Why do residential skyscrapers always seem to include balconies that never get used?

You add tiny, mini, useless balconies so that you can check off another tick box on a zillow or trulia search, justify an increased rental cost.

Then you make the balconies as small as possible, as featureless as possible, and throw a whole bunch of rules into your rental agreement that prevent you from actually using them for basically any reason: Can't smoke on the balcony, can't dry clothes on it, can't cook on it, can't display any thing like a flag or banner on the balcony because of some made up aesthetic code, etc.

I've lived in a lot of different apartments of differing quality and location, and while I'm not saying that modern apartment residential balconies are entirely a scam, they very often are.

Can’t smoke on the balcony,
Because that smoke goes into other people's apartments. People who may not also be smokers or may have asthma or other medical conditions in which 2nd hand smoke is bad. not actually a building choice... most states now bar smoking inside or near a multi-unit residential building.
can’t dry clothes on it,
19 states have some form of "right to dry" legislation, most of which would protect drying on patio space.
can’t cook on it,
usually a matter of firecode. where I am, it's illegal to have wood burning fire pits or charcoal grills, but gas grills are fine. Also, turkey friers.
These rules are because people are stupid and have caused apartment fires numerous times with these things. can you use charcoal safely? sure. Also, another reason smoking is generally illegal. there's always that one smoker that forgets to clear out the ashtray every so often and that catches fire. (or they put a tissue in it or something, and that's not at all fire retardant.)
can’t display any thing like a flag or banner on the balcony because of some made up aesthetic code, etc.
not actually legal. if there's a residential building code that bans political speech (banners, flags, etc) then that's a first amendment violation. The apartment can (maybe) ban things in their contract agreement, but that's not a building code. that's a contract agreement, and as long as it's not exactly graphic, it probably falls into the "unenforceable" category.
- 19 states have some form of “right to dry” legislation, most of which would protect drying on patio space.
  Two points which I would like to interject here:
  OP (of either the post or comment above) may not be in the United States, and
  Even if they are, there are 50 states and 1 capital district. That means those 19 states only make up roughly a third of the United States. Odds are they are not in one of them.
- that’s a first amendment violation
  It is a first amendment violation when THE STATE and ONLY THE STATE restricts your expression. You can absolutely have your expression restricted by private agreements that you willingly enter into.
- So, a bit of discussion about a hypothetical me has spawned from this and I'll say some things here:
  I am from the US, have mostly rented in the PNW.
  I am aware that smoking is bad and can affect other people, and that idiots running grills can be very dangerous, but I'm old enough to remember when these used to be a major use case for residential balconies.
  AFAIK, generally, you can still do these things if you own (or even rent) a house in a lower density area with a balcony or patio.
  Hell, I've lived in places and with roommates who are entirely capable of nearly burning down an apartment complex by not knowing how to cook on the oven/range in their apartment, or by just smoking inside and woops that cigarette butt or spliff or joint missed the tray.
  I'm not saying it should be the case that we ignore safety concerns in more dense housing, I'm more just pointing out that things which many people are used to be able to do on some kind of residential balcony are not actually doable as more and more people live in rentals.
  As for clothes lines, decorations, hell in some places even public drinking of alcohol on a balcony all being technically legal to some extent but still being against a rental contract:
  Surely you are aware that the landlord and property managers hold basically all the power in these situations unless you have the time and depth of pockets to legally challenge their usually illegal frivolous stipulations.
  They can just fine you and threaten eviction or withhold your security deposit, and it will almost always be 5x to 10x less expensive to just accept this than to attempt to challenge it.
  Hell, I have literally never received my security deposit back, anywhere I have ever rented, despite doing no actual 'damage' to the unit. They will always just invent some reason to withhold it.
  ... Anyway, my main drive here isn't that you should just be allowed to do whatever you want on an apartment balcony, its that these balconies are functionally useless to the renter due to them being designed as an afterthought to drive up rental costs, as well as having all kinds of functionally real restrictions unless you want to get into a legal fight with your landlord.
  Basically, at a glance, the balconies are just scams, false advertising that looks like a neat bonus at first, but then you realize you can't actually do anything on them besides maybe sit on a chair on them, if one will even fit.
- interesting that charcoal is banned but gas is fine. I've never had the grease accumulated on the bottom of the grill catch fire on a charcoal grill, but with a gas grill...
My friend had a balcony so small that one person had to crab walk out sideways and then a second person could stand in front of the door. We still stood out there and smoked though. The view was nice.
Can't smoke on the balcony,
Legally you cannot smoke here within 100ft of a door or window that ventilates another's workspace or living space as it represents carcinogenic pollution you're willfully emitting despite knowing the risks.
In allowing it, the landlord would be subject to a number of complaints, some of them like human rights violations carrying no upper limit to the compensation -- they could actually be sued for millions in the right extreme circumstances.
You can blame Jeff Bezos, George Clooney, and Nestle for that.
- You're going to have to walk us through that one, please.
- Nipple Batman made balconies useless?

In some places that is a strategy to satisfy zoning requirements. The builder has to provide a minimum amount of outdoor area per dwelling unit. They could create a large ground-level courtyard, or they can create a bunch of tiny balconies that sum up to the same total area. The ~~ladder~~ latter strategy allows a larger building to exist on the same lot.

Edit: Stupid voice-to-text always gets me.

I approve of the ladder strategy. Work those legs!
- ...and she chose the ladder.
- God damn, son! I'm only on the 63rd floor! How big is this ladder???
- Maybe a way to make use of all those unused balconies. I’m on board.
- What a Thrill...
A different design other than a basic box would allow them to make a large outdoor area at basically any level they want, not necessarily the ground, but that's of course more expensive as well.
- I think people value private outdoor space differently than public outdoor space. I don't actually have a balcony but I think I would usually prefer a private space to a public one, even if the public one was much nicer.
- so like, even if it were a box...
  They don't really have to encase each floor. most buildings are concrete, and they could just as easily seal that floor off and leave the observation platform open. But the reality is that it gets pretty windy up that high, and most people won't want to be out there for very long at all. And not at all if it's at all inclement.
  not to mention... jumpers.

97% of the time, the average car just sits in the parking space, taking up space not being used.

I guess you can say something similar applied to balconies. They are probably being used, but only a small portion of the day.

Counterexample. We love our little balcony. We have some plants, a bench, and a hummingbird feeder. We take our coffee out there for 'cocktail hour' at 7, and sit, talk, watch the world go by a few floors down, and enjoy each other's company.

If you're not using your balcony, you really should.

yess we have a similar situation!! i was under the impression EVERYONE used their balconies!
- There are a tonne of apartment balconies that are just afterthoughts by the developer though. I see plenty that are narrow to the point of being useless, or 30 floors up with no enclosed overhang which just generally feels kinda terrifying.
Totally
Same with backyard. None of my neighbors are ever in their backyard. How do I know? If it's not raining and it's above 20c very likely I am in mine.
- Agreed. I live on my back patio when it's warm enough. I've gotten called out (not in a bad way) on meetings for my hammock background. ;-)

So pot plants have somewhere to die

Mine love it out there.
The trick is to bring them inside before it gets cold.

You couldn't pay me to go out on a balcony if it's higher than 1 story. Fuck heights.

I had a friend that was drunk and was smoking and leaning back on a balcony and went over. No one even heard him. One minute he was there, the next minute he was gone. No one even looked down for a few minutes because people were regularly coming and going from the balcony and people just assumed he went back inside.
Broke both his arms, his neck, fucked up his back, and had a major concussion. I think maybe he broke some ribs too. Really fucked him up. He didn't die, but the head injury caused a dramatic personality change and the neck and back stuff created chronic pain.
Another guy I knew intentionally jumped off a dorm balcony and severely and multiply fractured both his legs and fucked his knees forever.
Don't... uh, accidentally drop from great heights, people.
- I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I hope he's doing well, all things considered. I will refrain from being drunk on a balcony. I don't like being drunk anyways.
We had a great balcony on 15 but wow, standing at the railing was only a sometimes-thing and only for a short while. Sorry of our guests wouldn't go outside at all, and I completely understand why.
I used to be afraid of heights. Then, in basic training, we did some rappelling. Every second of the process was a trained and well-practiced task, orchestrated on the day by sergeants "speaking clearly" as is their talent. There were no mistakes, there was no fear while wrapped in the process, and there was no hesitation. The actual heights part was a few fleeting seconds.
This achievement stayed with me 20 years until I absolutely lost my shit while rock climbing a familiar route out in New Paltz, embarrassing myself, my family, my friends.

For smokers

People want the option to use their balcony. Then they realize it's usually not so pleasant being exposed like that to the sun, wind, temp.

... or just 'exposed'. to neighbors, passers-by, and the pervert in the corner office across the street.
- Heh, I walk around naked with the blinds open because where I live, people would need binoculars to see me and if they choose to, their resulting suffering is their own fault. One advantage of being unattractive...
- There's definitely a guy in the building across from me that stares. I don't think he's a creep -- he's probably just bored and looking around -- but his face is pressed up against the window so he stands out. I've made eye contact a few times, ugh.
- Joke's on them! I'll stare into their telescope and out-perv them any day of the week...
Agreed! They're always filthy/dusty and annoying to clean.
And even though no one gives a shit enough to stare, it's hard not to feel... watched.
Just put walls on there, problem solved.

I use mine! Actually I made sure to.look for an apartment with a balcony since I have pets

I don't sit on my balcony despite the table and chairs I have out there, but I have lots of plants that soften the view and spark joy. It's also a place the firefighters could pluck me from.
I wanted a balcony but the real estate agent politely implied that I couldn't afford one in the area where I was looking for housing. With that said, I can see myself using it for just an hour or two a week while the weather is nice. I like the idea of sitting out on the balcony but I expect that in practice it would be noisy out there and boring on my own.
Me too. I have an outstanding rocking chair out there for reading. We also have a tiny table between two chairs, perfect for drinks.
Edit: I just set a reminder for tomorrow morning to go out before it gets warm.

Maybe in order to give each resident the same chance to jump?

/s

Depends on where you live. In Japan, most of the time it's either way too hot to hang out on the balcony or way too cold. In Europe it's fine in many places for most of the year.

Some of it also has to do with rent prices which can be higher if you have a balcony.

Also, and again in Japan: There is an emergency balcony exit in some apartment buildings in case a natural disaster hits. It's probably easier to climb your way down a bunch of balconies with holes in the ground than a blank wall

I live in Berlin, and while I don't have a balcony myself, I spend a lot of time enviously starring at my neighbours that do, as they use them quite a bit.

There aren't many smokers anymore, and small apartment balconies were usually used for smoking.

As someone who can barely approach the edge of a 3-story parking structure, I would come unraveled on one of those balconies.

Three stories? You're a brave soul.

As a counterexample, look at the Marina City towers in Chicago (aka the corncobs); all of the units have balconies, and the balconies are definitely a selling point. They're quite large; in the case of the studios, the balcony can be nearly as large as the living space. (I think that I recently saw a nearly all original condo in Marina City go up for sale in the mid $400s? It was an interesting time capsule.)

And yet I never see people on the corncob balconies
- I've seen people on them. Not a ton. But I would see people on them every so often when I was heading to shows at House of Blues, usually later in the evening in the summer and early fall. I can't imagine using them in the middle of winter, when it's -10F and winds are whipping around at 30mph.

It's for emergency exit.

/s

That's funny. I see all the skyscrapers around here with balconies and I get jealous, but I never thought about the fact that I almost never see people on those balconies until I read your question.

....smokers....

A friend of mine in Toronto is forbidden to smoke on his balcony now.
- 300sqft for $3500/month and they're not even allowed to smoke?

plants and barbecues

Except BBQs are often against fire code so they're not allowed 😭
- certain ones can sometimes be allowed, go figure. fire is different depending on what's producing it!
- where I am at we can only use electric. Would seem wierd to me to not allow any.
I occasionaly hear about people having their freezer out on the balcony. It makes sense for colder countries, as the temperature difference would be lower than if it were inside. But on the other hand, I'm pretty sure most freezers are not built to endure weather.
- I have a cooler like what you would bring to a beach out on mine. In summer can put ice in it and keep stuff cold and in winter it helps keep cold things from freezing.
- freezers work reasonably well in cold climates, provided they don't try to auto-defrost, fridges not so much.

They are not human friendly.

The bigger ones are great for parties but that's not an everyday event

I find them too windy and noisy half the time. They are also wet half the time, either from condensation or recent rain.

I use mine to play Civ

Rapunzel.

Part of it might just be that is increases the value of the apartment