Regulatory Paths to a More Diverse Housing Stock: Encouraging Family-Sized, Single-Stair Apartments in Seattle’s Single-Family Neighborhoods with the Urban Residential Zone

Abstract

This thesis begins a two-part project, continued in my Master of Architecture Thesis, “Family-Sized Housing in Single-Stair Buildings: Testing the Urban Residential Zone.” Both documents explore the implementation of a new zoning designation in Seattle that would introduce single-stair, point access, small apartment buildings into the city's existing single-family neighborhood, with the intention of creating more family-sized rental or condo units, and a greater variety of housing generally. The urban planning portion of the project, in this document, explores the need for, and creation of this new zone.