Our obsession with single-family homes is all wrong

My parents left all of their family behind in Hong Kong and immigrated to Delta in the ’90s. The house we lived in was modest, and they were proud to call it their own—especially because it was detached.

For many families in North America, homeownership, and specifically, a detached home, is the ultimate aspiration. We dream of large, private yards with ample space for the parents to garden or barbecue and for the kids to run around.

When Canada began building suburban neighbourhoods in the 1960s, the average size of a house was just over 1,000 square-feet; in 2023, that number has nearly doubled to 1,950. At the same time, average household sizes have fallen, as high housing costs continue to hinder younger generations from being able to move........

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