The SmartSpace complex in San Francisco’s fast-growing South of Market District consists of 18 affordable 295-square-foot micro-apartments. Each unit has 9-foot ceilings and a large bank of windows that fills the room with natural light. Space is tight, but every square foot is packed with modern conveniences.

The SmartSpace apartment is no wider than most hallways—a thin rectangle of space where clutter can quickly cause chaos.

There is a full-sized sofa and refrigerator; a combination washer-dryer is hidden in a cabinet; and while there isn’t a regular stove, the microwave (also hidden in a cabinet) has a convection feature for roasting a duck or baking a pie.

“We wanted to use beautiful finishes and high design, and make the units as small as possible without sacrificing too many of the things that people demand of an apartment,” said the project’s developer, Patrick Kennedy, 59, who founded a company called SmartSpace to create the ideal micro apartment.

A view of the apartment’s kitchen area.

“The size of the place is actually perfect,” said Terencia Tervalon, 32, an insurance executive who pays $1,600 a month for one of the 23 tiny apartments at 38 Harriet St. “I had five friends over the other night and we were all able to fit and have cocktails.”

At night, multiple chairs must be moved to make way for the fold-down Murphy bed; And since the bed rests on the dining table, failing to clear the dishes means they will certainly be smashed.

A dining area transforms into a bedroom.

The California College of the Arts has agreed to lease all the units for its students, and Kennedy is now planning his second micro project: An 11-story building with 160 apartments, a communal roof deck and a ground-floor cafe.

Out back is a large patio framed by 10-foot bamboo plants.

San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee said the city is experiencing a growth spurt that could increase its population another 150,000 over the next several decades. To prepare, he said, the city must explore different kinds of housing, and also build denser complexes around transit stops to get residents out of their cars.

On Monday, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced a plan to build 30,000 housing units in the city by 2020, saying the city must accelerate its housing production to meet the needs of young workers, middle-class families and seniors.

Factory 63 in South Boston’s Fort Point area has micro-units starting at $1,699 a month.

Sam Yarborough and Jessica Ryan, property manager for Greystar, viewed the living room/bedroom area of a 374-square-foot apartment at Factory 63.

This first floor common area at Factory 63 is open to the public and residents with free Wi-Fi.

Fort Point resident Christine Vaillancourt toured a model 300-square-foot micro apartment exhibit at the Boston Society of Architects.

The BSA and What’s In?, a collaborative research initiative including members of ADD Inc., Map-Lab, Artaic, and Onein3, unveiled this unit in February.

A view of the model apartment’s sleeping, living, and kitchen areas.

The model unit includes customizable built-in storage areas.

Richard Taylor, director of Suffolk University’s Center for Real Estate, said Boston risks losing talented young people—and the next Facebook or other breakthrough business—if it fails to build more workforce housing.