Podcast Summary: Statecraft – “Why We Don't Build Apartments for Families”
Host: Santi Ruiz
Guest: Bobby Fijan, Co-founder, American Housing Corporation
Date: October 8, 2025

Main Theme

This episode explores why American cities struggle to provide suitable housing for families, focusing on market incentives, housing design trends, and policy impacts. Santi Ruiz interviews Bobby Fijan—an expert in housing development and design—about why new apartments are increasingly meant for singles or roommates rather than families, what’s driving those trends, and how policy and industry practices could shift to encourage more family-oriented urban housing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Motivation and Urban Family Life

• Bobby’s Perspective on Cities & Families
  • Bobby shares his own path: moving to the city for work and education, meeting his wife there, putting down roots, and ultimately wanting to raise a family without relocating (“We fell in love with the city... it just naturally happened that we had kids and wanted to keep that going.” [02:48]).
  • Host Santi relates as a Brooklyn parent considering his family’s future in the city.

2. Housing Trends since the Great Recession

• Shift to Apartments (2008–Present)

  • After the 2008 crash, financing for homeownership (condos, single-family homes) dried up. Lenders and agency standards (especially Fannie & Freddie) favored rental apartments due to lower perceived risk ([04:22]).
  • High land values, especially in urban areas, also made apartments more financially attractive to developers.

• Rise of Smaller, Studio Apartments

  • The share of new, small units—particularly studios—has dramatically increased. “In Austin…studios…weren’t really built…now the share …is as high as 20 or 30% of new product” ([10:24]).
  • Average apartment square footage has dropped steadily since 2008, back to mid-1990s levels ([09:57]).

3. Why Aren’t New Apartments Family-Friendly?

• Design Priorities: Roommate Model

  • Two-bedrooms are designed for roommates, not parents and children: “Both bedrooms will have direct access to a bathroom and...large closets…ideal [for] maximizing rent” ([11:51]).
  • There's a financial logic: studios and one-bedrooms bring higher rent per square foot than larger units, so the market chases that demand.
  • Family-friendly units (fewer bathrooms, more compact bedrooms, more living space) are rarely built.

• Consumer Preferences

  • “Bedrooms are far and away like the highest attribute they want over everything else, including yard, including price, including space” ([16:04]).
  • Parents and would-be parents will sacrifice amenities, even space, for another bedroom.

• Building Codes and Turn Radius

  • Regulations (e.g., Americans with Disabilities Act) require certain bathroom sizes for turn radius, limiting designers’ flexibility to make living space more efficient for families ([15:20]).

4. Policy Interventions & Their Limits

• Upzoning and “YIMBY” Reforms

  • Upzoning (allowing denser buildings) often leads to even more studios/1BRs because that’s where the market pulls ([20:05]).
  • “Relaxing” zoning alone isn’t sufficient. Developers remain motivated by the highest-per-square-foot rent.

• Parking Policy

  • Parking requirements per bedroom (not just per unit) encourage building smaller apartments with fewer bedrooms, which are less family-friendly ([21:36]).

• Skepticism of Mandates

  • Bobby is wary of new rules that would force building more family units, fearing unintended consequences. “I am very leery of additional well intentioned government intervention” ([20:57]).

5. The Role of Finance & Institutional Players

• Why Standardized Apartments Dominate

  • Financial efficiency: It’s easier and cheaper for developers and property managers to have standardized kitchens, appliances, and floor plans across buildings for cost and maintenance reasons ([27:09]).
  • Operational considerations (e.g., higher turnover in studios, vacancy rates) drive design decisions that privilege single/loner/renter models over family stability ([32:20]).

• Short-Term Capital Drives Short-Term Designs

  • Most new apartment projects are financed by private equity expecting high returns within 2–3 years; this incentivizes maximizing immediate rents rather than long-term community or family needs ([49:48]).

• Quote:

  • “Developers right now are primarily worried about how good is New York going to be for my building in two years. That is the decision…” ([53:01])

6. Historical Precedent & International Comparison

• Prewar Apartment Design

  • Historic (pre-WWII) apartments are generally more family-friendly: “slightly smaller common living spaces…substantially fewer bathrooms…second and third bedrooms” ([34:30]).
  • “Most of the best ideas are ones that have already been done before and proven to be true” ([35:12]).

• Single Stair vs. Double Stair Design

  • U.S. codes require two stairs for safety, which prevents efficient small-footprint family apartments of the type common in Europe ([37:08]).

• International Housing Finance Models

  • In Europe, much new construction is funded by public or long-term capital, allowing a focus on community and family needs; U.S. housing is built with short-term private equity, driving short-termist, high-yield designs.

7. Policy & Practical Barriers Beyond Zoning

• Fire & Safety Permitting

  • Construction and leasing are often delayed or manipulated by departments (e.g., Fire Marshal), giving city employees and politicians leverage over developers. Influence or “favor” frequently shifts timelines ([40:11]).

• Scale Inefficiency for ‘Missing Middle’ Housing

  • Financing institutions want to fund large buildings, not small-scale or “missing middle” projects that would better fit families and neighborhoods ([54:00]).

8. The Promise and Peril of Urban Family Life

• Family Presence Makes Cities Better

  • Bobby, a self-identified conservative and Christian, argues that more families in cities increases quality of life, strengthens communities, and helps address issues bottom-up:
    • “The city’s going to get better, like, bottom up…when there’s a few more people with children…it just naturally gets better” ([46:37]).

• Concerns About the Future

  • A falling share of under-5s in cities indicates a risk of losing the next generation of urbanites ([47:52]).
  • Policy changes must come soon, or the window for making urban families viable may close.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On market incentives:

  • “There was no poor intent… the main reason why they’re not designed for or good for families is that they were most often designed for roommates.” —Bobby [12:07]

• On real family priorities:

  • “Bedrooms are far and away the highest attribute they want… you want another place to put your child… parents are quite resourceful.” —Bobby [16:06]

• On open floor plans:

  • “If you want to support families…get rid of the open floor plan… the open floor plan has to go.” —Santi [25:08]

• On U.S. vs. Europe:

  • “One of the reasons why comparisons of housing between the United States and Europe don’t really work is… we don’t finance them in the same way.” —Bobby [54:00]

• Charlie Munger Reference:

  • “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome. That’s the kind of housing we have.” —Bobby [54:38]

Notable Timestamps

• [03:23] — Context: Why the shift to apartments began after 2008
• [10:17] — Data on average apartment size dropping and rise of studios
• [11:51] — Why “family” apartments aren’t designed for families
• [20:05] — Policy: Upzoning often yields more studios, not family units
• [27:09] — Operations: Why kitchen and appliance standardization rules
• [32:20] — Studio apartments’ higher churn and vacancy impacts market
• [34:30] — Prewar apartments as family-friendly design models
• [37:08] — Single vs. double stair requirements: U.S. vs. Europe
• [40:11] — Permitting as a political lever, not just a technical hurdle
• [49:48] — Private equity’s short time horizons versus urban family needs
• [54:00] — How financing shapes possible types of housing

Takeaways for Listeners

• Today’s new urban apartments are structurally and economically unsuited for families, due to regulatory choices, financial incentives, and market trends favoring studios and roommate housing.
• Policy solutions must go beyond zoning reform to address financing models, parking minimums, and building codes that disadvantage family-friendly units.
• There’s strong historical and international precedent for better family housing—and lessons U.S. developers and policymakers can learn.
• Keeping families in cities isn’t just about apartments; it’s about long-term investment, coordinated policy, and the everyday choices that shape our urban life.

Find Bobby Fijan: Twitter @BobbyFijan. More longform writing and updates on his work building family housing in cities coming soon. (Study with Institute for Family Studies out now.)