A while ago a close friend lived with his wife and two maine coons in a studio apartment in the east village; this place was maybe 450 square feet. As you entered, the kitchen (5x5) was to the right. As you stood facing into the kitchen, the door to the bathroom (5x5) was to the left. Turn 180'. There is a bed with its long side perpendicular to you; its headboard is against the wall to the right, and there is maybe 3' of clearance between its foot and the wall on your left. Immediately in front of the bed is a loveseat with its back to the bed, facing the kitchen and the square cut-in of the bathroom; there is a TV hanging on the wall. There is maybe 5' of clearance between the loveseat and the TV. They had expertly put together storage spaces to keep the clutter down. They would regularly host gatherings of 6+ people (they had tiny stackable stools to pull out for company) in that tiny apartment. It was pretty cozy, but we all had fun.

If I remember correctly, they paid around $2,000 for the space. It's definitely not for everyone.

The article brings up the rent inflation caused by many people living with room-mates. That may be, but most of the people I know with room-mates can afford less than $1,500/mo in rent. A $3,000/mo micro studio would not attract them. Hell, it wouldn't attract me - I live in a true one bedroom / one bathroom. And don't pay nearly what these micro apartments will cost. Most of the two bedroom apartments in my neighborhood aren't attractive to room-mates or families: they are what's known as 'railroad' apartments - though they are technically 'shotgun' apartments, as they do not have a narrow hallway running the length. The only kind of person this is truly attractive to is the kind who wants an extra room for an office. 5 years ago they were renting at $1,250/mo. These days they are renting for $2,300/mo. Most are in sad states of disrepair. Example layout: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_house#mediaviewer/File:... -- swap the bedroom and the living room, add another bedroom on the bottom, and two entrances on the left in the kitchen and the bottom bedroom.

It also brings up amenity buildings -- and they're novel, at first, but then you realize that nobody actually uses them: the laundry room is either packed or half the machines are broken; the gym is a graveyard of broken treadmills and old equipment; the "dog run" on the roof is a 20' patch of astroturf that never gets hosed off... and the tenants have no recourse with the management to get things fixed.

I suppose if you're living in a micro apartment they may be used quite a bit more.

I suppose my point is: at that price, many of the prospective tenants could rent a real one bedroom and add twenty minutes onto their commute for a lower cost. This won't reduce the number of people living with roomates, as they wouldn't be able to afford them anyhow. When I was just beginning my career here, I wouldn't have been able to afford one either. Typical financial requirements are 50x monthly rent, a security deposit of one month, and first month and last month. To move into a $3,000/mo apartment, then, you need to have $9,000 cash and make $150,000/yr. This is why so many live with room-mates in apartments to which they are not a lessee.