By Jeannette Bylov, AAU Communication and Public Affairs.
Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Department of the Built Environment

In Denmark, interest in micro apartments, tiny houses and micro living as modern housing alternatives is increasing. This is happening at a time when the pressure on the housing market in big cities, demands for sustainability and new ideas about the good life have necessitated thinking differently when it comes to housing. The micro dwelling is also linked to global lifestyle trends like minimalism, tiny living, smart living, downsizing and compact living.

"The new micro dwellings are not about living small as such, but about the opportunities that come with it. Our studies indicate that Danes' choice to scale down living space is never the end in itself, but the means to something else," says Mette Mechlenborg, Senior Researcher in the Department of the Built Environment (BUILD) at Aalborg University (AAU).

She and Jesper Ole Jensen, Senior Researcher co-authored the report ”Mikroboliger i Danmark - Erfaringer med Tiny houses, mikrolejligheder, co-living i en dansk kontekst” [Micro housing in Denmark – Experiences with Tiny houses, micro apartments, co-living in a Danish context] supported by the philanthropic association Realdania.

Well-being, economy and sustainability

The researchers focused on how the type of housing can affect both the environment and people's well-being in terms of space optimization, community and housing quality. In addition, they looked at how residents adapt to smaller housing, in addition to the opportunities and challenges it entails in everyday life.

"The new housing types come with strong narratives about a new lifestyle, new values and a different home life. The concept of micro dwellings therefore also fits into the sustainability movement which focuses on less consumption and a lower climate footprint. And – perhaps just as important – new perceptions of what constitutes a good home," says Mette Mechlenborg.

Why choose micro housing

Micro dwellings can provide access to other qualities than those found in the private home. Typically, it will be an attractive location, access to nature and communal facilities, city life, the opportunity to cohabitate with like-minded people or a housing concept that targets a certain type of everyday life and working life. The interest in micro dwellings reflects a growing desire for sustainable, flexible and modern forms of housing that fit a globalized lifestyle.

"With micro homes, tiny houses and co-living, Denmark is facing an ideal opportunity to promote a more sustainable housing culture where space optimization and community can become central values in the housing policy of the future," explains Mette Mechlenborg.

Who chooses the micro dwelling?

Small homes are nothing new in Denmark. The report shows that there are approximately 200,000 homes under 50 m2 (including older, small homes), and if you exclude purely student housing, there are 40,000 homes under 40 m2. The residents of the new and old small homes are generally the "average Dane" with roughly the same age, background, family circumstances, occupation, etc., but with a slightly lower income than that of the rest of the population. The new generation of micro dwellings differs from the existing small dwellings by having a greater focus on new lifestyles, including community, and by addressing new target groups with special needs.

Four archetypes choose the tiny house

Tiny houses are largely defined by a desire to live a different life with less emphasis on the home itself and more on life outside the home. Economic freedom is a key word here. By downsizing, it is possible to lower your monthly expenses, giving you other choices in terms of how to organize your life.

The researchers define four different types who choose a life in a tiny house: The get-off-the-hamster-wheel-hipster, the climate idealist, the free bird and the middle-class frontrunner. Since tiny houses are often mobile and ideally move around the country, it is not possible to capture them in a registry-based analysis. So there is a dark figure. In the researchers' registration of projects around the municipalities, only about 100 tiny houses were found, but the studies indicate that the number may be much higher, about several thousand around the country.

Also, micro apartments and co-living concepts are increasingly aimed at students, recent graduates, expats, digital nomads and singles, with a desire for temporary, centrally located and affordable housing that also offers community. Based on the report's mapping, it is estimated that there are around 10,000 micro and co-living apartments in Denmark, and that the number is increasing.

Dream, demand and obstacles

In the study, the researchers point out that the apparent popular cultivation of the tiny house dream is still not quite in line with the demand:

"The increased interest must be seen as a need for new types of housing that deal with the uncertain global economic future, the imbalance between working life and home life, and the demand for a sustainable society," explains Mette Mechlenborg.

In the studies, the researchers were in dialogue with a number of homeowners, industry players and municipal employees who point out that the biggest challenge for the spread of Danish tiny houses is complicated legislation and municipal conditions. This has various consequences: Residents of individual houses and small communities choose to live in society’s shadow such that they cannot be captured in a registry-based analysis. Or they end up in many years of negotiations with the municipality about exemptions and permits.

According to Mette Mechlenborg, this is currently the case with many citizen-driven, climate-idealist projects, of which only a few have reached their goal. Finally, there are the planned – and few realized – municipal projects that express challenges in finding construction maturity, land registry and tender models that do not challenge the ideal of debt-free living and living freely in nature.

On the one hand, micro apartments and co-living have hit a demand in the market where different target groups are looking for serviced housing with access to community and high flexibility, but the challenge is the question of housing size and perception of housing quality. But in Denmark, it is difficult to set standards for housing where home life also includes the common spaces and social activities outside the home – without it being a co-housing community. But the researchers also point out that there is a need to look at location, housing quality and target group.

"Micro apartments and co-living obviously have some qualities that have been absent in the previous housing market, and the potential to counter loneliness among singles, expats, digital nomads, etc. However, fulfilling the potential requires proper quality in common areas, facilitation, and in the private home, and it requires new skills among landlords who must therefore continuously practice evaluating and improving their concepts," says Jesper Ole Jensen, Senior Researcher and also points to a need to take a critical look at where and to what extent, new housing developments must be built and how flexible they are in relation to future needs:

"Historically, small homes have been associated with socially vulnerable residential areas, especially in areas where the location itself doesn’t generate permanent demand, and this should be avoided in the future."

Too positive branding can lead to "culture washing"

Micro dwellings in Denmark challenge our usual perception of what constitutes a good home. So, conflicts about regulation, housing quality and building regulations are not just about the fact that legislation must of course be complied with. There is often an inherited, implicit understanding of what a good home should be.

"The risk is that we won’t take full advantage of the opportunities to increase Danes' motivation to live smaller, more sustainably and share more, because our legal practice is based on a past understanding of the good home life," Mette Mechlenborg points out.

According to the researchers, the strong branding shows that the new micro dwellings are associated with social prestige, innovation and new lifestyle choices. This shows the trend's potential to spread to other target groups, just as we have seen earlier in housing history, for example, when collective housing gained ground in the late 1970s and showed that there are other ways of living together than in nuclear families. The interest in the micro dwelling indicates that Danes are actually willing to downsize their home if it also contributes to increased quality of life and a more meaningful everyday life. In this way, the micro dwelling has the potential to inspire the rest of the housing market and contribute to a sustainable transition.

"There is also a risk with the tendency to focus on lifestyle choices and branding, which risks justifying low-quality housing and high rents. In this way, the positive branding can result in what we call 'culture washing': When hyper-branded housing concepts celebrate smart technology, lots of living space and a beautiful, more sustainable life, without it being clear exactly what you are actually getting, Mette Mechlenborg concludes.