Andy wrote:
Fact: 30 years ago the average new home was substantially smaller
than the average new home today.

Fact: The average number of people per household has declined during
that period.

I have a hunch that as the average size of home (interior square
footage) has gone up (if this is true), I certianly have seen a trend
for less and less exterior space that come with these homes. The outdoor
yard space has been shrinking. There is an increasing trend for homes in
Multi-unit complexes (townhomes, condo's). And even for new detatched
houses, it appears that the average is for less and less outdoor space
as the indoor space increase. It appears that americans or american
homebuilders (on average) are sacrificing outdoor space for the indoor
space.