All points
2629 words
- America’s interstate commercial corridors have become remarkably uniform. The opening sequence pretends to show Plank Road in Fredericksburg, Virginia, but the footage actually comes from Portland, Maine; Cookeville, Tennessee; Marietta, Georgia; El Paso, Texas; and Los Angeles, California. Gas stations, fast-food chains, mid-market hotels, big-box stores and extensive parking create nearly identical commercial environments around interstate exits across the country.
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- National chains have made commercial environments intuitively predictable. Americans know where to find a McDonald's when approaching an interstate exit, and standardized restaurant, hotel and retail layouts make bathrooms, registers and entrances predictable before customers even enter. This consistency has become part of everyday life for much of the population outside the most urban and rural areas.
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- America’s geographical and cultural diversity contrasts with its increasingly homogeneous built environment. Utah and Maine, Florida and Alaska, Manhattan and North Dakota have dramatically different landscapes and lifestyles. Yet outside the oldest urban areas, cities and towns are increasingly constructed in similar ways, making Anchorage resemble Alabama and Columbus resemble California.
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- The five-over-one apartment building has become the defining structure of modern American development. These buildings typically feature five stories of Type V wood-frame construction above a Type I concrete base. They are usually boxy, mid-rise buildings with repetitive right angles, prominent street-facing walls and marketing built around trendy amenities and community. They increasingly dominate new developments from Maine to Montana.
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- American building codes became relatively standardized because smaller municipalities lacked the resources to create their own regulations. Although each municipality technically chooses its building codes, many adopt the International Building Code (IBC), rather than developing their own comprehensive regulations. This creates a common regulatory framework across otherwise different communities.
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- Changes to fire-safety regulations made five-over-one construction possible. Building codes developed in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire initially restricted wooden buildings to three stories. Height limits gradually increased to five, but regulations into the 1990s generally required noncombustible wall materials, limiting the cost advantages of wood-frame apartments. An exception subsequently allowed flame-retardant-treated wood to qualify as noncombustible.
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- Architect Tim Smith reportedly recognized the commercial opportunity created by the treated-wood exception. The Los Angeles architect identified wood construction as a cheaper alternative to steel and concrete and, according to the account, built the first five-over-one building. Building-code changes enabled the construction method, but other economic conditions were necessary to make it profitable.
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- Single-family zoning is the principal land-use restriction limiting where dense housing can be built. Approximately three-quarters of American residential land is zoned for single-family homes. The proportion generally increases in western states, where younger, more sprawling cities have extensive low-density development.
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- Fort Collins, Colorado, illustrates how zoning restricts housing development despite apparently abundant available land. The college town has more than 100,000 residents and faces growing demand from students and the wider population. Despite surrounding flat, seemingly developable land, much of the city is zoned exclusively for low-density single-family houses and duplexes.
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- Fort Collins has several distinct barriers to expanding high-density housing. Downtown permits apartment buildings but is already substantially developed. The neighboring historic district is protected, while commercially zoned land along a state highway allows apartments but forces housing projects to compete with businesses for valuable property. Consequently, the available land for dense residential development is extremely limited.
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- Five-over-ones concentrate in the small areas where zoning permits high-density development. In Fort Collins, they cluster near the university and appear sporadically around downtown and highway corridors. Across America, restrictive zoning leaves apartment developers competing for expensive remaining plots near downtowns, industrial districts and interstate exits, often alongside retail and office developers.
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- A small number of major developers account for a substantial share of American large-building housing construction. In 2019, approximately 293,000 large-building housing units were developed, of which 94,000—roughly one-third—were constructed by the country's 25 largest developers. The video describes the multifamily housing industry as experiencing a reinforcing cycle of consolidation.
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- Limited availability of multifamily-zoned land gives large developers a financial advantage. Scarce permitted land becomes more expensive, reducing the number of developers capable of purchasing it. Because expensive plots require sufficiently large and dense projects to generate acceptable returns, smaller developers face an additional barrier to entry.
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- Large developments benefit from substantial economies of scale. Bigger apartment buildings can distribute the costs of shared walls, elevators, mechanical systems and management across more units. These efficiencies allow large developers to produce comparable apartments at lower per-unit costs than smaller competitors.
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- Five-over-one construction gives large developers another cost advantage. Wood is cheaper than alternative structural materials and easier to work with, reducing construction and labor costs. The speaker also identifies reduced reliance on unionized tradespeople as another source of savings. Combined with the ability to maximize the usable area of expensive plots, these advantages make five-over-ones particularly attractive to large developers.
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- The economics of five-over-ones help successful developers expand nationally. Their lower per-unit costs allow them to outcompete smaller developments, accumulate wealth and enter additional markets. Developers can further reduce costs by reusing architectural plans, transferring specialized employees between projects and repeating proven development strategies in different states.
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- Greystar illustrates how national developers reproduce similar buildings across different markets. Its Ayla development and Canvas on Blake look remarkably similar despite being separated by two time zones. The example demonstrates how large developers can apply standardized development models across geographically distant cities.
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- Five-over-ones provide modern rental housing but are not necessarily affordable housing. They address demand for walkable, relatively modern apartments near urban centers, but are generally constructed as rental properties. In Denver, the cheapest apartments at Broadstone on 9th, Canvas on Blake and 20th Street Station meet or exceed the city's average rent.
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- Five-over-one developers have captured an underserved segment of the rental market. Their advantage is that customers often cannot find a comparable new, modern, walkable apartment at a similar price in smaller boutique buildings or older large developments. This gives major developers a strong position in a market with limited alternatives and allows them considerable commercial latitude.
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- Corporate landlords can reduce operating services while increasing what tenants pay. The video describes San Francisco residents in a Greystar-managed building where a one-bedroom apartment rented for $2,800 per month. Tenants reported increasing rents and fees alongside cuts to staffing and services. Trash accumulated in hallways, and when building boilers failed, neighbors had to borrow one another's showers.
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- America is constructing more multifamily housing than at any other point in the 21st century, but much of the new construction resembles five-over-ones. The speaker cites 2020 census data and acknowledges that the data do not directly identify how many buildings are five-over-ones. However, their construction materials, architectural style and size characteristics suggest that five-over-ones and similar buildings account for the vast majority of new developments.
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- The increase in multifamily construction does not necessarily address the housing needs of those suffering most from shortages. New developments may indirectly free up older units for people who would otherwise face displacement, but the speaker considers this an imperfect solution because the new housing is generally targeted toward a different market segment.
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- Interstate hotels are another example of nationwide architectural standardization. Roadside commercial areas repeatedly feature the same hotel brands, including Hampton, Holiday Inn and La Quinta, with independent hotels appearing relatively rarely. A Sleep Inn in Chiloquin, Oregon, is presented alongside an almost inch-for-inch identical property in Webb City, Missouri, approximately 1,500 miles away.
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- Choice Hotels International standardizes hotels through franchising rather than owning the buildings themselves. The company operates approximately 7,000 properties globally through a portfolio of brands, but generally owns the brands rather than the physical hotels. Independent franchisees provide the capital and operate the properties under the company's branding and standardized arrangements.
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- Choice Hotels gives prospective franchisees a standardized menu of hotel concepts. An independent operator chooses a brand aimed at a particular customer segment, selects an approved floor plan, decides whether to include a swimming pool and chooses from four color schemes. Construction is then arranged through one of Choice's approved contractors.
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- The hotel franchise model transfers substantial development costs and operational risks away from Choice Hotels. The company provides standardized designs and approved contractors, reducing the franchisee's need to independently design a building, adapt plans to permitting requirements, vet contractors or develop a hotel-management system. The franchisee supplies the capital and bears the financial risk, allowing Choice to expand without directly financing and owning every property.
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- Hotel customers often value predictability more than uniqueness. Road-trippers arriving after dark, pilots stopping for their mandated ten hours of rest and consultants visiting their sixth city in a month may prefer a familiar, reliable room to an unfamiliar independent hotel. For these customers, uniqueness can be a disadvantage rather than a benefit.
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- Independent hotels have increasingly moved toward the high end of the market. Standardized chains have made it difficult for independent operators to compete in the mid-market sector. Independents increasingly focus on more expensive properties where the hotel itself is a destination rather than simply a convenient place to sleep.
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- Franchising extends far beyond hotels into ordinary roadside restaurants and services. One illustrated commercial strip includes Comfort Suites, Hampton Inn, Burger King, Best Western, Shoney's, Quality Inn, Dunkin' Donuts, America's Best Value Inn and Marathon Gas. Every business shown is a franchise, and the speaker emphasizes that this is not an unusually selected example.
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- More than half of American limited-service restaurants operate as franchises. The national proportion is approximately 57%, but it varies considerably by state. New York has 31% and Massachusetts 38%, compared with 71% in West Virginia and 78% in Mississippi. The speaker notes that franchise prevalence tends to increase alongside state poverty rates.
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- The standardization of commercial environments also extends to wealthy international business districts. Major financial centers in Sydney, Santiago, London and Frankfurt have remarkably similar skylines and business environments. Their buildings may be distinctive within their respective cities, but their tenants and intended uses reflect increasingly standardized global corporate requirements.
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- The same multinational corporations repeatedly occupy the leading business districts of major financial cities. Of ten multinational businesses directly or indirectly connected to finance, nine are located in London's Canary Wharf, eight of the same companies are in Frankfurt's Bankenviertel, nine are in Santiago's Sanhattan district and all ten are present in Sydney's central business district. In Santiago, nine of these companies occupy locations within just a few blocks of one another.
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- Multinational corporate operations help reproduce similar office environments worldwide. Employees frequently move between international business districts as they change positions within the same companies. At a larger level, the same multinational corporations lease offices in different cities and seek similar buildings, facilities and working environments regardless of location.
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- The causes of global sameness extend beyond building codes, hotel franchising and multinational office tenants. The speaker argues that modern economic and technological systems increasingly encourage standardized products and environments because businesses and consumers benefit from consistency, scale and repeatable solutions.
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- Basic human preferences create strong demand for standardized consumer experiences. Someone finishing a double shift or waking early for a 6 a.m. flight may simply want quick, inexpensive, warm food without having to study an unfamiliar menu. Fast food delivers a predictable product, and its consistent mediocrity can actually be an advantage when customers prioritize convenience over culinary quality.
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- The desire for convenience is not new; the ability to satisfy it globally is. The speaker argues that McDonald's could have appealed to consumers in the 1800s, but operating an international chain of inexpensive restaurants would have been practically impossible without modern transportation and communications infrastructure.
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- Historical supply-chain limitations forced products and businesses to adapt to local conditions. Tomatoes, for example, cannot readily grow in Norway because of its cold climate. Before modern long-distance refrigerated supply chains, obtaining the same ingredients in Norway and California was difficult, meaning businesses had to work with locally available resources.
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- Globalization removed many of the geographical barriers that previously encouraged local differences. Cargo ships, airplanes and internet infrastructure now connect markets, making it possible to transport ingredients over long distances and communicate standardized preparation instructions to workers around the world. A business can increasingly reproduce the same product regardless of where it operates.
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- Economies of scale, predictable consumer demand, branding and concentrated capital have become major forces behind global standardization. As local resource constraints and geographical barriers diminish, businesses have stronger incentives to reuse successful designs, replicate products and consolidate operations across markets.
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- Standardization has contributed to improvements in living standards. The speaker argues that the same economic forces responsible for architectural and commercial sameness have also helped raise the average person's standard of living. Consistent access to building materials and products makes development possible in places that would previously have faced significant resource constraints.
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- Modern supply chains have reduced the importance of local resource availability in construction. Timber prices are described as barely different between a Lowe's store near forests in Oregon and one in the middle of Arizona's desert. Consequently, developers can use similar construction methods, including five-over-ones, in both states without being constrained by the historical availability of local timber.
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- The speaker acknowledges that standardization can be economically rational and socially useful. If a particular apartment design is an effective response to a housing shortage, a hotel chain can provide consistent rooms at lower prices, or an office building design meets the preferences of its users, there may be no obvious reason to reject that solution simply because it is repetitive.
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- The central problem with standardization is that its financial benefits and environmental costs often fall on different people. A standardized roadside hotel allows its owners to establish an equally profitable business at lower cost. However, residents of Chiloquin, Oregon, experience the loss of local architectural character when their distinctive surroundings are replaced with buildings resembling those found in Webb City, Missouri.
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- The loss of local character is presented as a cumulative problem rather than one enormous crisis. Each standardized development, restaurant or commercial building may cause only a small loss, but similar changes happen repeatedly across communities. The combined effect is an increasingly uniform built environment experienced by people everywhere.
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- The built environment should respond to changing human priorities. The speaker argues that development solutions should adapt to their surroundings because people are themselves part of the urban environment. If communities change what they value, the environments they build and the solutions they choose should change accordingly.
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- The speaker believes Americans have become too accustomed to standardized development. Few people appear particularly concerned about increasing sameness, perhaps because the country has spent decades constructing cookie-cutter suburban neighborhoods. The video encourages viewers to question whether identical development styles and dining options should become the default in every community, regardless of its local character.
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- Storyblocks sponsored the video and had previously supplied much of the creator's stock footage. The creator says the company provided footage for the channel's first video and had been a regular provider for years before becoming a sponsor. The sponsorship segment also identifies its offerings as stock footage, images, music, audio and editing templates.
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