Alexandria Park tiny-home village in Los Angeles is for individuals experiencing homelessness.Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesCities around the world are facing growing housing demand, and rents are increasing globally.People live in micro apartments, cage homes, and shacks as a result.In the US, tiny-home villages are trying to address homelessness.In 2026, the affordability crisis is touching every aspect of daily life.At the grocery store, inflation has driven up the costs of household products and food, while people globally have been feeling the strain of the war in Iran at the gas pump.Others are struggling with the cost of living when it comes to housing, too, as cities face housing shortages and rising rents.Economic hardships like these are being felt around the world, leaving many people with no choice but to rent uncomfortably small living arrangements.From Los Angeles to Seoul, see people's tiny living spaces in photos.Small living spaces known as 'coffin homes' and 'mosquito units' are found around the world.Kong Siu-kau, 63, sits in his cage bed in Hong Kong in 2009.Bobby Yip/ReutersAs the global population grows and the number of renters rises, some cities, such as Hong Kong and San Francisco, have seen a surge in the construction of tiny, more affordable homes and apartments.Some units are smaller than 200 square feet, earning them nicknames such as "nano homes," "coffin homes," "mosquito units," and "gnat flats," the Associated Press reported.Hong Kong has gained a reputation for having some of the smallest and most expensive apartments in the world.A mom prepares food while her son sleeps in their 60-square-foot apartment in Hong Kong.Tyrone Siu/ReutersSome apartments in Hong Kong are smaller than two parking spaces but cost almost half as much as an average home in the city, according to a 2021 Bloomberg report."Coffin homes" are named for their small size and little free space. Rent prices vary on these types of homes, but as of 2026, some residents still pay under $400 in US dollars, the South China Morning Post reported.Despite the city's housing hardships, recent data indicate a housing boom is emerging in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.Some city residents pay a third of their salaries for micro apartments.Donny Chan reads in bed.Kin Cheung/AP PhotoThis 193-square-foot flat in Hong Kong is considered a micro-sized upscale apartment, according to The Associated Press."Every time that I step back into this (apartment) I kind of feel like a cat squeezed into a box," Donny Chan, an art director at a medical equipment maker at the time, told The Associated Press in 2017, when he lived in the home.At the time, Chan paid $1,300 a month, about a third of his monthly salary, for the apartment. Critics of micro apartments say the small living spaces are widening inequality and promoting unfair living conditions.Thousands of residents in Hong Kong live in shoebox-sized apartments that aren't even designed to house people.Cheung Chi-Fong, 80, sleeps in his tiny apartment in Hong Kong in 2017.Kin Cheung/AP PhotoSome residents can't even stretch out their legs while sleeping in the tiny apartments in Hong Kong, The Associated Press reported.Landlords in Hong Kong have also created "cubicle flats" by carving out individual living spaces from a single apartment.A "cubicle flat" in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong.ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty ImagesThe homeowner of this "cubicle flat" managed to fit a shrine, fridge, and bed into his tiny space.Some landlords partition 400-square-foot apartments into 20 double-decker, 15-square-foot "coffins," The Guardian reported.Unique tiny-home concepts have emerged in Hong Kong, such as the OPod tube home.Hong Kong architect James Law came up with the idea for building micro-apartments inside giant concrete drainage pipes.Vincent Yu/APThe idea behind the OPod tube house is to create affordable housing inside giant concrete drainage pipes, which can be stacked, according to architect James Law.Law designed the 100-square-foot tiny house around the pipe's circular design. Each home would cost $15,000, but Law said he hoped the rent would be no more than $400 a month.The OPod homes have yet to be rolled out on a large-scale.In Tokyo, some young adults have chosen to live in affordable tiny apartments so they can spend their money in other ways.Taiyo Akagi washes his hair in a makeshift tub in Tokyo.AP Photo/Koji SasaharaLike Hong Kong, Tokyo has micro-apartments that can be rented for under $400 a month, The Guardian reported in 2023.Tiny apartments in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, are tucked between alleys, food stalls, shops, and houses.A "micro-house" in Vietnam's southern hub.THANH NGUYEN/AFP/Getty ImagesOften, tourists and civilians completely miss these spaces because they are so small.Other homes in Ho Chi Minh City are even smaller, such as this 22-square-foot plot.Kha Tu Ngoc in her 22-square-foot house in Ho Chi Minh City.THANH NGUYEN/AFP/Getty I
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