Another factor is that people are living separately from their extended families and change what type of building they live in at different points in their lives, for example:

Single adult - rented flat or small house.
Couple - rented larger flat, bought small house.
Couple with kids - trying not to rent, buying larger house
Couple with adult children - no longer need the space, buy smaller house

People also like to have gardens and pets, which is easier in a house than a flat. Ownership is also a factor, owning a flat doesn't make much sense when you have to pay ground rent and a mortgage.

[–] JasSmith@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago (2 children)

One reason is that people want houses and it’s not sustainable.

Well, it's been sustainable for centuries. It's not sustainable if we require constant and explosive population growth for the economy, but I'm not sure I want that. I agree it's more efficient for people to live in tiny apartments in tall buildings. I just think there is more to life than efficiency. I question the economic imperative to have such massive population growth. I don't think we would need to cram into ever smaller spaces with ever diminishing green areas if we restructured our economies.

[–] CanadaPlus 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So what's the right global population, in your opinion?

[–] JasSmith@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I don't care about the global population. I care about how busy my neighbourhood is. I would prefer it to be less crowded and expensive. So fewer than the current number. Improvements would be a linear function.

[–] CanadaPlus 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Like, that's kinda a typical NIMBY way to think. You're saying "I don't care about other people, what about my life?", essentially.

If you ask for fewer people than now, everyone else could say "you go first". Right? It only happens if somebody dies, and you're failing on empathy a bit again if you don't recognise that.

[–] Mika@piefed.ca 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

For centuries before, living in a single house with children of all ages and grandparents was a norm. American boomers is an outlier, not a norm.

Apartments don't have to be small. It's more efficient to stack apartments vertically if you want to build a city. And in the recent years people want to move to the cities cause of socio-economic changes.

Want to live in the house? Move to the village. Want a house in the city? Pay a premium.

[–] JasSmith@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

That's fair: we used to live in smaller dwellings. I kind of like that we have more space now.

Apartments don't have to be smaller than homes, but that's exactly what happens everywhere that becomes more dense.