Prison cells in the United States are usually 70 sq ft and include running water, but generally speaking prisons in the US don't have private cells and its a barrack type situation, so generally amenities like showers, toilets, kitchens, yards, all of that is shared. If you were to look at the military its common for beds to be shared on ships and submarines due to space restrictions.

What I'm getting at is "what is the absolute minimum of personal space that should be considered a human right?" Is it none and we should try to promote communal living spaces or is there an actual number for how much sq ft is a human right? Should everyone have a private toilet/shower/fridge/stove/television/ect?

Is there a line to be drawn on this issue or should no line be drawn? Is personal space something we should be measuring objectively or subjectively?

Bottom Text.

  • D61 [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    As much is needed for a person to comfortably and safely sleep, eat, bathe and lounge. There isn't a need for a particular square footage as the "comfortably and safely" parts will allow for different cultures and preferences as well as the changes in them over time.

    • incontinentiabuttock [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Running water and electricity is something everyone should have regardless of culture, the best way we could facilitate access to these things is through public housing, now there might be variations in what housing looks like due to mostly climate but simply giving everyone more space than a us prison cell is the bare minimum, no cultural reason would justify anything less than 70 sq ft per person.

      • D61 [any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Running water and electricity is something everyone should have regardless of culture

        Sure. Not always a requirement all the time but I have no disagreement there.

        no cultural reason would justify anything less than 70 sq ft per person.

        There's caveats to this (but in my mind they'd be temporary situations) so yeah, no problems there.

        • incontinentiabuttock [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          If someone is in a situation where they don't have any of these things I think its a situation that requires immediate rectifying.

          • D61 [any]
            ·
            2 years ago

            sigh

            Okay.

            So, you're working disaster relief. You will be sleeping in a tent, using communal shower/toilet facilities (however rudimentary), with little to no electricity outside of batteries.

            You're a soldier. You're sharing about 50 square feet in an armored personnel carrier with a squad. No shower/toilet facilities. Electricity is going to be provided (if at all) from batteries or splicing into the vehicles power cables.

            You're a young college student who lives on campus. Communal bathing/toilet facilities and communal dining facilities. Shared sleeping quarters.

            The expectation for all of these scenarios is that you're not expected to live your entire life doing these things. At some point, the disaster you're helping with will either be taken care of enough that you won't be needed or will be rotated out of the duty. The same goes for doing soldier work. A student is expected to, at some point, get past being a student and moving on to actually doing something else.

            Like I said, caveats.