29 photos of tiny living spaces show how overcrowded and unaffordable the world has become
- Cities around the world are becoming overpopulated, and rent is skyrocketing on a global scale.
- More people are moving into tiny homes, micro-apartments, and other small spaces as a result.
Tiny homes, micro apartments, and small living spaces like "coffin homes," "mosquito units," "gnat flats," and "cage beds" have popped up all over the world over the years.
As populations around the world grow rapidly and rents rise, some cities such as Hong Kong and San Francisco have seen a surge in the construction of tiny, more affordable apartments, according to Insider.
Some units are smaller than 200 square feet, earning them the nicknames "coffin homes," "mosquito units," and "gnat flats," The Associated Press reported.
And some living quarters are even smaller, like Hong Kong's 15-square-foot cage bed cubicles.
Hong Kong has gained the reputation of having some of the tiniest and most costly apartments in the world, according to Bloomberg.
Housing costs are so high in Hong Kong that people like Donny Chan who make a decent wage pay a third of their salaries for 190-square-foot apartments, dubbed "gnat flats" for their size.
This flat in Hong Kong is considered to be a micro-sized upscale apartment, though it has drawn online ridicule, according to The Associated Press.
Critics of micro apartments say the small living spaces are widening inequality and promoting unfair living conditions.
Thousands of residents in Hong Kong live in shoebox-sized apartments known as "coffin homes" that are not even meant to house people, the Associated Press reported.
Cheung Chi-Fong, 80, cannot even stretch out his legs while he sleeps in his tiny apartment in Hong Kong, according to The Associated Press.
Landlords in Hong Kong have also created "cubicle flats" by carving out individual living spaces from a single apartment, according to Getty.
The homeowner of this "cubicle flat" has managed to fit a shrine, fridge, and bed into his tiny space, according to Getty.
Other unique tiny home concepts have been popping up in Hong Kong, like the OPod tube home, built out of a giant drainage pipe.
The idea for the OPod tube house is to create affordable housing inside giant concrete drainage pipes, according to James Law's website. Architect James Law designed the tiny house around the pipe's circular design.
In Tokyo, some 20-somethings have chosen to live in affordable tiny apartments so they can spend their money in other ways.
According to The Associated Press, Taiyo Akagi's 108-square-foot room cost him about $300 a month in 1998.
Tiny apartments in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, like this 72-square-foot home are tucked between alleys, food stalls, shops, and houses.
Often, tourists and civilians completely miss these spaces because of how small they are, photographer Thanh Nguyen reported for Getty.
Some students in China live in cheap, cramped apartments while studying for their graduate entrance exams, hoping that more education can bring them better opportunities, according to Getty.
The cramped conditions are ideally viewed as temporary before getting into graduate school, Getty reported.
Unable to afford the city's housing costs, Dai Haifei designed and built an egg-shaped house on the sidewalk of Beijing, China, out of bamboo strips, steel bars, and waterproof materials, according to Reuters.
Dai Haifei gained popularity in 2010 when he lived for months in the egg-shaped house near his office in Beijing, Reuters reported.
There's been a rising tiny-house movement in Silivri, Istanbul, as people look for affordable vacation housing away from bustling city centers.
In Silivri, Istanbul, tiny homes saw a resurgence in popularity as people and families searched for affordable vacation rentals in nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Gulf Today.
One of the world's narrowest buildings in Warsaw, Poland, is 36 inches wide in some places.
Originally opened in Warsaw as an artistic installation by architect Jakub Szczesny, the building is 36 inches wide at its narrowest point, according to the Times of Israel.
Israeli writer Etgar Keret used the tiny apartment as his home when he visited Warsaw up until 2016, the Times of Israel reported.
Chris Heijmans and her husband Rick de Vries sold their home and moved into a yurt in Riel, Netherlands, to save money during the COVID-19 pandemic, Getty reports.
The couple decided to sell Heijmans' house during the pandemic and live tiny in a yurt on farmlands in south Netherlands to reduce costs and live more freely, according to Getty.
The tiny-home transformation trend has taken off internationally, with people transforming shipping containers and trailers into modern, minimalist homes.
Many small homes have lofted beds to save space.
Amid a housing shortage, students at a university in Kiel, Germany, and a local welfare organization converted shipping containers into homes for students and the homeless Getty reports.
Two containers have been converted into tiny homes for students and people experiencing homelessness in Kiel, Germany, so far, Getty reports.
According to Kiel University's International Center, affordable housing is difficult to find in the north German city, with about 1,000 students on a dormitory waiting list, Die Tageszeitung reported.
In Berlin, a lack of affordable housing has motivated some developers to build compact and modular living quarters for students.
This building is able to fit 153 one-bedroom apartments for students studying in Berlin, Germany, according to the technology park Berlin Adlershof.
A tiny home designed by two architecture students in Berlin utilizes its entire space, with built-in shelving and storage units all over the home.
The minimalist style is very popular in the tiny home community, and everything is meant to be easily hidden, including the bathroom, according to Getty.
In the US, some tiny-home villages in California provide housing for people experiencing homelessness.
In the US, tiny homes have become a potential solution for providing homes to people experiencing homelessness.
In October, one of the country's largest tiny home villages opened in Los Angeles, California, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. The Arroyo Seco Tiny Home Village has 117 units and 224 non-congregate beds for people, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
The Miracle Terrace Building in Anaheim, California, houses low-income elderly residents in tiny studio apartments, Getty reported.
The roughly 450-square-foot apartments house more than 100 low-income elderly residents, the majority of whom are Korean, according to Getty.
Renters could pay around $2,000 a month for a tiny, one-bedroom cottage in Orange, California, where rent and home prices are sky-high.
The historical Shaffer Cottages were restored to house four different tenants, with each living unit no bigger than 500 square feet, according to The Orange County Register
While California faces a state-wide housing crisis, the Press Telegram reported, these rentals start at $1,775 a month, according to Shaffer Cottages' Facebook page.
In Los Angeles, where space is at a premium, planning and clever storage can make compact spaces like this loft bedroom feel more open.
Fourteen-year-old Jay Segal plays with her dog in a tiny loft her father, Todd Segal, built, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Segal is a contractor who completely refitted the family's 625-square-foot home in Highland Park, California. The home isn't much bigger than a one-bedroom apartment, and it has one bedroom, one bathroom, and an open living-dining-kitchen area, the Los Angeles Times reports. And Segal's goal with the renovation was to make it feel bigger than it actually was.
The Healthy Housing Foundation installed a 352-square-foot model micro home to showcase unique solutions that could help solve the affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles.
The small modular home was installed in the parking lot of the Madison Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles to demonstrate what alternative and innovative housing can look like in a busy city like Los Angeles, where low-income families and people experiencing homelessness need more affordable housing, according to the Healthy Housing Foundation.
In Seattle, compact apartments tend to cater to young, single workers; retirees; students; and people looking to downsize, The Associated Press reported.
Kris King can stand in his kitchen, closet, and bedroom all at once.
His apartment is about the same size as a large parking spot, according to The Associated Press.
Micro apartments in Seattle usually come with a private bathroom and built-in furniture to save space and help make them even more appealing to young people, according to Reuters.
The resident of this 200-square-foot apartment said this was an affordable way to live inside the city center for under $1,200, according to Reuters.
Greg Cantori built his 238-square-foot tiny home in Pasadena, Maryland, for him and his wife to live in once they retire, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Greg Cantori told the Chicago Tribune that he placed the tiny house on a trailer, so he can easily tow it and bring it on the road while he and his wife travel.
Students from the Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia designed 135-square-foot micro houses to tackle urban population and affordability problems in the area, Next City reports.
The interior of this SCADpad "North America" was on display during a micro-housing event in Atlanta, according to Next City. The majority of the walls are windows, which help to make the apartment feel a lot larger than it actually is, Next City reported.
In Brooklyn, New York, one couple turned their 460-square-foot studio apartment into a modular live-work loft, according to Apartment Therapy.
The apartment makes use of the tiny space, utilizing functional storage compartments and an innovative lofted bed, Apartment Therapy reports.
New York City is another notoriously expensive city, thanks to its high rent and shoebox-sized apartments for multiple people
New York City is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live, according to Thrillist.
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