As for why facades are so narrow in Amsterdam, if people wonder (there are many more below 3 meters). It is because people used to have to pay property taxes based on the width of the facade of their house.
(so the owners of the house in the article got a good deal by being able to have a small facade for a wider house)
Maybe (not letting depth run wild either) something similar could be an interesting way to ensure walkable cities ;-)
Interesting, I remember seeing a sort of an inverted pyramid house. It was built for similar reasons - a tax on the ground area. I cannot recall its location though.
As for why facades are so narrow in Amsterdam, if people wonder (there are many more below 3 meters). It is because people used to have to pay property taxes based on the width of the facade of their house.
(so the owners of the house in the article got a good deal by being able to have a small facade for a wider house)
Maybe (not letting depth run wild either) something similar could be an interesting way to ensure walkable cities ;-)