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In the Portland State University Department of Architecture we have been doing research on self-storage units.  According to the Self Storage Association there are now 20.8 square feet of self storage for every household in the U.S.  It took twenty five years for the first billion square feet to appear.  The second billion square feet took only eight years (1998-2005).  One might assume that this growth has to do with the excesses of consumption in our country, but the phenomenon is actually far more diverse.  The deployment of military personnel, and the incarceration of individuals contribute to these numbers as do households in transition (divorce, death, aging, moving)  Even the homeless have self storage units.  What makes this interesting is that regardless of the circumstances individuals want to retain posession of their things even when the cost of storing their items far exceeds the value of the things being stored.

posted 3 years, 6 months ago
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