'New American Dream' Should Be a Townhouse

Americans looking to find an affordable home these days have little hope of finding one. In a Washington Post op-ed, two authors make the case that townhouses can be a big part of the solution. In fact, they deserve to become the "new American dream," write Amanda Shendruk and Heather Long. The old American dream typically involves a house in the suburbs with a big yard, but it's time we moved past this "antiquated" idea, they write. A townhouse, by contrast, is a home of two or three stories that shares a wall with a neighbor and is often situated within a community of similar dwellings.

"Townhouses are the Goldilocks option between single-family homes in the suburbs and high-rise condos in cities," the authors write. Among the benefits: They are less expensive than detached homes, require less maintenance, and are more energy efficient. Yes, having neighbors so close has the potential for trouble, but townhouses also can provide a true sense of community. "It's the American Dream, but with a smaller yard," reads the op-ed, which encourages localities to "right-size" the dream by allowing developers to build more townhouses across the country. (Read it in full here.)