What are the key takeaways from this The Indicator episode?

Key insights include: **Historical scale:** U.S. cities once had massive SRO stock — New York alone held 200,000 units in the 1950s, representing over 10% of rental housing. The 1970s eliminated roughly one million rooms nationally through landlord incentives and tightening zoning regulations.; **Homelessness link:** Approximately half of men entering New York City homeless shelters in the 1980s had previously lived in SROs. Rebecca Baird-Remba's research estimates that 2.5 million additional rooms would exist today had SRO construction kept pace with broader U.S. housing growth.; **Policy levers:** Washington State and Oregon have enacted the strongest zoning reforms to legalize new SRO construction. New York City's mayor released a May housing plan promising shared housing legislation, though prior local efforts have been described as piecemeal and largely ineffective.

What did Vera Hill and Rebecca Baird-rember discuss on The Indicator?

Single room occupancy buildings (SROs), once housing over 10% of New York City renters in the 1950s, were systematically eliminated through urban renewal policies, directly contributing to modern homelessness, and are now being reconsidered as affordable housing solutions. Key topics include: **Historical scale:** U.S. cities once had massive SRO stock — New York alone held 200,000 units in the 1950s, representing over 10% of rental housing. The 1970s eliminated roughly one million rooms nationally through landlord incentives and tightening zoning regulations.; **Homelessness link:** Approximately half of men entering New York City homeless shelters in the 1980s had previously lived in SROs. Rebecca Baird-Remba's research estimates that 2.5 million additional rooms would exist today had SRO construction kept pace with broader U.S. housing growth..

How long is this episode of The Indicator?

This episode is 9 minutes long. SignalCast provides an AI-generated summary so you can get the key insights in about 3 minutes.

The Indicator

Why boardinghouses could make a comeback

June 2, 2026

9 min episode · 2 min read

Vera Hill,Rebecca Baird-rember,Paul Freitag

Episode

9 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Health & Wellness, Design & UX, Science & Discovery

AI-Generated Summary

Published Jun 6, 2026

Key Takeaways

✓Historical scale: U.S. cities once had massive SRO stock — New York alone held 200,000 units in the 1950s, representing over 10% of rental housing. The 1970s eliminated roughly one million rooms nationally through landlord incentives and tightening zoning regulations.
✓Homelessness link: Approximately half of men entering New York City homeless shelters in the 1980s had previously lived in SROs. Rebecca Baird-Remba's research estimates that 2.5 million additional rooms would exist today had SRO construction kept pace with broader U.S. housing growth.
✓Policy levers: Washington State and Oregon have enacted the strongest zoning reforms to legalize new SRO construction. New York City's mayor released a May housing plan promising shared housing legislation, though prior local efforts have been described as piecemeal and largely ineffective.
✓Design tradeoffs: SROs work well as transitional housing for younger residents getting financially established, but shared bathrooms, limited space, and density create real challenges for aging residents needing medical equipment, home health aides, or protection from communicable diseases like influenza and COVID-19.

What It Covers

Single room occupancy buildings (SROs), once housing over 10% of New York City renters in the 1950s, were systematically eliminated through urban renewal policies, directly contributing to modern homelessness, and are now being reconsidered as affordable housing solutions.

Key Questions Answered

•Historical scale: U.S. cities once had massive SRO stock — New York alone held 200,000 units in the 1950s, representing over 10% of rental housing. The 1970s eliminated roughly one million rooms nationally through landlord incentives and tightening zoning regulations.
•Homelessness link: Approximately half of men entering New York City homeless shelters in the 1980s had previously lived in SROs. Rebecca Baird-Remba's research estimates that 2.5 million additional rooms would exist today had SRO construction kept pace with broader U.S. housing growth.
•Policy levers: Washington State and Oregon have enacted the strongest zoning reforms to legalize new SRO construction. New York City's mayor released a May housing plan promising shared housing legislation, though prior local efforts have been described as piecemeal and largely ineffective.
•Design tradeoffs: SROs work well as transitional housing for younger residents getting financially established, but shared bathrooms, limited space, and density create real challenges for aging residents needing medical equipment, home health aides, or protection from communicable diseases like influenza and COVID-19.

Notable Moment

A congressional report released in the late 1970s — prompted by the forced 3 a.m. eviction of over 100 elderly Filipino and Chinese residents from San Francisco's International Hotel — directly linked SRO closures to rising homelessness nationwide.

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Episode Transcript

NPR. On the Upper West Side Of Manhattan, there is a big brick building that offers clues about how to bring down homelessness. This building is seven stories tall and really wide. It takes up the whole block length. Hello. Hi. Good morning. My name is Daria. On one of the floors lives a resident of fifteen years. My name is Vera Hill. And I'm not gonna ask you how old you are. I don't mind telling how old I am. I'm 77. In Vera's room, there's a sofa, a recliner, a widescreen TV, and lots of photos on the walls. My brother, my sisters. That's my mom over the clock. There's also an artwork that says, in all capital letters, fierce. Oh, that was given to me by one of the kids. I'm fierce. Her space doesn't have it all, though. I would love to have apartment with a kitchen. You have to share a bathroom? Yes. Oh, that's yes. Vera Hill lives in what's called a single room occupancy building or an SRO. It's like a dorm or a long term hotel room or a boarding house. And today, we're gonna use those terms interchangeably. These boarding houses used to be really common, but in many places, they were effectively banned. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Whelan Wong. And I'm Darienne Woods. Today on the show, the missing rung at the start of the housing ladder. We tell the history of boarding houses, learn about the backlash, and ask whether bringing them back could save people from living on the streets. This message comes from Schwab. With the new Schwab teen investor account, teens can gain hands on investing experience and build positive money habits. It's an account co owned by you and your teen, so you can monitor and engage with the account while your teen learns how to invest and manage money. Learn more at schwab.com. This message comes from Capella University. You know that feeling when there's a spark building inside you that you were meant for more? That's your own drive pushing you towards what's next. Capella University gets that. With their FlexPath learning format, you can set the pace and earn your degree without putting life on pause. You've built experience and know what you're capable of. Now, this is your time to turn that momentum into more. The only real question is, what can't you do? Learn more at capella.edu. This message comes from LinkedIn. Owning a small business comes with a lot of challenges and means juggling multiple things at once. It's even harder to do it efficiently. But with LinkedIn, you get all the tools you need to grow in one place. With LinkedIn, simplify your sales, marketing, and hiring so that you can actually run your small business. Learn more at linkedin.com/indicatorshow. Vera Hill started her career at the Mount Sinai Health System in the admitting office. She was promoted to supervisor and then manager before …

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