Before I went off to college (which seems like eons ago), the school asked everyone to fill out a personality profile to better match up roommates. The questions were pretty standard: do you listen to loud music, are you a morning person, do you smoke, etc. I can’t speak for how effective this actually is, but thinking about it in the context of real-world residential life gave me an interesting idea.

Specifically, why don’t communities or even large residential buildings designate certain streets, floors, etc. for people with similar interests? There could be a whole wing for people with small dogs, or families with boisterous children, or people who like to play an instrument late at night. While administering this would be a challenge, the benefits for residents would be substantial. Each resident could live near other like-minded people, and avoid the pet peeves that they share as well.