Mass timer buildings are prefabricated structures made of (hopefully renewable) wood. The pieces are made in a factory and then able to be quickly constructed together on-site.
This can hopefully greatly reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere from producing a building. The cost of producing buildings in this method is also going down. Additionally, these mass timer buildings are typically more dense than single family homes, which can lead to more sustainable communities.
I live, and has lived for most of my live, in a big and dense city, one of the biggest in the eu. I lived, for a few years, also in a small village (~2k-3k people) that’s now my (adopted) hometown. The city is definitely much more concrete heavy than the village. My sister still lives there in a much bigger home than me and her utility bills are identical to mine even given that I’m not at home half of the days for work or visiting her, so no the power consumption is much more dependent on the quality of the buildings. The other points are probably right, but I prefer the power lines to the rats and cockroaches, the garbage piling up on every corner, the smell, the noise, the crazies and junkies (we have those in my small hometown too but not even near in quantity or ‘quality’).
I get the impression that all the proponents of these ‘high density’ housing ideas haven’t lived in a high density working class area ever, and probably wouldn’t last long if they get themselves in one.
To a degree yes, but a larger HVAC system that cools 100 apartments is going to be more efficient that 100 window units. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s far easier to fix when it’s all one building.
I live in the heart of a major city in a large apartment building complex that has about 90 units. I don’t have rat problems, cockroaches, or junkies around. The walls are soundproofed well, so I don’t deal with any more noise than a suburb.
You’re confused about the source of your problems.
Excuse me if I’m wrong but central hvac system, the word ‘complex’ instead of just ‘apartment building’, no junkies, soundproofed walls… doesn’t sound like ‘working class high density housing’ to me. At least that’s not a thing where I’m from.
Now a ‘major city’ without rats and roaches??? It has to be a cold as fuck city, definitely not a thing in temperate climates.
It sounds like your arbitrarily gatekeeping this.
It’s temperate.