Apartments Without Kitchens!?!?
As I said in yesterday's post, space in an urban center is at a premium. Certainly rents are cheap enough in Cleveland (!), but first- and second-tier American cities can get costly. Is there some way renters (and home-owners, for that matter) in densely-populated urban centers can reduce their need for square-footage and still enjoy their lives?
Here's one idea: get rid of your kitchen! That's right, get an apartment with no kitchen whatsoever. No stove, no fridge, nothing! That would eliminate maybe 100 square feet from your home, and reduce your energy costs. Less space = lower rent!
But wait a minute... don't you have to eat?
Of course you do, but you live in a district where no one has kitchens, so there's a lively 24-hour food stand market on the sidewalks. If you want to eat, just go downstairs and buy some sandwiches / dumplings / burritos from the food vendors.
Think this is crazy? It isn't--it exists in Taipei, apparently. I had the good fortune to visit Taipei about a year ago, and believe it or not there are residential districts flooded with sidewalk food vendors. You can actually get an apartment without a kitchen, and subsist entirely on street food. It's great!
Now, what would it take to make this happen in America...?
Monday: Transit Ideas
Tuesday: Scooters for Everyone!
Wednesday: Apartments Without Kitchens!
Thursday: Even More Ridiculous Transit Ideas
Friday: Urban Parks
posted by Stephen Gross at
11:40 PM
2 Comments:
An apartment without a kitchen? Say what? That's like a relationship without sex. Not someplace where I'd want to be! Whoa Nelly!!! Let me slow down my emotions for a minute give Gross' idea another look... Well, here's what I have to say:
1. Communal kitchens: Instead of no kitchen, what about communal kitchens for each floor? Many apartments have communal washers & dryers. Now I don't know about the notion of sharing a fridge with strangers. Ever have roommates? Watch your food go bye-bye. I'd really like to see communal grocery purchases. Imagine everyone entering his/her order online and having the store fill that order. That would rock -- we're talking about big discounts! However, organizing people is a pain in the ass.
2. Never eat at home: Life on the town all the time... I'm not sure what that would do for one's waistline. Plus, there is some intrinsic about cooking. It is creative and theraputic.
The communal kitchen idea suggested by the general is a good one. I couldn't survive without a kitchen and couldn't afford to buy take out every night. Plus, it's tough to eat healthy otherwise...
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