What is the smallest possible living space you can imagine? Ok, now think of even a smaller place. Could you live in a unit with only 13 m2 or 140 ft2. And if you did, might this negatively affect your wellbeing?
We looked at this question with students living in nano-flats with private living space only 140 ft2 (13 m2) on the UBC campus in Vancouver. Our research says no, wellbeing is not negatively impacted by tiny living. In fact, there are upsides to tiny living, since this experience may change expectations about where residents would like to live in the future, making them more open to the idea of living in an apartment instead of a single-family detached home.
As cities densify and more residents move into smaller apartments, there are questions about the wellbeing impacts of living in tiny spaces. To understand the wellbeing impacts of tiny living, we surveyed residents of new nano suites (140 ft 2 or 13 m 2) built for students at a Canadian university. Using a pre-post survey design, we measured the changes to social and subjective wellbeing, environmental attitudes and future housing expectations. After seven months living in a nano flat, we found no negative impacts on subjective and social wellbeing. We also found that tiny living may change expectations about where residents would like to live in the future, making them more open to the idea of living in an apartment instead of a single-family detached home. This is particularly relevant in cities and regions where the expectation of living in a single-family detached home serves as a barrier to densification and sustainable land use planning. Overall residents were highly satisfied with the nano suite and were motivated to live there because of its affordability. A prolonged housing affordability crisis may make tiny units increasingly a part of the housing mix in the city of the future. Our results are specific to young adults in a university environment and how these results may apply for residents in other conditions or life stages remains an open question.
Research published in the journal People, Place and Policy with Lily Shulman and with support from UBC Student Housing and Community Services. A special thanks to Andrew Parr, Janice Robinson, Brian Heathcote, Gerry McGeogh, Carole Jolly and Zaida Muxi.
Shulman, L., & Honey-Rosés, J. 2024. How small is too small? Assessing the well-being impacts of nano suites on university students. People, Place and Policy, Early View, pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.3351/ppp.2024.4785923692
