Are We Doing This Right? // Tiny Homes Edition
09/25/19 • 67 min
Tiny homes have been growing in popularity over the past decade. To some, they’re an opportunity to shed unnecessary “stuff” and fully embrace a minimalist lifestyle. To others, they’re a critical part of addressing the homelessness crisis in this country. But in most cities in the U.S., it’s not exactly clear where they fit in with housing regulations.
In this installment of our “Are We Doing This Right?” series, we take a look at some of the common assumptions about tiny homes, how people are using them, what laws are applicable to them (and what’s often left unclear), which cities have embraced them, and whether other cities should follow their lead.
As always, we pull from our experience working within cities (AJ’s, anyway) and a wide body of literature on the subject to build an informed understanding of the role tiny homes can play in our communities. We look at each topic through the lens of the social and environmental impact it can have, as well as how it relates to your city’s financial and economic health.
For additional reading recommendations on this topic, head on over to the show page for this episode.
Your hosts for this episode: Jordan Clark & AJ Fawver.
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The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.
You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn
And if you haven't yet, sign up for our weekly email digest. It's not lame! (Each week we collectively curate a list of the things we read that caught our attention. Then we hand-package your copy, spank a first-class stamp on that baby, and drop it right in your email inbox.) Sign up here!
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(Music in this episode is from No Future, Custodian of Records, & David Byrne.)
Tiny homes have been growing in popularity over the past decade. To some, they’re an opportunity to shed unnecessary “stuff” and fully embrace a minimalist lifestyle. To others, they’re a critical part of addressing the homelessness crisis in this country. But in most cities in the U.S., it’s not exactly clear where they fit in with housing regulations.
In this installment of our “Are We Doing This Right?” series, we take a look at some of the common assumptions about tiny homes, how people are using them, what laws are applicable to them (and what’s often left unclear), which cities have embraced them, and whether other cities should follow their lead.
As always, we pull from our experience working within cities (AJ’s, anyway) and a wide body of literature on the subject to build an informed understanding of the role tiny homes can play in our communities. We look at each topic through the lens of the social and environmental impact it can have, as well as how it relates to your city’s financial and economic health.
For additional reading recommendations on this topic, head on over to the show page for this episode.
Your hosts for this episode: Jordan Clark & AJ Fawver.
--
The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.
You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn
And if you haven't yet, sign up for our weekly email digest. It's not lame! (Each week we collectively curate a list of the things we read that caught our attention. Then we hand-package your copy, spank a first-class stamp on that baby, and drop it right in your email inbox.) Sign up here!
--
(Music in this episode is from No Future, Custodian of Records, & David Byrne.)
Previous Episode
Are We Doing This Right? // Granny Flats Edition
Cities across the country face a shortage of affordable housing, despite a nationwide glut of single-family homes. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs)—often referred to as granny flats or other quaint-sounding names—have emerged as one way to quickly add affordable units to single-family neighborhoods, without tearing down existing homes.
Yet, in most cities, they remain illegal to build. And while some cities have re-legalized them, they often put in place so much red tape that few units end up actually getting built.
In this episode, we cover:
- the myriad arguments in favor of building more ADUs
- some common pushback and reasons why ADU allowances aren’t more common
- the types of people who would benefit from and/or occupy ADUs
- how some cities are discouraging the construction of ADUs even when they technically allow them
- suggestions for what your city can do to enable and encourage residents to build ADUs
Want to research this further? Here are some of the resources we found helpful:
All About Accessory Dwelling Units
Santa Cruz Implements “Granny Flat” Program
Why tiny ADUs may be a big answer to the urban housing crisis
American Planning Association KnowledgeBase: Accessory Dwelling Units
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"Are We Doing This Right?" is a new series where we dig deeper into an issue that affects cities across North America, bust (or uphold) a few myths, set some context, and give our frank opinions about whether or not we could be doing things better. Check out the other episodes with "Are We Doing This Right?" in this podcast feed if you dig this one. And we're always taking submissions: [email protected].
Your hosts for this episode: Jordan Clark & AJ Fawver.
The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.
You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn
And if you haven't yet, sign up for our weekly email digest. It's not lame! (Each week we collectively curate a list of the things we read that caught our attention. Then we hand-package your copy, spank a first-class stamp on that baby, and drop it right in your email inbox.) Sign up here!
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(Music in this episode is from No Future, Blue Note Sessions, Chuck Jackson, Custodian of Records, & Fred Rogers.)
Next Episode
So your city's on its way to going broke — Lynda Humble
Verdunity CEO Kevin Shepherd sits down with Lynda Humble, city manager of Bastrop, Texas, to talk about what she learned from a fiscal model of the city's development pattern, how that reshaped discussions with City Council and citizens, and how it is informing Bastrop's overhaul of plans and codes that don't align with its goal of fiscal sustainability.
(Spoiler: they learned the city would soon go broke if it kept its current approach to growth.)
Lynda and Kevin also discuss the immediate and long-term fallout from the 86th Texas Legislative Session for Texas cities, and Lynda gives advice to city managers working in communities with similar situations.
By the way, if you want to learn a bit more about the most impactful laws passed in that Texas Legislative Session, check out the webcast we recently did on the subject.
And to hear earlier episodes we did with Bastrop leadership, look up episode 3 and episode 24.
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The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.
You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn
And if you haven't yet, sign up for our weekly email digest. It's not lame! (Each week we collectively curate a list of the things we read that caught our attention. Then we hand-package your copy, spank a first-class stamp on that baby, and drop it right in your email inbox.) Sign up here!
--
(Music in this episode is from No Future, Custodian of Records, and Cosmic Dan & the Mole Men.)
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