Inventing what Millennials want downtown: housing the urban generation in low-density metropolitan regions

ABSTRACT

Evidence is growing that a large subset of U.S. Millennials prefers to live in walkable communities near amenities. Yet, we know relatively little about how developers are translating Millennial preferences into “sticks and bricks.” This research helps fill the gap by exploring how real estate developers are cementing Millennial preferences into housing developments located downtown in the low-density metropolitan regions of Phoenix and Houston. Using data from the U.S. Census, regional media, and expert interviews, we find that developers perceive Millennials as needing housing that is authentic, flexible, socially conscious, and provides an inside/out, constantly connected lifestyle. These developers have incorporated these perceptions into new downtown projects through innovative building design and site selection, which has generated more urban housing options in the Phoenix and Houston regions, while also raising concerns about regulatory threats, Millennials’ ability (and desire) to age in place, and social equity.

KEYWORDS:

• Millennials
• infill development
• housing preferences
• downtown development

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Dowell Myers and participants at the 2015 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning conference for seeding the idea for this research. We are also grateful to the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University for providing support and disseminating an early working paper of this research. Two anonymous reviewers offered helpful feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. This volume is much lower than estimates of the homes that were entering the rest of the central city market (about 5,400 in Phoenix and 20,700 homes in Houston) and the suburban market (about 23,000 homes in Phoenix and 69,500 homes in Houston) during this time period (U.S. Census 2015).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Deirdre Pfeiffer

Deirdre Pfeiffer, AICP, is Associate Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. She is a housing planning scholar, with expertise on housing as a cause and effect of growing social inequality and the role of housing planning in meeting the needs of diverse social groups. She received her MA and PhD in Urban Planning from UCLA.

Genevieve Pearthree

Genevieve Pearthree is Associate Planner with the Current Planning Program at the City of Flagstaff, Arizona. She is focused on how community-driven plans and urban design can foster a more sustainable and healthier built environment. She has a Master’s of Urban and Environmental Planning and a Master’s of Science in Sustainability from Arizona State University.

Meagan M. Ehlenz

Meagan M. Ehlenz, AICP, is Assistant Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. Her areas of expertise include urban revitalization and community development, with specializations in the role of anchor institutions in urban places and mechanisms for building community wealth. She received her MA in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.x