> outside the US, almost no one grew up in a big house.
Neither suburbs nor detached houses nor private houses are specific to the US.
In France, primary housing is 57% individual house, 43% collective (apartments). But that's not all: if you consider families (with children), which is what matters when is "where did you grow up?", individual houses rise to 70%!
In UK, flats are a tiny minority, the form that rules there is of course the semi-detached house. But even there, there are still more detached houses than flats.
In the whole EU, the ratio is similar to France: flats are a minority with 46% of housing, and amongst the remaining 54%, 2 third are fully detached houses.
Another angle. If we take ze city, where almost everything is apartments: Paris. There were 25% *less* inhabitants in 1990 (when a present 30-year old was born) than there were in 1920! People have fled to the suburbs there as well (which doesn't mean 100% individual house, admittedly, but anyway a much much greater proportion than inside Paris).
And don't forget the idyllic car-free existence that almost everyone has in Europe. Meanwhile, in the actual world, I think I know one person in the UK who doesn't drive (and his wife does). European car ownership is lower than the US in general but it's a very very far way from zero.
> And don't forget the idyllic car-free existence that almost everyone has in Europe.
I don't think it came up this time but indeed it is common each time there is this kind of thread here. Same thing for the fuzzy 'walkability' concept.
> I think I know one person in the UK who doesn't drive
I don't drive, I never did (despite having a licence), whatever place I lived in (tiny village, small town, small town in the middle of nothing, small city, big city; detached house, semi-detached-house, flat) but I know I am the odd one. I am definitely not representative, the only thing cases like mine can prove is that it is doable (under some circumstances).
> European car ownership is lower than the US in general but it's a very very far way from zero.
Indeed. Let me pull a few more French statistics for a minute :-)
84% of households own at least 1 car (same ratio for the 25-39 years old, roughly the Gen-Y).
36% own at least 2 cars (40% of the 25-39 years old).
In 1990, when society and activity was already organised the same way as now, every home who needed a car already had one, yet owning rate raised by almost 10% since then, and the share of households who own 2 cars raised almost as much (for 3 cars it raised too).
In just the last 5 years, the number of vehicles raised by 4.5% for cars, 6% for vans, 3% for lorries. Meanwhile, the population only raised by 1%.
The number of vehicles has doubled since I was a kid (1980). Again, I was in the deep country and everyone who needed a car already had one.
1990, 1980, ... We had the largest superstore in Europe (or was it in the World?) a couple dozen miles away, that was already built in the 70s. France was a precursor in large supermarkets. So much for the image of the small village grocery (which exists too, but a large part (70-75%) of the consumption is made in supermarkets and superstores; even though now the largest of the latter decline, the former thrive).
Still somehow beats the places where I lived in Finland where the supermarkets and their car parks are in the centre of towns. In a small town, they actually are the town centre.
To be fair, National Rail seems distinctly worse compared to DB, SNCF, RENFE, etc. Greater London is an exception, but London has it's own problems with affordability near rail stations.
What kind of house in Europe? I’d guess most non-apartment family homes in Europe are row houses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraced_house
Much denser than a stereotypical US suburb.
Neither suburbs nor detached houses nor private houses are specific to the US.
In France, primary housing is 57% individual house, 43% collective (apartments). But that's not all: if you consider families (with children), which is what matters when is "where did you grow up?", individual houses rise to 70%!
In UK, flats are a tiny minority, the form that rules there is of course the semi-detached house. But even there, there are still more detached houses than flats.
In the whole EU, the ratio is similar to France: flats are a minority with 46% of housing, and amongst the remaining 54%, 2 third are fully detached houses.
Another angle. If we take ze city, where almost everything is apartments: Paris. There were 25% *less* inhabitants in 1990 (when a present 30-year old was born) than there were in 1920! People have fled to the suburbs there as well (which doesn't mean 100% individual house, admittedly, but anyway a much much greater proportion than inside Paris).
> I grew up in an apartment.
It doesn't make a statistic :-)