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Comment by Animats | Hacker News Reader

That worked for the arcade in Providence because it's a pre-airconditioning long, narrow building with exterior windows. But what do you do with a big box the size of a Walmart? Most areas don't allow windowless apartments.

Most successful conversions are of older buildings with small floors and many windows.[1] Modern buildings with a central utility core and large floors are not good candidates for conversion. There have been some attempts at long, narrow apartments to maximize access to the outside walls, but the result is a slum.

Tearing down malls to build apartments is more common than converting the big boxy spaces.

[1] https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/vacant-offices-housin...

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> But what do you do with a big box the size of a Walmart?

Cut out a square in the center and make it a courtyard. Now you can have windows on the inside and outside.

See "The Sordid History of NYC Air Shafts".[1]

[1] https://www.citysignal.com/the-sordid-history-of-nyc-air-sha...

Final sentence of the article: "As a result of this uproar, the city introduced new regulations that created larger interior courtyards and stating that developers could only build on less than 70 percent of a lot."

> rancid air shafts, filled with human waste, limited airflow, and a pungent odor

I am suggesting proper courtyards, not slots filled with human waste.

In Morocco, A/C is not common but many houses have a “square donut” shape with a courtyard in the middle where air can naturally cool the house. It’s pretty nice.

Funny you mentioned Wal-Mart because they've already been providing support to an effective housing solution in the form of letting RVs stay in their parking lot.

I've come across many people that this type of housing seems to work quite well for. Of course, I wonder what might be the repercussions? Might require some oversight to prevent devolving into tent cities? But then again, I'm not personally aware of tent cities causing much harm (to anyone outside of the tent city)

RVs in the parking lot of Walmart is an effective housing solution? I think not.

Why not? It increases supply

It increases the supply of blight, perhaps.

I mean would you rather have RVs or tents on sidewalks?

Many of those in lower quality housing have jobs. The service workers and whatnot in every community have to live somewhere.

Neither. Raise taxes and have the government build decent houses.

that has zero realistic chance of happening in the US. Even repealing the Faircloth amendment that limits public housing stock is not broadly popular.

And these days all housing providers, whether for-profit, non-profit, or public, are running into the same issues with zoning, financing, rising costs, etc.

An RV is better than nothing but they are not built for continuous use. An RV that is being lived in full time will start falling apart in a few years.

RVs can be repaired or replaced. And if the alternative is expensive enough, it's financially worthwhile to do so.

It's just the least insane option in an insane world.

Plenty of Walmarts have signs posted that prohibit overnight parking

It’s typically due to local laws. Sometimes it is straight up zoning, but often projects on the scale of a Walmart have to be negotiated.

18 wheelers on the parking lot fringes are a good indication that parking overnight is ok even if the signs say no.

The wal-mart RV parking thing is intended for one night, for people who are on a journey.

It is not in any way shape or form a 'housing solution'

The late-20th century big box store is also not really a structure designed to last more than a few decades at most. They usually get torn down because they are at end of life and it is cheaper/easier to demolish than invest significant sums.

Enclosed malls have a better shot because they were built with (slightly) higher quality, but none of the strip mall boxes are worth saving.

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