You're Living in Government-Designed Housing

One obscure staircase rule decides how much light your apartment gets, how much space you have, and how much you pay. You know the apartment. Long dark hallway. Unit on one side only. Windows on a single wall. No cross-breeze. The kitchen and the bedroom share the same thin strip of light. That shape is not an accident of the market. It is not what builders prefer when they have a choice. It is…