Missing Middle Housing - Case Studies and Examples

Something remarkable is happening in City Halls across America. An essential reform for the prosperity and resilience of American cities is on the agenda in more places than ever. We're talking about allowing the next increment of development to take its course in all neighborhoods. We don't have a crystal ball, but on this issue, it sure seems like the proverbial snowball is beginning to roll downhill. And this is very good news.

Sometimes to appreciate the power, versatility, and appeal of missing middle housing, it helps to go somewhere it still exists. In this case: Madison, Wisconsin.

Minneapolis became the first major U.S. city to embrace a key Strong Towns principle: every neighborhood should be allowed to evolve to the next increment of development.

 

A leading infill developer in Victoria, British Columbia, is building beautiful homes that address the housing crisis and make neighborhoods stronger. They’re also changing the conversation about what’s possible.

In Seattle, policy victories tend to be long-fought and hard-won. What will it take to achieve a city that can flex, evolve, and meet its residents’ needs in a more organic way, without every change becoming an arduous political battle?