San Francisco, widely regarded as one of the most expensive cities in the United States and frequently ranked among the top three for overall cost of living, continues to grapple with a severe housing crisis.
According to NBC Bay Area, the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in the city could cost over $3,400/month.
Now, a relatively new San Francisco start-up Brownstone Shared Living is trying to solve the city’s ballooning housing crisis with an unusual form of habitation – ‘sleeping pods’.
What is a sleeping pod?
A sleeping pod (or nap pod/capsule) is a compact, private structure or specialised chair designed for short rests, offering features like ergonomic support, sound/light control, and power outlets in public spaces. They can be found in spaces like airports, offices, and universities and aim to boost alertness, reduce fatigue, and improve productivity.
What is Brownstone offering?
For $700 a month, Brownstone’s residents would get their own pod plus shared living areas, kitchens, and workspaces in the heart of downtown San Francisco, The Independent reported.
The company is in fact expanding its operations. It has recently bought a long-vacant office building where it plans to build roughly 400 sleeping pods.
“We see demand for about ten thousand pods in downtown San Francisco… [and] potentially hundreds of thousands throughout the United States,” co-founder and CEO James Stallworth told The Independent. “At that scale, we will have revenue that supports a [company] valuation in the billions. Our goal is to grow to the size of the problem that we’re trying to solve,” he added.
No pets are allowed, and tenants are interviewed and vetted by Brownstone before admission.
Affordable or alarming? Netizens weigh in
Commenting on the soaring rental surge and Brownstone’s operations, a user took to Facebook and wrote, “I always thought the consolation to being in hell would be that you didn’t have to pay rent.”
A former government worker, identified as offered a different view. “There’s thousands of people living in their cars. I think that’s dystopian,” Stallworth said. “I think a pod, living inside a building with showers and other people, is a lot safer, more sanitary, and more human,” he told The Independent.
Which other US cities are facing housing crisis?
Several other American cities including Miami, Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York City, and Oakland have consistently ranked high on the unaffordability metric according to several reports.
While there is no single fix to the US housing affordability crisis, experts broadly agree that a combination of supply, policy, and economic reforms is needed, as per reports.