Dematerialization and the home

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funkervogt
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Dematerialization and the home

Post by funkervogt »

Here are some predictions about the impact driverless cars will have on homes and real estate: https://futuristspeaker.com/future-of-t ... al-estate/

A good point he raises is that, if you rent cars instead of owning one, you won't need a garage, so they will get less common.

In addition, if you get most of your meals delivered, you wouldn't need a kitchen. Something like a kitchenette set up along one wall of your living room would cover all your needs.

The homes of the future might actually be smaller than those of the present!
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caltrek
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Re: Dematerialization and the home

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The comment in your link regarding "garage-less" homes sounds like California today - and that is with a high ownership of cars (versus car sharing). In the case of California, I suspect that has a lot to do with the relatively mild climate that encourages people to park their cars outdoors. As often as not, garages are converted to storage rooms, places where laundry activities occur, and even dens. The design as garages persists because of the flexibility involved. For example, garage doors make for easier ingress and egress of stored items, etc., plus some people still use them as traditional garages. Important considerations in the resale of such homes.


Edit: Correction in grammar.
Last edited by caltrek on Thu Apr 21, 2022 11:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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funkervogt
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Re: Dematerialization and the home

Post by funkervogt »

Fair points. Going forward though, there's a good argument to be made that fewer new homes will come with garages.
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caltrek
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Re: Dematerialization and the home

Post by caltrek »

funkervogt wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:22 pm Fair points. Going forward though, there's a good argument to be made that fewer new homes will come with garages.
A reasonable conclusion. I think there are three main variables to consider, two of which have already been identified.

1. Weather, which I already commented upon.
2. Car ownership, already adequately discussed in the opening post.
3. Regulatory attitudes. Here, I include homeowners associations, planning commissions, architectural review committees, etc. They can either encourage or discourage all sorts of items related to architectural and use restrictions.

Because things pan out a certain way here on the car-loving "left coast" doesn't necessarily mean that is how they will pan out in other parts of the country, much less other countries. Even things like bicycle paths, traffic flow planning, availability of mass transit, and allowance for car-sharing programs, etc. can affect the car ownership variable. There is also the aspect of things reaching a critical mass or tipping point. Once such points are reached, trends can develop very rapidly and very dramatically. All in all, reasons why I tend to keep predictions to a minimum and just concentrate on what I can observe today. Hopefully, this can still be of benefit to other futurists.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
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