The bigger the better, right? Isn't that a part of the American dream? The average U.S. home has more than doubled in size since 1950, growing from about 1,000 square feet to 2,340 square feet in 2004. This has happened even as the average family size has shrunk by one-fourth, from about 3.4 in 1950 to 2.6 in 2004. Today's homes provide, on average, three times as much square footage per family member (290 in 1950, 900 in 2004). In fact, some of the largest homes being built today are for empty nesters, couples whose children have left the home and who are at the top of their money-earning potential.

What's wrong with this picture? Plenty. The bigger a house, the bigger its environmental impacts. Almost all building materials, even those we call green, have environmental costs associated with manufacture and shipping. And energy consumption is, to a significant extent, proportional to house size. So building smaller is better.

Early in the design process, carefully consider how big a house you need. Try to design the house to use space efficiently. This may mean investing more money in design, since it's a challenge to create smaller spaces that work well. Chances are, however, that any extra investment you make in design to optimize space in your house will more than pay for itself, since a smaller, more compact house usually costs less to build and operate. Downsizing the house allows you to incorporate higher-quality products, additional amenities, and a higher level of craftsmanship. Wouldn't you rather have hardwood flooring with natural finish instead of plywood subflooring and petroleum-based wall-to-wall carpeting, or ceramic tile flooring in the bathroom instead of sheet vinyl?

Some people decide to build a large house to provide for future expansion: in-laws moving in, for example, or a home office. While it certainly makes sense to design for planned family expansion (a recently married couple planning for children, say), when it comes to unplanned but possible down-the-road space needs, it usually makes more sense to keep the house smaller-sized to your current needs-but design it to facilitate easy expansion.

Consider: Is a stand-alone, single-family house what you really want?
Since the 1940s, the American dream has been the single-family home. Billions of dollars in advertising, countless television shows, and a wide range of government policies have fueled our desire for that brand-spanking-new, single-family suburban home. For many, this image is rounded out by a shiny SUV parked in the driveway out front, a Sunday afternoon on the riding lawnmower, and a backyard deck looking out on their own "little piece of paradise." Indeed, there is much to be said for owning a single-family home on its own lot. You have privacy. You and your family make the decisions about how your house looks, how it's landscaped, and the protection provided by your little oasis. You're in charge.

But let's take a look at some of the alternatives. Green building is partly about building strong, vibrant communities. We are seeing more and more housing projects today in which the goal is not the single-family, stand-alone home located as far away as possible from neighboring homes. We're rediscovering that closer association with neighbors can be a good thing. We're hearing about co-housing and other developments where homes, or multi-family housing units, are clustered together on just a small portion of the site, and most of the land is kept as open, undisturbed land.

Clustering buildings is environmentally beneficial for many reasons. More land can be kept open and available for natural vegetation and wildlife, the area devoted to driveways can be reduced, less disturbance is required for buried utilities (sewer pipes, underground cables, etc.), and direct site impacts during construction can be reduced because a single staging area can serve a number of houses. With more people living closer together, public transit and shared transit are more feasible. As you begin to think about your dream home, at least give some thought to whether you really want a house all by itself, or whether a house that creates or contributes to a sense of community might be part of your vision.

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