Ten feet long, seven feet wide. That’s smaller than a prison cell, possibly. And it can be all yours for the low-low price of $325 a month. To be fair, this is probably less than the cost of constructing a prison cell. America’s largest jail (Los Angeles) houses 12,000 inmates and cost $1.7 billion to construct. That’s $142,000 per cell.

The inventor of the $325 pod without bars is Seoul, South Korea. The lucky occupant of the 70 square foot apartment in the link below is a 27 year old student/content creator. She's helping to defray her rent by posting Tik Tok videos documenting her apartment life. That life includes a shower, toilet, dorm fridge, but no cooking area. She doesn’t even have a closet for clothes, or a window.

The issue in Seoul probably isn’t labor/construction costs. It’s the land. Same as with living near an ocean or mountain view in the USA. Location is everything. But Lydia Rouka’s Seoul pod doesn’t have any kind of view, because there are no windows. She’s sheltering in place in the middle of some giant apartment tower. And buying her food from sidewalk vendors.

Let me be clear: I am NOT recommending that New York City try this solution, in order to bring affordable housing to its teeming masses yearning to be free. Studies continually demonstrate that the more people you pack into a confined space, the more violent crime you get. This has been validated with lab rats too.

I might consider a proposal to re-purpose America's empty military bases. The land is cheap. There is dormitory style sleeping. Plenty of showers and toilets. Parade ground for soccer and softball. Mess hall/cafeteria. Even parking for a car, if you have one. But those places are usually distant from downtown urban centers where the best panhandling, drug deals, and theft opportunities are located.

The problem is everyone wants to live in a “nice” city. That’s why strangers keep flocking to New York, LA, San Francisco, Seoul, Chicago, Seattle, Lisbon, Dublin, Amsterdam, Madrid, Stockholm. Data for Moscow and Beijing not available, however.

There are several experiments afoot in America to see if UBI (universal basic income) could help ease poverty and homelessness, even if it has no impact on overcrowding and crime. The typical UBI level being tested is $800-$900 a month. But if your cell costs $325 a month, and then you add fast food, cable, internet, cellular plan, bus fare, etc. you’re going to quickly be at zero again. I don’t think Seoul is pointing a way to the future. The problem is there are too many people on earth, and not enough coastal views for everyone who dreams of one.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/german-student-living-in-seoul-s-tiny-70-square-foot-apartment-left-the-internet-stunned-by-the-monthly-rent/ar-AA1WIcxe?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=699ad83f79fe4143afabaf033dae1cd2&ei=134

affordable housing

Is this the future of affordable housing in America? A 7X10 foot pod for $325 a month . . .