Missing Middle Housing

Today, there is a tremendous mismatch between the available housing stock in the US and the housing options that people want and need. The post-WWII, auto-centric, single-family-development model no longer meets the needs of residents. Urban areas in the US are experiencing dramatically shifting household and cultural demographics and a growing demand for walkable urban living.Missing Middle Housing, a term coined by Daniel Parolek, describes the walkable, desirable, yet attainable housing that many people across the country are struggling to find. Missing Middle Housing types, such as duplexes, fourplexes, and bungalow courts, can provide options along a spectrum of affordability.In Missing Middle Housing, Parolek, an architect and urban designer, illustrates the power of these housing types to meet today’s diverse housing needs. With the benefit of beautiful full-colour graphics, Parolek goes into depth about the benefits and qualities of Missing Middle Housing. The book demonstrates why more developers should be building Missing Middle Housing and defines the barriers cities need to remove to enable it to be built. Case studies of built projects show what is possible, from the Prairie Queen Neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska to the Sonoma Wildfire Cottages, in California. A chapter from urban scholar Arthur C. Nelson uses data analysis to highlight the urgency to deliver Missing Middle Housing.Parolek proves that density is too blunt of an instrument to effectively regulate for twenty-first-century housing needs. Complete industries and systems will have to be rethought to help deliver the broad range of Missing Middle Housing needed to meet the demand, as this book shows. Whether you are a planner, architect, builder, or city leader, Missing Middle Housing will help you think differently about how to address housing needs for today’s communities.

“"We can see the genius of Missing Middle Housing to provide affordability, flexibility, and variety and take pressure off the housing markets where communities are experiencing displacement. If you want to be part of this solution, this book is a must-read."”

"Missing Middle Housing offers clear arguments for building and redeveloping an array of small, multiunit housing types that have historically lined the streets of many American cities. It makes a valuable contribution to discussions on how to build cities in which single-family homes are less dominant and more people can afford to live in neighborhoods that are walkable and rich in amenities. Concrete examples and compelling visuals render the book attractive to many stakeholders involved in local housing conversations, as well as academics and students."
-- "Journal of Urban Affairs"
"Timely and valuable... [Missing Middle Housing] belongs on the bookshelf or e-reader of urban planners, architects, builders, developers, code writers, and housing professionals. I can't imagine a more useful--or readable--book will be published on these housing types anytime soon." -- "Public Square"

Dan Parolek, Founding Principal of Opticos Design, is one of the foremost urban designers and architects working to meet the growing demand for walkable urban living. He is co-author of Form-Based Codes.

Today, there is a tremendous mismatch between the available housing stock in the US and the housing options that people want and need. The post-WWII, auto-centric, single-family-development model no longer meets the needs of residents. Urban areas in the US are experiencing dramatically shifting household and cultural demographics and a growing demand for walkable urban living. Missing Middle Housing, a term coined by Daniel Parolek, describes the walkable, desirable, yet attainable housing that many people across the country are struggling to find. Missing Middle Housing types'such as duplexes, fourplexes, and bungalow courts'can provide options along a spectrum of affordability. In Missing Middle Housing, Parolek, an architect and urban designer, illustrates the power of these housing types to meet today's diverse housing needs. With the benefit of beautiful full-color graphics, Parolek goes into depth about the benefits and qualities of Missing Middle Housing. The book demonstrates why more developers should be building Missing Middle Housing and defines the barriers cities need to remove to enable it to be built. Case studies of built projects show what is possible, from the Prairie Queen Neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska to the Sonoma Wildfire Cottages, in California. A chapter from urban scholar Arthur C. Nelson uses data analysis to highlight the urgency to deliver Missing Middle Housing. Parolek proves that density is too blunt of an instrument to effectively regulate for twenty-first-century housing needs. Complete industries and systems will have to be rethought to help deliver the broad range of Missing Middle Housing needed to meet the demand, as this book shows. Whether you are a planner, architect, builder, or city leader, Missing Middle Housing will help you think differently about how to address housing needs for today's communities.

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