Skyline.

CityDorm Units

External dimensions: 8x12

Internal dimensions: Slightly smaller than that!
 

Door: One door, swinging outward, with lever-style handle. Electronically unlocked from the outside with the key card. Manually unlocked from the inside. Automatically locks when closed. Peepholes and door chain provide additional security.

Electronic door lock: The unit lock performs a number of functions that minimize CityDorm staff time.

• Collect Rent: When the tenant uses their RFID card to unlock the door for the first time, 5 volunteer credits are deducted from their account, and access to the unit is granted for 7 days. The rental contract is automatically renewed and rent collected every 7 days.

• Display account information: each use triggers a display of current volunteer credits and countdown to next rental payment.

• Perform lockouts for nonpayment of rent: If the account does not have 5 volunteer credits, the door does not unlock.

• Record activity history: The lock keeps a 14 day memory of use. If rent is 3 days overdue, an alert goes out to Level 2 Advocates to perform a welfare check. The history of when the tenant last entered the unit is important if a missing persons case must be filed.

Security cameras: The entire exterior of the unit is monitored by security cameras, on a 24 hour loop recording. Tenants can access the live feed, or review all activity over the last 24 hours.

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Windows: Translucent, not transparent, panels provide natural night while maintaining privacy. These windows do not open. In case of emergency, the windows can be removed from the inside by pulling away the rubber seal. This approach is used on many forms of mass transit.

Ventilation: Constant ventilation keeps humidity down and maintains air quality. Since many people will be smoking in these units, the ventilation outlet should be adjustable by installation crews to direct away from the sidewalk and nearby residences.

Alarms: Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are hardwired into every unit. They cannot be disabled, but they can be silenced for up to 30 minutes. An extended silencing option is not standard practice, but providing this option would likely prevent people from vandalizing the units to avoid nuisance alarms.

Fire suppression: Fire sprinklers are standard.

HVAC: Mini-split heat pumps provide heating and cooling.

Foundations: CityDorms are portable units and not permanently attached to any foundation. They are tethered to anchor points on to keep them from bouncing away in case of an earthquake.

Sleeping platform: The sleeping platform measures 38" wide by 75" long. That is the size of a standard twin mattress. The platform is wall-mounted and can be adjusted to any height. It should safety accommodate up to 600 pounds. This enables the resident to place the bed at whichever height best meets their needs. It is not necessary for the platform to be moved easily or by one person. Like all major furniture-moving projects, residents may need to recruit assistance from friends and neighbors to move the bed to their desired height.

Flexible space: On the same wall as the sleeping platform, there is a space at least 24 inches wide, with abundant electrical outlets. This is the resident’s space to customize with a bookshelf, a desk, a refrigerator, a microwave, or whatever specific amenities are highest priority in their life. The smallest readily available size for many of these appliances is 24 inches, thus the need for the 24 inch space.

Sanitation: Units should be rodent-proof. Surface treatments should have hygiene in mind, both for controlling parasites and pathogens. Bedbugs hide in crevices and can only be reliably killed by baking the entire unit at greater than 122 degrees. Disinfectants only work if they can reach the contaminated area. Ideally, the unit would be bedbug proof and and an empty unit could be cleaned in ten minutes with a pressure washer and some disinfectant. Design should get as close to that ideal as possible.

Bathroom: The bathroom area is a “wet bathroom”, or a bathroom space where the entire interior can be used as a shower. It has interior dimensions of approximately two feet by seven feet and a drain in the floor. The toilet should be placed at the open end, to facilitate toilet access for wheelchair users. The wall-mounted handheld shower should be reachable by an individual seated on the toilet. Because the sink in this space is the only sink in the unit, design should reflect that it may be used for handwashing, dishwashing, small amounts of laundry, bathing small pets, and various other utility uses. Hot water is provided by either a tankless hot water heater or a micro-tank water heater, depending on cost and durability considerations. Grab bars should be included on the sides of the bathroom for safety and disability access.

Lighting: Tenants must provide their own electric lighting.

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Water: For flexibility in installation, the CityDorms unit is not plumbed into the city water and sewer system. Instead, the CityDorm Unit has a cistern and a wastewater tank. The cistern is filled by the CityDorm W/S/G team from the closest fire hydrant. The wastewater is pumped out and taken to the closest sewage dump site.

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CityDorm Installation Pad

A CityDorm unit must be installed on a reasonably stable, level surface. An 8x12 poured pad of concrete is one obvious solution, but other options should be explored, including concrete only at structural corners or leveling feet on the CityDorm unit itself. For street-side installations, standards must be established as to whether existing street surfacing is adequate for supporting a CityDorm unit. The installation pad must include anchors of some type that will prevent the CityDorm unit from “walking” during an earthquake.

 

CityDorm transport truck and lift

A specialized vehicle will be required that can both load and unload a CityDorm to transport it to the desired location and install it. Ideally, it could be safely operated by one person, though two might be required. Precision is vital, since CityDorms will need to be lined up with a pre-installed utility hookup point.

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CityDorm utility hookup point (original idea)

These low-profile, permanently installed hookup points enable a CityDorm to be quickly connected to water, sewer, and electricity. These are similar to a RV hookup point, with a few key differences. RV sewer hookups are intended for brief use to dump a tank, and are generally only used in warm weather. CityDorms have no sewage tank, and they are intended for year-round use. Some method to keep the water and sewer lines flowing freely in cold weather must be developed. The installation of the utility hookup points will be done by licensed plumbers and electricians, but the eventual installation of a CityDorm will be done by maintenance workers without those certifications. Connecting a CityDorm to a utility hookup must be quick and simple. Connections must be flexible so they don’t break during earthquakes. Finally the unit must be visually unobtrusive and vandal-resistant, as some of these hookup points may remain vacant for months or years. The hookup point should also meter the water and electricity, communicate in some way with the renter's account, and enable remote turn-on and turn-off of utilities. CityDorms have a generous, but fixed, ration of water and electricity. This feature minimizes waste, discourages overcrowding, and avoids overwhelming our utilities.

CityDorm utility hookup point (updated idea)

Hookup would be vastly simpler if it did not involve water or sewer. If the units have a cistern and a wastewater tank, installation literally just involves leveling the unit and plugging it in.

Trash Removal

Best strategies for garbage, compost, and recycling pickup need to be coordinated with the Solid Waste division. Many observers believe that the era of co-mingled recycling is coming to an end due to high contamination rates. If this transition is predicted in the near future for all of Seattle, it might be best to start the CityDorms system with an expectation to separate trash, compost, metal, glass, plastic, and paper. Hooks on the outside of the unit for these bins might prevent spills and frustration from misplaced bins. Options must be explored.

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Portable RFID Readers

These portable devices can store the data for 1-2 jobs at a time. This includes the job description, the identity information about who signed up for the job, and mutual evaluations. Normally the reader would immediately download this information to the main accounts, but it needs to be able to function temporarily if it can't get a wifi connection.