It is true that an increasing number of people in urban areas are living in houses with cramped space and few or no outdoor areas. I think this is a negative development for some reasons below.
Firstly, stuffy living conditions can affect people’s moods. When there is little space for us to move around the house, we just lose our temper and get irritated being surrounded by four brick walls. Worse still, some space outside at the porch such as a garden with beautifully grown flowers can be a good remedy for people’s stress and anxieties. Without such spaces, the tension level just rises dramatically as when taking a look outside, what we can see is the bumper-to-bumper traffic with cars honking and dust drifting everywhere in the air, making house owners moody all day.
Secondly, convenience and productivity also suffer as a consequence. Families with many generations living under the same roof would often complain about the lack of privacy when their houses are too small and narrow. The kids will feel humiliated and ashamed if they plan to invite their friends over for playing, or the father may have to abandon his hobby of playing saxophone so as to save others the nuisance of loud noises from his instrument. As for me, sometimes I cannot concentrate on my schoolwork, seeing others walk back and forth in the house. This just makes me get distracted and I often have to wait others to sleep and then do my homework.
In conclusion, from what I think and from my personal experience, living in a small house is too disadvantageous, so this is definitely a negative development on the whole.