2thegreat

We used to have these. They were called Apartment Hotels. They’d consist of a single room with a bathroom, housecleaning, a cafeteria and lounges. Imagine being able to rent month to month and not need to furnish an apartment. It was ideal. Nuts we got rid of these.

Today, Courtyard Urbanist is announcing the formation of its Advisory Council — along with the first group of Founding Investors backing the Courtyard Urbanism initiative. We will introduce individual Council members in the coming weeks, so watch this space. This marks the next step in a coordinated effort to bring dense, multi-generational, family-supportive urban housing to the United States — and to improve the physical form of American cities for the next century. The Council brings together developers, policymakers, architects, authors, and technologists who recognize both the scale of the opportunity and the urgency of the moment. Together, we are working to make courtyard urbanism legal, financeable, and buildable in the United States. Our goal is to Americanize and advance a time-tested model that has shaped some of the most celebrated neighborhoods in cities such as Copenhagen, Paris, Prague, and Rome. We are creating the conditions for multifamily housing (the apartment or condo building, the co-op, the palazzo, a baugruppen, etc.) that surpasses the expectations of modern American families while reviving the walkable, mixed-use, amenity-rich neighborhoods that make cities fantastic. Alongside the Council, an initial group of Founding Investors has accepted an invitation to support this work at its earliest stage. They share the conviction that courtyard housing represents one of the most important and overlooked opportunities in American real estate — and that now is the moment to lay the groundwork. We are expanding this group carefully to create the runway needed to develop the design, legal, and financial frameworks that will allow this housing to scale. The Advisory Council and the Founding Investors are steps toward consolidating both dimensions of Courtyard Urbanist (the public conversation and real-world implementation) and progress on both tracks will be shared over time. Courtyard urbanism is ultimately a project to make American cities work better for households of all ages, stages, and incomes by increasing the supply of small multifamily buildings with shared outdoor space. The component building is simple and repeatable: • 4–6 stories • Single central stair and compact elevator • A range of unit sizes, including substantial family housing • Active ground floors with discreetly integrated parking • A shared interior courtyard — secure, green, and communal This is the fundamental building block of walkable, multigenerational, durably prosperous urban neighborhoods. We are at the beginning of assembling the coalition that will make this possible in American cities. If you are a builder, policymaker, or investor who wants to be part of this effort, reach out.

I really love the “only courtyards can fix cities” crowd.

There are a lot better uses of land besides car infrastructure