The 'missing middle' isn't just a housing type — it's a design philosophy. Medium-density housing can be beautiful, livable, and scalable when designed with care.
In cities across North America, the housing conversation is often dominated by two extremes: single-family homes and high-rise towers. But between those poles lies a vast, underbuilt category of housing that urban planners call the "missing middle."
Missing middle housing includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhouses, courtyard apartments, and low-rise apartment buildings — the kinds of homes that once defined walkable, transit-friendly neighborhoods.
Why It Disappeared
The missing middle didn't vanish by accident. Decades of exclusionary zoning, single-use land policies, and auto-centric planning made it illegal or impractical to build anything other than detached homes in most residential areas. The result is a landscape of sprawl on one end and sky-high towers on the other — with very little in between.
Why It Matters Now
As housing affordability reaches crisis levels, the missing middle has re-emerged as one of the most promising solutions. These housing types offer several advantages:
Affordability: Smaller units on shared lots cost less to build and maintain, making them accessible to a wider range of incomes.
Gentle Density: Missing middle housing adds density without dramatically changing neighborhood character — it fits in.
Sustainability: Compact, well-designed housing reduces per-capita energy consumption, land use, and infrastructure costs.
Community: Shared courtyards, porches, and entrances foster social interaction and a sense of belonging.
The Design Challenge
Designing for the missing middle isn't simply about making buildings smaller. It requires thoughtful attention to context, scale, privacy, and livability. Good missing middle design respects the streetscape, provides private outdoor space, manages parking gracefully, and creates homes that people actually want to live in.
At Skyhook, we believe modular construction is uniquely suited to delivering missing middle housing at scale. Factory-built modules can be configured into a wide range of building types — from stacked townhouses to courtyard apartments — with consistent quality, reduced waste, and faster delivery.
The missing middle isn't just a housing type — it's a design philosophy. And it's time to bring it back.
