General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours

[dtkvictim]

Bit of a chicken and egg problem, isn't it?

Which part? Birth rates have been dropping for something like half a century, in all of the developed countries, so you can't really argue that it's the apartment sizes in DTK that are causing smaller households.

I don't suggest it's completely responsible, but still a big factor. You also mentioned plentiful supply of two bedroom units, but to me that would imply enough supply that prices are affordable (especially for a household with at least one child) which simply isn't the case. Regardless, I don't personally consider most two bedroom apartments to be adequate for a household with kids. Most of the recently built ones are small enough that the second bedroom becomes an office, computer room, exercise space, or even a living room as some places are so small that the intended "living room" is basically just space for a dining table.

Anecdotally I don't know a single person with children who had them before moving out of an apartment and into a house. In fact, all of them that I can think of right now had children immediately after moving out of apartments and into houses, which would suggest it's a major factor in their decision.

You can argue that such people are being unreasonable, and they could make it work with less space, but where do you draw the line? You could have kids in a bachelor unit if you really wanted, but I think you would agree that's unreasonable. It's a matter of perspective, and needs to be considered if you care to put a dent in the birth rate issue.

The emphasis on indoor space is discussed plenty, but I think outdoor space should also be considered. It's definitely a factor in me not being willing to have children in my current living arrangement downtown. I mean both private outdoor space (at least a small garden/yard I consider important for a child to have ready access to), and public outdoor space. I partly grew up on a cul-de-sac with a large grass oval/circle in the center where all the kids on the street would play together and it could be assumed there were enough houses with eyes on it that they could be relatively unsupervised. I think downtown lacks either of those kinds of places for most people. Even if it has some nice parks, those are more of a dedicated trip you need to make with a child.