Missing Middle Housing: Thinking Big and Building Small to Respond to Today’s Housing Crisis

Missing Middle Housing focuses on the various dwelling forms that could be delivered in our towns and cities to effectively tackle housing need. A key premise is that modern planners and developers have become somewhat fixated on single family homes or large apartment blocks, with the range of housing types in-between these dwelling forms somewhat underrepresented. American architect and urban designer Daniel Parolek refers to this spectrum of dwelling types as ‘Missing Middle Housing (MMH)’, essentially house-sized, multiple-family units, and in this work he presents a compelling case for how MMH could effectively meet housing demand, as well as the key design and policy considerations. He argues that ‘“[t]hese types provide a similar living experience to single-family homes, such as entering from a private door on a porch or stoop versus entering from a long, dark corridor” (p. 20). These house types include duplex, triplex, fourplex, courtyard apartments/cottages, bungalow courts, town houses, multiplexes, and living/work spaces—fundamentally, multi-unit, small buildings. The book explores definitions of MMH and highlights how MMH can be deployed to tackle contemporary housing challenges. Barriers to delivery are explored, as well as solutions. Finally, a useful design and delivery toolkit is provided for each dwelling type, supported with global case studies.