You can pry my kitchen from my cold dead hands

[RoadKingLarry]

Once "they" have eliminated private kitchens, the logical next step is to eliminate private bathrooms. So either we'll be living in dormitory-like accomodations with the toilet and shower rooms shared communally, or there won't be a bathroom per se but just a stainless steel combo toilet and sink in a corner of the bedroom -- like in a jail cell.

The national model building codes consider a "dwelling unit" to be a space that

If you eliminate the kitchen, you no longer have a "dwelling unit" under the building codes, you now have only a "sleeping unit" -- i.e. a hotel or boarding house.

Something, something, barracks, something....comes to mind

[zahc]

I know a real estate developer who was directly involved with Seattle "microhousing" a few years ago. Note; in America "microhousing" means "small apartment". They were building efficiency apartment buildings with sub-600sqft units. They were extremely popular especially with college students because they were able to offer units directly downtown, near the university and public transport, for unheard-of prices of $600/ mo, in areas where rents were more like $2000/mo and many people shared units with roommates. The problem is that development policies make this type of housing basically illegal; the city has decided what people want, instead of letting the market decide what people want. First they had to widen the spaces due to building codes that require walls to be at least a certain size, and that cut down the number of units per building. Then they had to provide more parking, even though their target market was college students with no cars, and that killed their cap rates further. And by a thousand cuts the unit rent went up from $600 to $800 and then $1100 and then at that point they stopped building them because they  might as well offer "traditional" apartments for $2000/mo. And that's why small cheap apartments, like the kind that are normal in other cities, don't exist here in America. Not because people don't want them; because the government knows better.

This article looks like they are still looking for a loophole. It's probably a good thing; I wish them the best of luck.

[MillCreek]

Seattle micro apartments/condos are still alive and well:

https://seattle.curbed.com/micro-apartments-seattle

https://www.anewapartments.com/

https://www.cornellandassociates.com/1715/

https://cubixapartments.com/

[RoadKingLarry]

If I wanted to live in a tiny little hole it would be a "hole in the water" and, it would have lots of nice teak trim.

[Ben]

If I wanted to live in a tiny little hole it would be a "hole in the water" and, it would have lots of nice teak trim.

Which again also leads into this guy going contrary to what a lot of millennials want. I think most millennials/hipsters would take tiny houses over communal living. I think they would still prefer a tiny kitchen of their own over a dormitory kitchen.

In many ways, this reminds me of the whole 'open office" fad that was so big ten years ago. It was all the rage to have these common, open "collaborative" workspaces. Now I read all the time about how detrimental that design has shown itself to be and that people stuck in those offices always find ways to telecommute or otherwise get themselves behind a closed door so they can get work done.

[brimic]

Which again also leads into this guy going contrary to what a lot of millennials want. I think most millennials/hipsters would take tiny houses over communal living. I think they would still prefer a tiny kitchen of their own over a dormitory kitchen.

In many ways, this reminds me of the whole 'open office" fad that was so big ten years ago. It was all the rage to have these common, open "collaborative" workspaces. Now I read all the time about how detrimental that design has shown itself to be and that people stuck in those offices always find ways to telecommute or otherwise get themselves behind a closed door so they can get work done.

Where I work, us chemists all use the same open office- it IS hard to get things done, because people always suck you into conversations about goats, guns, chainsaws, or Rick and Morty.

[freakazoid]

They've been against the idea of being able to cook your own meals for some time.

http://monsterhunternation.com/2018/02/12/fisking-the-stop-telling-poor-people-to-cook-doofus-with-special-guest-my-mom/

[Ben]

They've been against the idea of being able to cook your own meals for some time.

http://monsterhunternation.com/2018/02/12/fisking-the-stop-telling-poor-people-to-cook-doofus-with-special-guest-my-mom/

As much as we dig at KD5 regarding the thrift store bargains, that is the answer here. Seriously? Poor people can't cook because of utensil cost?

EDIT: Also apparently the only way you can use fresh garlic is with a garlic press. This guy has to be from a gentrified part of the Bronx or something. I have a garlic press. I never use it because it's a hassle. That chef's knife Larry mentions does the trick for me for 90% of my needs. Slower in prep, faster in cleanup. :)

EDIT AGAIN: Oh man, you guys have got to read this. I keep reading through it and coming back here to add more outrageousness.

You swap vegetable oil for olive oil, water for stock or broth, table salt for sea salt, etc.

My grandma used to run warm water through a chicken and call it chicken soup. I don’t think you’ve got a real strong grasp on what the word “poverty” means.

OMG! If you don't have olive oil, you can't cook anything!!!!!!!!!  How can we dare ask poor people to use Wesson oil!?! 

[DittoHead]

But you don't get the space for other stuff. The developer uses the space saved from multiple kitchens to squeeze in more small units that don't have kitchens. You lose, the developer wins.

If it costs less and you weren't going to use a kitchen (or that space) anyway, that's not a loss. It's efficient. I can see it being a good option for some people, but like most people here it's not what I want.

However, I know a guy who lives alone and does not cook - won't even make macaroni & cheese from the box. I bet he'd be happy to save some money on a place with no kitchen.

[Ron]

Bring back the flop houses!

[charby]

Bring back the flop houses!

An old school YMCA might be more appealing for the author.

[MillCreek]

My daughter lives in the Queens area of NYC and will turn 28 next month.  She says a lot of her contemporaries do exist on restaurant/takeout/frozen food and have no cooking skills or equipment other than a microwave and Keurig coffee maker, so the kitchen is used for storage. She was the object of awe when she first went to college because she could cook an omelet.