Nightly News   |  September 25, 2012

Micro apartments become large trend

Cities such as New York and San Francisco are developing living spaces that are 200 to 300 square feet for residents willing to pare down to the bare essentials. NBC’s Kristen Dahlgren reports.

Share This:

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> finally tonight, san francisco has the high es housing prices in the country. now they're trying something new. apartments that are not a whole lot bigger than a ministorage unit.

>> when wayne and terra got married, they knew they would be close. but when wayne moveded into her 280 square feet studio, they took shareded space to a whole new level.

>> it's like living in a hotel room .

>> this is their bedroom, living room , kitchen, closet, all carefully laid out. it has to be.

>> it's a puzzle. we were able to pare down and rotate clothes.

>> down the street, patrick kennedy is putting in a building with 23 microapartments, 300 square feet each.

>> just how big is 300 square feet ? about the size of a full size parking spot. and the city is considering shrinking the minimum size to just 220 square feet , about the size of a small rv. opponents worry about overcrowding. but the trend is spreading. in new york city , the city is holding a design contest.

>> there is a changing demographic, a need for a different kind of housing model.

>> my tv's back here.

>> beth hennessy downsized from a three bedroom house in.o now living small and loving it. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, san