VIRTUAL Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

Cities across the world are experiencing rapid demographic, social, and economic change driven by migration, urbanization, shifting family structures, and aging populations. Yet much of the contemporary housing stock—particularly multi-unit residential buildings—remains spatially and technically rigid. This rigidity limits the ability of buildings to accommodate evolving household needs such as multigenerational living, co-living arrangements, aging in place, and fluctuating family sizes. Although adaptability in housing has been widely advocated in architectural and building research for several decades, its practical implementation remains limited. This paper examines the key barriers preventing the widespread adoption of adaptable residential design. Drawing on literature from architecture, housing studies, and building performance research, the paper identifies four interconnected categories of barriers: social, economic, regulatory, and design-technological. These barriers include market pressures for rapid development, fragmented stakeholder incentives, restrictive regulatory frameworks, and entrenched design and construction practices that prioritize highly specialized building forms. To better understand these relationships, the paper employs a systems thinking perspective and uses causal loop diagrams to map the feedback mechanisms that sustain inflexible housing production. By framing adaptability as a systemic urban issue rather than solely a technical design challenge, the study offers a conceptual framework for understanding why adaptable housing remains rare despite strong theoretical support. The findings contribute to current debates on urban livability by highlighting how more integrated design, policy, and evaluation approaches could support the development of housing better suited to the evolving needs of contemporary cities.