping.<\/p>\n<p>The waterfront Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, once a hub for Nordic immigrants, is now a trendy destination with record shops, bars and restaurants. Complexes with roughly five wood-frame stories atop one concrete podium \u2014 known as 5-over-1s \u2014 dominate consecutive blocks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattle.gov\/documents\/Departments\/SDCI\/About\/BallardDG2019.pdf\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The design guidelines<\/a>, adopted by the City Council in 2001 and last revised in 2019, encourage \u201cbold colors and volumes similar to those expressed in the Ballard Library and Greenfire buildings,\u201d which house apartments, office space and a restaurant. It\u2019s a process that has drawn criticism \u2014 and one that is partially responsible for the homogenization of architecture across a city once known for its Northwest Regional style of architecture defined by unpainted wood, flat roofs and lots of glass.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe design review process sometimes contributes to some of the things that people don\u2019t like,\u201d said Newton Breiter, creative director of Lake Union Partners, a real estate development company based in Seattle that has worked on many 5-over-1s.<\/p>\n<p>The review board members \u201cwant to see that a project isn\u2019t just one big mass, so they say, \u2018I want you to modulate the building, I want you to make it look different,\u2019\u201d Mr. Breiter said. \u201cSo you end up with all these different materials, and it drives the addition of bright colors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"preview-2\" role=\"figure\" aria-label=\"svelte\" data-preview-slug=\"homogenization\" data-sourceid=\"100000008723593\" id=\"20homogenization-quiz-1\" data-id=\"100000008723593\" data-source-id=\"100000008723593\">\n<section>\n<h2>Do you know which of these buildings is in Seattle?<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<hr><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Architects are also often working under budgetary constraints and density requests from developers, who don\u2019t want to lose money on their investments. And wood-frame construction, which makes up the bulk of these buildings, is typically less expensive than, say, concrete or steel.<\/p>\n<p>Higher construction costs would require higher rents \u201cin order to make the project financially feasible for an investor and a bank,\u201d Mr. Breiter said.<\/p>\n<p>Davi Parker-Garcia, a principal at the Seattle-based architecture firm Weinstein A+U, said there was also \u201cpressure to squeeze as many units as you can.\u201d Almost a decade ago, the typical one-bedroom unit that the firm would work on was around 730 square feet. Now the expectation is that it should be in the 600s, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Rather than change the type of building, she said her focus was pushing the boundaries of what could be done within the template, like making the windows bigger. \u201cWe are often forced to work with bottom-of-the-barrel materials,\u201d Ms. Parker-Garcia said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div>\n<p><span>Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Ruth Fremson\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2 id=\"link-33a2e2d3\">\u2018Lego structures\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Colloquially, people have referred to 5-over-1s as \u201cgentrification buildings\u201d or \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2017-10-17\/washington-d-c-s-wharf-is-fast-casual-design-so\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">fast-casual architecture<\/a>.\u201d Not all of them are built the same, however. Some are permanent affordable housing communities, while others hawk luxury urban living. Still, for many people, 5-over-1s have come to symbolize, in tangible form, the most painful aspects of today\u2019s housing crisis \u2014 stand-ins for gentrification, corporate landlords and excessively high rents.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s in part why they\u2019re so hated, and why it\u2019s acceptable to hate them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they\u2019re terrible,\u201d said Zereseni Selemun, 50, a Lyft driver, as he was passing through the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. \u201cIt\u2019s very ugly. Very ugly. I hate it!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2015, Brad Evans, an artist, created the private Facebook group \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/DENVERFUGLY\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Denver FUGLY<\/a>\u201d to express his frustration over the city\u2019s new uninspired development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div>\n<p><span>Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Andrew Miller for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The group now has nearly 10,000 members and does not mince words: \u201cLet\u2019s get after it at the core of what needs to be exposed and work to stop the stupid, the lazy and the pathetic execution of bad ideas,\u201d the page summary reads.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cThe people behind these Lego structures don\u2019t care, they\u2019ve never been here, nor will they come here,\u201d Mr. Evans, 56, said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>Driving around the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Denver, Mr. Evans pointed out the missed opportunities for public green space and the random fake-brick facades tacked onto buildings.<\/p>\n<p>One block of Jefferson Park that was designated as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com\/article\/news\/denver-block-becomes-55th-to-get-a-historic-designation\/73-2a050b17-9864-4e4a-a5ef-e196b3769284\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">historic district<\/a> in 2019 remains almost pristinely preserved. Lined with ornate Queen Anne-style and terraced homes, the street feels like a step back in time. That is, until one reaches the end of the block.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"preview-3\" role=\"figure\" aria-label=\"svelte\" data-preview-slug=\"homogenization\" data-sourceid=\"100000008723617\" id=\"20homogenization-quiz-2\" data-id=\"100000008723617\" data-source-id=\"100000008723617\">\n<section>\n<h2>Which building is in Denver?<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<hr><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Part of the issue, critics say, is that a handful of real estate developers are now managing a disproportionate share of new projects across the country.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, five of the 25 largest developers were responsible for starting construction on nearly 47,000 units in the United States \u2014 about 40 percent of the output of the whole group, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nmhc.org\/research-insight\/the-nmhc-50\/top-50-lists\/2022-top-developers-list\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">data from the National Multifamily Housing Council<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Greystar Real Estate Partners \u2014 which started over 14,000 of those units, the greatest share on the list \u2014 more than quadrupled its output from 2014. The company, which manages over 700,000 units in the country, is based in Charleston, S.C., but owns developments in New York City, Houston and Tampa, among other cities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Bob Faith, the chief executive of Greystar, echoing the sentiments of other developers, said that for the most part, the style of its buildings was \u201cdriven by the planning regulations in any city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to say it\u2019s like color-by-numbers, but, in some cities, it\u2019s color-by-numbers,\u201d Mr. Faith said. He said Greystar made an effort to differentiate its projects by adding \u201cflash\u201d to exteriors with different materials or shapes.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps what bothers some Denver residents the most is what the new architecture signals: In 2005, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denvergov.org\/content\/dam\/denvergov\/Portals\/646\/documents\/planning\/Plans\/Jefferson_Park_Neighborhood_Plan.pdf\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">more than 80 percent<\/a> of Jefferson Park residents were Latino and more than 50 percent were foreign-born, according to a city report at the time. In recent years, Denver\u2019s growing technology and cannabis industries have drawn many coastal transplants to the region, changing the demographics, and style, of the neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re like Denny\u2019s,\u201d Mr. Evans said of the new buildings. \u201cYou could be at a Denny\u2019s in Iowa or New Mexico or Colorado, and you wouldn\u2019t know. You just know that you\u2019re at a Denny\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div>\n<p><span>Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Andrew Miller for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div>\n<p><span>Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Andrew Miller for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2 id=\"link-69d84f77\">A cycle of uniformity<\/h2>\n<p>Will we one day look back on the current architecture and feel nostalgia for design once mocked? History suggests yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dingbat apartments \u2014 two- to three-story buildings, often painted in pastel colors and emblazoned with catchy names in script fonts, with a ground-level open parking area \u2014 became pervasive throughout the Sun Belt region in the 1950s and \u201960s, for reasons similar to today\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cThey were initially really maligned as the crystallization of pure real estate rationale with architecture that was just tacked on,\u201d said Liz Falletta, an architect and professor of planning and urban design at the University of Southern California. \u201cBut we built enough of them so that you could rent them for an affordable price. And now, they\u2019re being celebrated for their midcentury modern design, and there\u2019s a lot of nostalgia for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brownstones, which now sell for millions in New York City, were also hated in their heyday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile they would later be viewed as authentic, contemporaries dismissed brownstones as modern and artificial,\u201d wrote Suleiman Osman, a professor of American studies at George Washington University, in his book \u201cThe Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen one has seen one house, he has seen them all,\u201d one critic, quoted in Mr. Osman\u2019s book, wrote about brownstones in the 1800s.<\/p>\n<p>As with brownstones and dingbats, distaste can dissolve with time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of people\u2019s lives will have been lived in them, 20, 30, 40 years from now. In their role as housing and much-needed housing, people might look back on them more positively,\u201d Ms. Falletta said of today\u2019s buildings. \u201cThey may not be valorized as good design, but people\u2019s attitudes will change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the end of 2020, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/30\/realestate\/housing-market-prices-interest-rates.html\" title>nation was short 3.8 million units of housing<\/a>, according to Freddie Mac. Multifamily buildings, despite their aesthetic shortcomings, can close that gap far quicker and cheaper than, say, brownstones or bungalows.<\/p>\n<p>Critics agree that more housing is positive, but they also feel that the current construction misses an opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGetting housing built is more important than nit-picking over aesthetics,\u201d said Kate Wagner, an architecture critic and the creator of the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/mcmansionhell.com\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">McMansion Hell<\/a>\u201d blog, \u201cbut there is definitely room within the housing to improve aesthetics.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Mr. Mudede, the Seattle resident, said he wasn\u2019t against construction. \u201cBut cities should be inspiring,\u201d he said. \u201cLiving in them can and should feel like a work of art, and that\u2019s what\u2019s sad for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\"00 role=\"group\">\n<div>\n<p><span>Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Whitten Sabbatini for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2 id=\"link-2adddd9f\">\u2018I feel secure, I feel safe\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>At one time, the 12 South neighborhood of Nashville was home to a number of Black churches, modest spaces that were integral to the culture of the neighborhood. But as new development increased and prices rose over the past few years, church members were forced to move out of the area. Many of those churches saw no choice but to leave as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people we used to serve were uprooted from the neighborhood,\u201d said Calvin C. Barlow Jr., a bishop at Second Missionary Baptist Church. In 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nashvillepost.com\/business\/development\/12south-area-church-property-sells-for-3-5m\/article_87f21200-74a2-11ec-97c0-2fd5d4709c0a.html\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the church sold its properties, including a garden and a parking lot,<\/a> to a developer for $3.5 million and moved to a new location on the outskirts of the city.<\/p>\n<p>In the neighborhood today, one can find stylish restaurants and boutiques \u2014 including Draper James, the clothing shop founded by the actress Reese Witherspoon \u2014 and those contemporary apartment buildings that many people loathe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe city loses when people are pushed out. It loses knowledge, it loses ideas, it loses vision,\u201d Bishop Barlow, 72, said. His church used to run a computer lab to teach children technology skills after school. \u201cThose kids don\u2019t have that after-school care now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"preview-4\" role=\"figure\" aria-label=\"media\"11 data-preview-slug=\"homogenization\" data-sourceid=\"100000008723624\" id=\"20homogenization-quiz-3\" data-id=\"100000008723624\" data-source-id=\"100000008723624\">\n<section>\n<h2>Can you pick out the Nashville building?<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<hr><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In north Nashville, some new development serves a different purpose.<\/p>\n<p>In the ZIP code of 37208 \u2014 which has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/to-restore-north-nashvilles-black-middle-class-local-policymakers-should-pursue-reparations\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the highest incarceration rate in the country and a high poverty rate<\/a>, attributed to systemic racism \u2014 there is a new mid-rise apartment development with nearly 150 units. The buildings, which opened to residents in 2017, have green and orange detailing, and one even has a Chase Bank on the ground floor. It\u2019s what many people might call a \u201cgentrification building\u201d \u2014 but it\u2019s far from that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The mixed-use complex is run by the nonprofit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbanhousingsolutions.org\/about-us\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Urban Housing Solutions<\/a>. That it looks like new development in wealthier neighborhoods is intentional, said Alan Mazer, the organization\u2019s general counsel. \u201cWhy should affordable housing look any different from other housing?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>One of the struggles of getting housing built for households with lower incomes, Mr. Mazer said, is the approval process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA building has to have a certain amount of visual appeal in order for us to get into certain neighborhoods,\u201d he said. To obtain a building permit, he added, \u201cyou have to convince your neighbors that you\u2019re not going to bring down the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The easiest route to appeasing those concerns is giving people what they\u2019re accustomed to. Today, that often means boxy, mid-rise buildings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\"22 role=\"group\">\n<div>\n<p><span>Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Whitten Sabbatini for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Nearly three years ago, Rosalie Holder, 71, moved into the Urban Housing Solutions development from an adjacent neighborhood, after several close encounters with street violence compelled her to search for a new home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Ms. Holder was grateful for paying $240 a month, far below market rate. She said her neighbors were friendly and the area felt peaceful. The aesthetics of the building were the last thing on her mind, if they were on it at all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere, I feel secure, I feel safe. I don\u2019t hear gunshots. I can walk to the store,\u201d Ms. Holder said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I could find a place like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Quizzes produced by Gabriel Gianordoli.<\/p>\n<p>For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/newsletters\/realestate\/\" title>sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/01\/20\/realestate\/housing-developments-city-architecture.html\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Gaylene Geddes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit&#8230;Ruth Fremson\/The New York TimesAmerica, the BlandAcross the country, new developments are starting to look the same, raising fears that cities are losing their unique charm. But in the current housing crisis, does that matter?The new developments often come in the form of boxy, mid-rise buildings with a ground-floor retail space, sans-serif fonts and vivid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":606589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22731,23522,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-606588","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-housing","8":"category-starts","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}