Soft cells: Soaring rents send Americans to the bunks – The National

Soft cells: Soaring rents send Americans to the bunks – The National

The search for affordable housing in the US is becoming critical as rents soar and home ownership becomes more of a distant dream than a reality for millions of people.

With inflation continuing to pinch and a shortage of available houses, younger Americans are looking for alternatives to traditional accommodation, from sleeping in bunks, to “tiny homes”, to ad hoc dwellings erected on a larger property.

Perhaps the most vivid illustration of America’s housing crisis is the growing popularity of “pods” — small rooms often furnished with only a bed — in expensive areas such as Palo Alto, one of the main cities of California's Silicon Valley.