DIY urbanism is the practice of gaining self sufficiency and self reliance while living in a dense urban environment. Being a member of a city community but also resilient to the problems that cities provide. I truly believe how we use our land and how we build our housing trickles down to every aspect of our lives.
Shelter is the most fundamental human need and creating shelter that is affordable and efficient creates a cascade of quality of life. Creating a reliable means of self transportation in an urban environment also serves the mission of DIY urbanism.
What is urbanism?
Urbanism is the zoning and planning of a city for high density, efficiency of land, allowing for easy walking, biking and transit. Urbanist design dissuades the use of automobiles and highway construction. The end result is creating a city that has a higher quality of life, affordability, low crime, high education and is easy to get around.
Where are urbanist cities?
Ive been traveling Europe the last month and the way they plan and build cities is fundamentally different than how things are done in the north america. Walk the streets of Barcelona, Vienna, Rome, Prague and you wont see any single family homes. Meanwhile in my city of Austin 80% of the city is single family housing. Part of this has to do with being built prior to the invention of the car.
More inventory of affordable housing
Despite larger populations than Austin the prices for housing in most European cities are the same or cheaper. By cheaper I don’t mean that the average price of houses is cheaper. By cheaper I mean there is more inventory for starter homes. More inventory of housing on the lower end of the spectrum. In a multifamily zoned city these are typically condo units.
| City | Austin, Texas | Vienna Austria | Paris France | Rome Italy |
| Homes available under 200k | 8 | 14 | 140 | 16 |
How could this be? The key is housing density. Many European cities are built out of mostly multifamily apartment buildings that use the land more effeciently than the single family home. The result is more humans living on less land. The price of land is divided amongst more people driving down cost.
What are the benefits of DIY urbanism?
While driving down housing costs is great this is just tip of the iceberg. Lower housing costs allow people to work less hours to cover their costs. Working less allows more relaxation and higher mental health. Being able to cover costs more easily creates more prosperity for its citizens.
More prosperity and less stress reduces mental health problems and homelessness. More prosperity and less mental health issues reduces crime and improves citizen culture. Less police requires less tax funding in that regard. More free time allows citizenry to start businesses or self educate.
Denser cities require less roads as walking is more practical when things are near by and there is less space for parking. More walking means physically healthier citizens and less health related costs dragging down the health system. Denser cities that allow more walking produce less CO2 per capita as well.
All of this coalesces into a higher quality of life for citizens. You see how one thing can trickle down into everything? How we build the houses we live in is the most important thing for humanity.
What are the limitations of DIY Urbanism?
There are many limitations to living a more self sufficient DIY lifestyle in a dense urban environment. Available housing stock will be mostly large multifamily and condo type buildings so there will be less ability to be independent. You wont be able to create your own utilities like electric, water and gas as you will be tied into the city grid. Larger cities have more regulation and less privacy to build what you want where you want. Unless there is a rooftop you won’t have access to an area where you can grow crops.
How do you DIY in an urbanist city?
The principles for DIY apply in an urban environment as they do anywhere else. Although your options may be more limited as building a house DIY isn’t really an option in a dense city. Building a multistory apartment building isn’t really an option. This will require a crew of workers. However there are opportunities still by rehabbing apartment buildings, rehabbing condos and building an ebike to get around.
The purpose of using DIY in an urban enviroment is to offer yourself an affordable place to live and transportation around the city. Becoming more financially independent while still enjoying the perks a big city has to offer.
How to build an ebike for the city?
The best way to build an ebike for a city is to find a street bike and add a smaller wattage engine kit and smaller battery onto it. I would recommend a street bike and 750w engine kit with 48v 15ah battery. The reason you want a street bike is that the frames are lighter and will require less wattage to run efficiently. You also won’t need beefier treds as the bike will only be on pavement. A 48v engine and 48v 15ah battery will be light enough to maneuver in urban environments.
Getting around an dense urban city can be a challenge. Public transit is typically the best bet. Although if you don’t want to be reliant on a the city public transit an ebike is the best option. Many modes of public transit allow bikes on board so the passenger can complete their journey when they disembark.
How to rehab a condo?
Rehabbing a condo is much simpler than rehabbing a house or apartment building. In a condo the outer walls, roof, windows, foundation utilities etc are community owned. This means the condo owner only has to worry about repairing the interior facets of their personal space of the condominium community. Condo units that are in disrepair will be sold at a discount but will be easy to repair.
Repairing a condo is rather easy. This will include activities like painting, kitchen and bathroom remodel, replacing flooring and replacing or fixing doors.
How to rehab an apartment building?
Depending how much money you have to work with, a small apartment building in disrepair can be bought. It may take more upfront cost to do this as it will take longer for the building to be fully operational. These offer the opportunity to live in one of the units and rehab the units slowly DIY. As you finish off the units they can be rented out to off balance the cost of operating expenses.
The process for rehabbing an apartment building is not much different than rehabbing a house or smaller apartment. Properties in disrepair can be bought for cheaper and fixed with sweat equity. Although it may take longer to get to turning a profit the end payoff will be greater.
Repairing an apartment building will include activities like demolition, painting, repairing or adding new siding, repairing or adding a new roof, replacing windows, fixing trim, insulating, replacing flooring, repairing drywall, fixing utilities like plumbing, electric, HVAC, rehabbing bathrooms and kitchens, fixing or replacing doors.
Conclusion: DIY Urbanism
DIY urbanism is a concept we can bring to larger population centers. Living in a denser city makes it more difficult to build from the ground up but may offer opportunities in condos. When following DIY urbanism we will be stronger as individuals while still being in a city community.
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