Missing Middle Housing: Thinking Big and Building Small to Respond to Today’s Housing Crisis

About the Book

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.

About the Author :
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.

Review :
"“Some of the success of the movement toward Missing Middle Housing probably hinges on the ability of Parolek and other champions of Missing Middle Housing to effectively illustrate the concept, and this book is full of colorful, informative graphics and photos.… Missing Middle Housing is coming—this book will ensure that planners will be ready.”" "

"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."
 

" "“A ‘how-to’ guide in designing and implementing Missing Middle Housing… Overall, the book an excellent launching pad to start re-thinking and talking about Missing Middle Housing again. In an era of deep political polarization that has spilled over into the land-use debate, finding a respectful balance between large-scale urban condo developments and single-family homes might be the best approach in addressing our ongoing housing crisis.”" ""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." " "The book is well presented, divided into distinct, easily digestible chapters. The diagrams and images are clear and supported by an interesting and persuasive narrative. I would recommend this book for urban housing and transport planners and policy makers and indeed for developers wishing to deliver attractive, affordable and sustainable dwellings." "Missing Middle Housing is critical to building a strong town. It's incremental, affordable, financially productive, and built bottom-up using the efforts of many hands. Dan Parolek has long been a thought leader I look to on housing. Having his insights in one book fills an urgent need for local leaders."---Charles Marohn, engineer and author of "Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity" " "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.""---Heather Hood, Vice President and Northern California Market Leader, Enterprise Community Partners "Missing Middle Housing is an invaluable tool for addressing the attainable-housing crisis and delivering equitable, resilient, and healthy living with walkable urbanism at the neighborhood scale. Communities that want to remove policy and zoning barriers and developers—large or small—who want to prosper while doing good, and be part of the needed change, need to read this book."---Christopher Coes, Vice President of Land Use and Development, Smart Growth America "There is a growing need for housing attainable to moderate-income families, as well as demand for innovative, non-single-family product types that appeal to value-seeking buyers and to lifestyle-driven consumers. Missing Middle Housing types effectively respond to these market gaps, and this book clear demonstrates how builders large and small are adapting to deliver these choices."---Todd LaRue, Managing Director, RCLCO Real Estate Advisors