In San Francisco, where housing prices rank among the highest in the nation, an innovative company believes it may have found an affordable, if unconventional, solution to the city’s housing woes: sleeping pods. Brownstone Shared Housing, which describes its mission as “providing low cost housing in the most expensive cities,” offers bunk bed-style “pods” for rent at $700 per month in a repurposed bank building in downtown San Francisco.
The pods, measuring a snug 3.5 ft by 4 ft by 6.5 ft, come equipped with a twin mattress, privacy curtains, interior lighting, and charging ports. Residents share bathrooms, a kitchen, and storage spaces. While the accommodations are undoubtedly cramped, demand has been overwhelming, with the company receiving 300 applications for the 17 pods available for rent.
Since it is affordable housing, we have to use the city of San Francisco’s process to fill some of the spots, but the rest are going to be filled through our online application process.
James Stallworth, Brownstone Shared Housing CEO
A Bumpy Road to Occupancy
The road to opening the sleeping pod facility was not without its challenges. A year ago, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection flagged the building for violating city codes. However, after working to bring the former office space into residential compliance, the company can now legally rent out its remaining pods. Thirteen residents continued to live in the building throughout the code enforcement process.
Balancing Affordability and Livability
The sleeping pod concept raises questions about the trade-offs between affordability and livability in a city grappling with a severe housing shortage. While $700 per month for a sleeping space is significantly lower than the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco, which currently stands at over $3,000, critics argue that such living arrangements sacrifice privacy, comfort, and dignity in the name of affordability.
It’s a sad state of affairs when we’re celebrating the opportunity to live in a glorified bunk bed as ‘affordable housing.’ While I understand the desperation driving people to apply for these pods, we need to be focusing on creating truly livable, dignified housing solutions for all.
A local housing advocate who wished to remain anonymous
The Future of Urban Living?
Despite the controversy, Brownstone Shared Housing remains undeterred in its mission. The company is already working on opening a second, larger pod facility in San Francisco, with plans for 100 sleeping pods. They also offer similar accommodations in Palo Alto near Stanford University, where pods rent for $800 per month.
As major cities across the country struggle with affordable housing shortages and skyrocketing rents, some argue that innovative, if imperfect, solutions like sleeping pods may be necessary to keep cities accessible to a diverse range of residents. Others contend that such stop-gap measures merely distract from the urgent need for more comprehensive housing policies and investments.
While I applaud the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit behind these sleeping pods, I worry that they normalize a troubling race to the bottom in terms of housing standards. We need to be bold and visionary in tackling our housing crisis head-on, not settling for Band-Aid solutions that fail to address the root of the problem.
A prominent San Francisco housing policy expert
As San Francisco and other cities grapple with the complex challenges of housing affordability and availability, the sleeping pod phenomenon is sure to spark ongoing debate and soul-searching about the kind of communities we want to build and the values we prioritize. While there are no easy answers, one thing is clear: the status quo is unsustainable, and innovative thinking will be essential in charting a path forward.
Key Takeaways
- Brownstone Shared Housing offers $700 per month “sleeping pods” in a former bank building in downtown San Francisco
- The company received 300 applications for 17 available pods, highlighting the desperate need for affordable housing
- The pods are small but include basic amenities like a twin mattress, privacy curtain, lighting and charging ports
- Critics argue sleeping pods sacrifice livability and dignity for affordability, calling for more comprehensive solutions
- As housing costs soar in major cities, the sleeping pod trend sparks debate about housing standards and priorities
