ABSTRACT
Some of the most significant indications of flattening in the American metropolis are found in forms of housing that reflect changing household structures and new ways of life. Operating at a range of scales, these hybrid sub/urban housing forms also enable new patterns of density. At the scale of extra-small, the densification of suburbanized residential areas through the proliferation of accessory units is an example of Shrink and Expand; the housing becomes small, while physical and population density rise. Conversely, Expand and Shrink is a parallel de-densification of some inner-city neighborhoods through the conversion of multi-family buildings into single-family houses; the housing unit size gets larger, while population density drops. At the scale of extra-large, high-density multi-family housing is hybridized with suburban expectations of space, convenience, and mobility through the double action of Expand and Expand; multifamily units get larger, and both physical and population density also increase. Collectively these examples serve to challenge conventional understandings of what constitutes not only urban and suburban housing, but also urban and suburban density.
