Medium-density housing
In the United States, medium-density housing is usually referred to as middle-sized or cluster development that fits between neighborhoods with single family homes and high-rise apartments.
[7] High-density development, such as high-rise apartment towers have very high density with minimal setbacks and located near a variety of other land uses and transit connections.
Buildings usual are no taller than 4 stories, shorter than high-rises, but with smaller setbacks and individual lots than suburban areas.
These buildings tend to share common infrastructure such as party walls, water mains, parking areas, and green space.
[12] In the 1960s architects identified a stark difference between neighborhoods created by high-rise development and suburban sprawl, and realized there was a need for more medium-density or middle-sized housing to bridge the gap between cities and suburbs.
[5] Medium-density or cluster development were framed as an undesirable but necessary solution to the housing crisis by TV programs and newspapers.
[5] Medium-density, cluster or middle-sized housing was referred to as an inadequate, makeshift substitute for those who couldn't afford suburban living.
[5] This perception of medium-density or middle sized housing has been thought to be fueled by irrational fears of density[12] and wanting to keep low-income residents out of suburban neighborhoods.
The inner suburbs in many Australian cities and those activity centres developed during the late Victorian suburban boom have examples of medium density housing.
In some cases, urban consolidation policies have allowed demolition of existing low-density housing across established residential suburbs, replacing them with various forms of medium-density dwellings.
Because of this, many medium-density developments have been controversial in the last 20–30 years because of their perceived negative impacts on the neighborhood character of established residential areas.
In America, restrictive zoning and "no-growth" ordinances stop cities and towns from densifying their neighborhoods with medium-density or middle-sized housing.
