Does the future of affordable Boston living lie in miniatures?

According to a story by CBS Boston, Mayor Menino told business leaders he wants to create 30,000 new housing units in the next seven years. He intends for these housing units to be something called micro-units.

Micro-units are defined as small 350-500 square feet living spaces. From what it looks like, they are pretty much one-to-two-room living spaces. And they’re cheap.

What do you think, Boston?

As a student about to emerge into the very expensive life of urban-living while simultaneously trying to jumpstart my career, I heartily applaud the decision to implement these buildings. The ones in East Boston could cost as little as $550 per month. Now, the living spaces themselves are pretty small. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be stylish at the same time. Here is an example of a New York micro-unit. Cute, right?

An example of what a micro-unit could be. This mock-micro-unit is currently an exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. Cute, right?/ IMAGE VIA mcny.org

I have a feeling that micro-units, despite their small size, won’t feel that much smaller than an apartment. Everything will feel much more…compact, absolutely. But, as you can see from the picture, there is still plenty of room to give the sensation of having space. Since some of the already-existing apartments in Boston are pretty small, I figure micro-units shouldn’t be that much of a change (except in price). And hey! Let’s look at some of the practical benefits of micro-units.

Less room to lose your stuff: It should be pretty easy to find everything that seems to disappear all of the time.

More opportunity to get cozy with your friends: Smaller space, smaller amount of personal room. Prepare to get cozy. (Okay, granted, this can be a plus or a minus, depending on who you have over).

More motivation to clean your place: When you need to leap over the small amount of floor space filled to get to your bed instead of just stepping around it, like in a normal apartment, you probably won’t ignore it for as long.

Less money spent on decoration: You won’t need as much furniture to fill up all of the unwanted space in your apartment. Who needs all of that room anyways?

Overall, micro-units seem like an easy, comfortable way to be able to pay rent while living in the city. For all of us young, soon-to-be professionals who are trying to get on our feet and into the high-paying world we dream of, it gives us an opportunity to live in style while not throwing all of our money away on rent. Thank you, Mayor Menino.

Originally published: March 26, 2013

Website of original published article: http://freepblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/does-the-future-of-affordable-boston-living-lie-in-miniatures/