# Smarter, simpler, happier

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2020-10-15

alex-feldman, book, diana-lind, new-york-times, single-family-housing, urbanism

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https://twitter.com/donnelly\_b/status/1316229179369828357?s=20

A good friend of mine in Philadelphia just recommended a new book to me by Diana Lind called, [_Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing_](https://www.amazon.ca/Brave-New-Home-Smarter-Simpler/dp/1541742664). I haven't read it yet, so I can't in good conscience recommend it to you all or comment with any sort of precision.

But [the New York Times seems to think](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/books/review/brave-new-home-diana-lind.html) that Diana has convincingly argued that the single-family home is at least partially to blame for a whole host of our societal challenges -- everything from economic inequality to loneliness.

This is, of course, not an entirely new narrative. But it is perhaps a timely read given that we are living through a period of time where loneliness seems to be on the rise and people are [allegedly fleeing our urban centers](https://brandondonnelly.com/2020/08/24/new-york-city-isnt-dead/) in search of space and distance.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/smarter,-simpler,-happier)*