Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 06/08/2026That crooked cabinet handle bothers the s*** out of me Just straighten it before taking the listing photos! 1100
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 21/07/2026Another *crazy* 2BR apartment floorplan … where neither the Living nor the 2nd Bedroom have a direct window And at 1400sf, it’s bigger than a Starter Home. And rent is $3200/month AND all but 1 of these layouts has leased 451
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 17/07/2026hooooooo boy, this is a **tough** floorplan For combination of silly room names "Mingle" and "Stir" to a truly ludicrous bathroom layout ... this one has it all 390
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 14/04/2026I love townhouses. They're a housing type that has filled the neighborhoods of American cities around in and around downtowns for centuries Smaller, family oriented housing … so the young people who move in to the City for opportunity can have kids and STAY www.thesisdriven.com/letters/the-...thesisdriven.comThe Return of the TownhouseAn endangered housing typology is en vogue once more 1171
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Since the Road to Housing ban specifically excludes triplexes … the funniest take is that Warren is actually just trying to promulgate the Boston Triple-decker as the dominant BTR form across the US Imagine if this is how every new suburban community looked! 2150
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 23/02/2026Now **that's** a strange floorplan 1BR/1BA, 475sf, $2720/month, Washington DC 510
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 14/02/2026I did a podcast with the Washington Post last week: How cities have become places of demographic churn (young people move in but leave when they have kids) ... and how my company is building housing to fix that. 141
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 28/01/2026The 3-Story Rowhouse is *THE* American prototype … the perfect starter home 2293
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 06/01/2026I really like this 2BR/1BA floorplan in Kendall Square, Boston 720 square feet ... and deals with a narrow acute corner angle really well Developers don't really building 2BR/1BAs anymore 1111
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 16/12/2025Really enjoyed this podcast conversation with Aaron Renn. Any critiques I have of The City, are only because I want them to be great. I think in order to be truly great, they have to designed FOR families. So that young people can have kids and stay. open.spotify.com/episode/7fUP... 230
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 12/12/2025Wow. Here's an awesome (and efficient) bathroom layout with the separate toilet closet condition ... which I really like (don't need to have the window in the toilet room) 2130
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 05/12/2025One of the craziest rules inhibiting “Family Friendly” apartments is the application of Fair Housing Act Here is a (old) Christmas card photo for my family. I’m obviously biased but I also think this is a PERFECT lifestyle photo to illustrate the benefits of living in an apartment building 191
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 01/12/2025In the urban downtown context "Family-Friendly" simply means a house where it's possible for a couple to have a baby ... which means having an extra "room" Like this 1100sf 2BR+Den/Nursery unit ... that also has a dining table instead of an island 350
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 26/11/2025“Bobby Fijan is one of the country’s most vocal critics of his industry’s inertia” I’ll take it! 090
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 25/11/2025We don't built apartments for families. Look at the distribution of units built in Bellevue, Washington. In buildings since 2010 with more than 20 units ... over 70% of new units are Studio or 1BRs, and less than 2% have 3+ bedrooms 1102
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 25/11/2025Rachel has been a reliably good and persistent writer on the topic of babies and housing for a long time now. 050
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 24/11/2025Cities will always be a magnet for the ambitious & adventurous. A great places to be young - if you don’t have kids Thats the heart of a Vox piece (I was quoted in) which explains how cities grew by attracting millennials but lost sight of the next step in people’s lives www.vox.com/policy/46981...vox.comCities made a bet on millennials — but forgot one key thingCan cities learn to love kids again? 041
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 24/11/2025Building family friendly housing is good people … and good for cities www.vox.com/policy/46981...vox.comCities made a bet on millennials — but forgot one key thingCan cities learn to love kids again? 070
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 23/11/2025The 16-18' wide rowhouse is the perfect "starter home” My company is building this 3-story rowhouse typology is bc it’s beautiful and functional as both detached AND attached … so it works in both urban & suburban neighrbhoods 1200-1600sf, 3-4BR units 6382
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 18/11/2025What does it look like for a City to be family friendly? “In the City, I want there to be so many babies, so many strollers … that it is as common for you to see a stroller as it is for you to see someone walking a dog.” 2110
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 18/11/2025"If you want to stay in the city and raise your family there, you should be able to do that” “I think if a lot of these row houses here on Capitol Hill were $300,000 and you could just like buy one if you had a normal job, 80-90% of people would just do that” open.spotify.com/episode/3bpq...open.spotify.comA Floor Plan for Making Babies (ft. Bobby Fijan) 260
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 15/11/2025Wow St. Louis! I was not familiar with your game Might be the most striking apartment building I've seen. And it's 5 years old. 2311
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 15/11/2025This apartment building in Sacramento has the *perfect* lifestyle photo as their hero/header image New buildings never include any photos of any children. 040
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 15/11/2025Oversized chess sets are the funniest apartment amenity … that no one ever uses. 5171
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 12/11/2025It’s a great time to be looking for an apartment in Nashville. Lease specials: 3 months free rent! A free cruise! 282
Reposted by Bobby FijanStephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 10/11/2025Next Wednesday, November 19, I am participating in a panel discussion at AIA Brooklyn with @holz-bau.bsky.social and SO-IL's Jonathan Molloy about building code reform. It will be in-person in Downtown Brooklyn from 6 to 8:30 p.m., register free to attend here: www.eventbrite.com/e/rethinking...eventbrite.comRethinking the Shape of the City: SingleStair Reform in Multifamily HousingHear from Michael Eliason, Jonathan Molloy and Stephen Smith. 2214
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 10/11/2025A great new paper on effects of smaller apartments on fertility: “A supply shift for large units generates 2.3 times more births than an equal-cost shift for small units. This analysis concludes the supply of housing suitable for families can meaningfully contribute to demographic sustainability” 081
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 10/11/2025Toddler playrooms are an amenity that could easily be added to any new apartment building. They don't up take much space ... just like kids. Here's a cute (but small) one in a brand new building in DC 89510
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 04/11/2025A long, meandering, but fun, conversation I did on family apartments and making cities better for families open.spotify.com/episode/1qEX...open.spotify.com24 : Bobby Fijan - Family Matters 031
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 03/11/2025A beautiful, simple, rowhome project I toured in Portland, Maine this year. 1100sf, 3BR+Den/2BA Small, efficient floorplans = affordable 5363
Reposted by Bobby FijanBobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 31/10/2025I agree w Emily there needs to be more housing for incremental life stages. I have 0 disagreements w her policy recommendations My emphasis for "family" housing (as a developer) is on building Baby Maybe units rather than Studios, bc I think they are under supplied relative to demand I'll explain🔽 32310
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 31/10/2025I agree w Emily there needs to be more housing for incremental life stages. I have 0 disagreements w her policy recommendations My emphasis for "family" housing (as a developer) is on building Baby Maybe units rather than Studios, bc I think they are under supplied relative to demand I'll explain🔽 32310
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 30/10/2025I normally don’t like painting brick … but these rowhomes in DC are charming 060
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 29/10/2025Young people are increasingly living in larger apartment buildings For those who care about families and people having babies … since young people ARE living in those units, the key is to make it as easy as possible for younger couples to have their first child “Baby Maybe Housing” 1170
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 25/10/2025This is anti-natalist … and will only make apartments more complicated to lay out cod families People who want to have kids prefer apartments that have extra rooms 4171
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 20/10/2025There's nothing inherently "better" about a smaller house ... and since a Mcmansion is almost certainly going to be larger (for what you can afford) the attributes of the Mcmansion *will* be better than a rowhome 340
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 18/10/2025We need to build brownstones again. Masonry. Soundproof. Alley loaded. 1600sf, 3BR+Office/2.5BA 6615
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 18/10/2025A great end to the work week … riding my bike to my piano lesson 030
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 17/10/2025More research that supports that American families are willing to rent apartments … if they have extra bedrooms. Even in smaller unit sizes www.globest.com/2025/10/17/r...globest.comRenters Say Their Priorities Have Changed But Landlords Aren’t Keeping UpA national survey finds a mismatch between renter demand and apartment supply. 040
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 15/10/2025My son had to do a house floorplan project for school … and he picked doing a “Roman style” house with an atrium complete with an arcade room and a bowling alley 2280
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 14/10/2025Bring back family friendly *photography* for housing 020
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 14/10/2025It’s not that hard for young, ambitious, 22-28 year olds to live in *any* American City The problem, with affordability, comes when those same people are 30-36 and want to get married and have kids. 2230
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 12/10/2025How does a “Baby Maybe” apartment work in real life? Like this … 050
Bobby Fijan @bobbyfijan.bsky.social · 11/10/2025“Let’s get you home” THIS is the moment The City loses families … when parents think they cannot *raise* their kids downtown (if moving is inevitable) then they think it’s better to bite the bullet and move NOW to the place they will be long term 260
