Adaptable Housing

Daniel Nairn, writing for Discovering Urbanism, discusses adaptability of housing stock:

But what if homes can be built to be naturally adaptable from the outset? During the lifespan of a home, neighborhood-scaled and regionally-scaled demands will inevitable change. A long-term outlook will envision how the same structure can adapt to these conditions as needed.

It turns out that certain kinds of homes lend themselves to conversion better than others.

Attached single family such as townhouses represent an extremely adaptable typology. A good townhouse building can serve as an owner occupied residence, a residential rental property either in whole or subdivided, or even a mixed use building with ground floor commercial. This amazingly flexible building type is a great asset to neighborhoods because of the wide variety of uses it can accommodate.