In the near future, VERY near future, space will become such a premium, that it will be considered cost effective to create an apt under 200 sq ft. the size of a one car garage.  Who would live in such a place?  Actually, I would.  And I can think of plenty of others in my social circle that would.  Why?  Because ‘home’ does not mean the same thing it used to mean just 10 years ago for the single under 30 crowd.  (although I’m not under 30 anymore).

First off, what does a sub 200′ apt even look like?

Check out the image to the right.  As you can see, its pretty small, but when you imagine yourself in it, its not all that bad.  The key to making this work is to live very simply.  If you are the type of person that has lots of possession, and large possessions at that, like say a drum kit, then move on, this is not for you.  But if you have ever lived in a dorm, you should be able to pull this off as well. There is plenty of storage as long as you do not have large things. Small space living only works when you are living light and in a city that has plenty to offer to keep you from staying at home like San Francisco or New York.  Also, so you have a really long commute into the city. An even smaller cheaper version might make sense for when you need to stay late in the city and want to skip the commute home.  Yes this is an edge condition, but it could happen.

Tim Colen, executive director of the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, a largely developer-backed nonprofit is behind this idea for San Francisco.  And odds are pretty good rezoning will be approved to support these small places.