tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/tiny-houses-18482/articlestiny houses – The Conversation2023-12-07T19:18:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2172672023-12-07T19:18:52Z2023-12-07T19:18:52ZCouncils are opening the door to tiny houses as a quick, affordable and green solution<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/01/australia-rental-price-rice-crisis-data">Soaring rents</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/22/housing-prices-record-levels-corelogic-home-value-index#:%7E:text=Housing%20prices%20back%20at%20record%20levels%2C%20defying%20Australia's%20interest%20rate%20rises,-The%207.5%25%20drop&text=Australian%20home%20prices%20are%20back,to%20the%20data%20group%20CoreLogic.">home prices</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/10/australia-under-more-mortgage-stress-than-any-other-nation-says-imf">increasing mortgage stress</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-21/the-uncomfortable-truth-about-immigration-rents-inflation/103128424">record immigration</a> and a growing population are fuelling a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-06/housing-crisis-medium-high-density-development-730/102818054">housing crisis</a> and <a href="https://homelessnessaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HA-Overstretched-and-overwhelmed-report-v03-1.pdf">increasing homelessness</a>. In the face of this pressing need, tiny houses offer an alternative housing option. </p>
<p>Tiny houses have become <a href="https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/nine-out-of-10-americans-would-consider-tiny-house-living">popular in the United States</a>. Their popularity is growing in other developed countries such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/15/priced-out-uk-house-hunters-turn-to-lorry-sized-tiny-homes">the UK</a> and <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/we-can-live-how-fredericton-s-growing-affordable-tiny-home-community-offers-hope-1.6660712">Canada</a>. In Australia, however, planning and housing regulations <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-and-alternate-houses-can-help-ease-australias-rental-affordability-crisis-182328">present many barriers</a> to using tiny houses as permanent homes. </p>
<p>Dire statistics highlight the need to find homes for Australians quickly and cheaply. The unmet need for social housing has been estimated at <a href="https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/documents/522/Modelling_costs_of_housing_provision_FINAL.pdf">437,000 households</a>. The 2021 census counted <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/estimating-homelessness-census/latest-release#:%7E:text=122%2C494%20people%20were%20estimated%20to%20be%20experiencing%20homelessness%20at%20the,increase%20of%201.6%25%20from%202016">122,494 people</a> as homeless. By 2022, <a href="https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/documents/699/CHIA-housing-need-national-snapshot-v1.0.pdf">more than 640,000 households’</a> housing needs were not being met. </p>
<p>Some local councils now see tiny houses as part of the solution to these problems. They are taking steps to make it easier for people to live in them. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-and-alternate-houses-can-help-ease-australias-rental-affordability-crisis-182328">Tiny and alternate houses can help ease Australia's rental affordability crisis</a>
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<h2>Australia is trailing a global movement</h2>
<p>The tiny house movement is built on several values. These include a preference for smaller homes, the pursuit of minimalism, the desire to live more sustainably and a rejection of the prevailing consumer culture. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2018P6">2018 International Housing Code</a> defines tiny houses as dwellings of 400 square feet (37 square metres) in area or less. In Australia, dwellings under 50 square metres are commonly regarded as tiny houses. </p>
<p>The two main types are tiny houses on foundations and tiny houses on wheels. The latter is built on a trailer and must comply with road-legal dimensions and vehicle regulations.</p>
<p>Tiny houses have long been used as dwellings overseas. Faced with high property prices and land scarcity, those who enjoy the convenience of city life with a minimalist lifestyle have embraced tiny homes. </p>
<p>Examples include <a href="https://www.yankodesign.com/2021/10/03/japanese-inspired-tiny-homes-that-incorporate-our-favorite-aesthetic-micro-living-trends/">micro-homes in Tokyo</a>. Japanese micro-homes are often sited <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/japan-micro-homes/index.html">on irregular leftover pieces</a> of land.</p>
<p>In the US, the Occupy Madison Village is a tiny house commune in Madison, Wisconsin. It provides housing, communal living and community-based decision-making for homeless people to promote their sense of belonging and social participation. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Tiny house villages have been built across the United States.</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-innovations-helping-the-homeless-in-eugene-oregon-133036">3 innovations helping the homeless in Eugene, Oregon</a>
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<h2>What’s happening in Australia?</h2>
<p>In Australia, the various barriers to tiny house living include local government planning schemes, time limits and other restrictions on occupancy and connection to utilities. Over the past year, local councils have begun to make it easier to live in a tiny house.</p>
<p>The Shire of Esperance in Western Australia was the <a href="https://www.esperance.wa.gov.au/news/2023/may/31/everything-you-wanted-know-tiny-houses-wheels">first local council</a> in the country to recognise tiny houses as permanent dwellings in December 2022.</p>
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<p>Mount Alexander Shire Council in Victoria <a href="https://www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/Council/News-and-updates/Local-law-changed-to-allow-tiny-homes-on-wheels">removed the permit requirement</a> for residents to park tiny houses on wheels on properties with existing dwellings in June 2023. </p>
<p>The Shire of Capel in Western Australia adopted a <a href="https://www.capel.wa.gov.au/news/council-meeting-august-ocm/23#:%7E:text=Council%20endorsed%20the%20adoption%20of,stay%20accommodation%20under%20certain%20regulations.">tiny house policy</a> to allow ancillary dwellings and tiny house communities in August 2023. </p>
<p>The Surf Coast Shire in Victoria is starting a <a href="https://www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/Community/Housing/Tiny-house-pilot/Council-to-trial-domestic-use-of-tiny-houses-on-wheels">two-year trial</a> of domestic use of tiny houses on wheels in 2024. </p>
<p>These changes are likely to help people who are struggling to find an affordable home and those on <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-soul-destroying-how-people-on-a-housing-wait-list-of-175-000-describe-their-years-of-waiting-210705">long waiting lists</a> for social housing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-and-alternative-homes-are-gaining-councils-approval-as-they-wrestle-with-the-housing-crisis-199667">Tiny houses and alternative homes are gaining councils' approval as they wrestle with the housing crisis</a>
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<h2>A cheaper and faster way to house people</h2>
<p>Tiny houses offer a cost-effective and prompt solution to the issues of affordable housing and homelessness. Their small size means they can be built more quickly and cheaply. </p>
<p>The construction cost of a tiny house is typically A$80,000-$160,000. The median house price for Australian capital cities is now <a href="https://propertyupdate.com.au/the-latest-median-property-prices-in-australias-major-cities/">more than $900,000</a> – and around $650,000 for units. </p>
<p>On average, it takes <a href="https://articles.soho.com.au/2022-guide-how-long-does-it-take-to-build-a-house">four to 12 months</a> to build a house in Australia after the purchase of land and design approval. It takes only <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-26/tiny-homes-may-train-future-tradies-help-solve-housing-shortage/100242220">about four weeks</a> to build a tiny house commercially.</p>
<p>The average new house size in Australia is the <a href="https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2020/11/commsec-home-size-trends-report.html">biggest in the world</a>. Average floor area has been between <a href="https://theconversation.com/drafts/217267/edit">230 and 246 square metres</a> for the past 20 years. Large houses use more materials and energy to build and run, adding to living costs. </p>
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<h2>Shrinking our environmental footprints</h2>
<p>Tiny houses promote liveable space downsizing and simpler lifestyles. They also demonstrate a stronger responsibility for environmental stewardship. Some have rainwater tanks, composting toilets, solar panels and batteries and can operate completely off-grid. </p>
<p>Because tiny houses use fewer resources, their occupants’ environmental footprint is smaller. They represent a shift towards more sustainable living by prioritising lower energy use (heating, cooling and lighting) and greenhouse gas emissions. These signify a commitment to limit climate change and global warming by moving towards Australia’s net-zero carbon emission target by 2050. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-people-downsize-to-tiny-houses-they-adopt-more-environmentally-friendly-lifestyles-112485">When people downsize to tiny houses, they adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles</a>
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<p>The global tiny house movement represents a concerted effort to reduce the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8540435/">huge environmental footprint</a> of the building and construction industry. At the same time, high-performing, energy-efficient tiny houses cut occupants’ living costs.</p>
<p>Tiny houses do not cater for all households. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-tiny-house-whats-it-like-and-how-can-it-be-made-better-110495">suit certain demographics</a>, especially single and partnered people with no children or retirees. </p>
<p>Tiny houses can add <a href="https://theconversation.com/people-want-and-need-more-housing-choice-its-about-time-governments-stood-up-to-deliver-it-122390">much-needed diversity</a> to Australians’ housing options. As councils are recognising, they’re a way of quickly expanding the affordable housing supply in a community. Lower running costs and a smaller environmental footprint are added bonuses.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hing-Wah Chau does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Until now, planning and housing regulations have stood in the way of using tiny houses as permanent homes. That’s starting to change as councils look for solutions to the housing crisis.Hing-Wah Chau, Course Chair in Building Design & Senior Lecturer in Built Environment, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2032742023-04-27T15:22:30Z2023-04-27T15:22:30ZHouse in a skip: even tiny homes can’t address the privilege and insecurity of the housing market<p>When 28-year-old artist Harrison Marshall moved back to London after a spell abroad, he couldn’t find anywhere to live within his price bracket. So in March 2023 he moved into a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/artist-moves-into-rubbish-skip-protest-crazy-london-costs-2023-03-06/">converted skip</a>. He had parked the yellow container on a patch of land in Bermondsey and kitted it out with a diminutive galley kitchen and a raised bed under a curved wooden roof. </p>
<p>Amid the affordable housing crisis, <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-why-more-people-are-living-in-miniature-137522">tiny houses</a> have emerged as a last resort for those struggling to afford traditional homes. For many they offer a semblance of security and stability in an increasingly punitive housing and labour market. </p>
<p>At the same time, the luxury high-end custom-built tiny homes so popular on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/livingbiginatinyhouse/?hl=en">social media</a> cater to a largely aspirational middle-class audience. <a href="http://www.tinyhouseresearch.co.uk">My research</a> shows that the costs involved in building these dwellings, not to mention finding where to put them, can be high. At the core of this movement is a complex interplay between privilege and insecurity. </p>
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<h2>A creative solution</h2>
<p>Marshall has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64615890">explained</a> that converting a skip was the only way he could afford to live in London. Skip House reportedly cost £4,000 to build, and he pays £50 per month to an arts charity in rental fees for the land. </p>
<p>He has a portaloo onsite, but no running water, so showers at the gym or at work. This is not many people’s idea of luxury, but it is a creative solution. </p>
<p>Many see the idea of a tiny house as a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0094306120902418t">counter-cultural statement</a> against consumerism and the housing market – and the culture of overwork required to finance these two things. Tiny houses can act as a beacon highlighting a simpler, more sustainable way of life. </p>
<p>That said, tiny house living is not entirely off-grid. Because it still requires connecting to very much on-grid neighbourhood resources – plumbed water, waste collection – it merges this anticonsumerist stance with new forms of commodified housing. Tiny houses thus make a political statement, without taking direct action. </p>
<p>Marshall himself has acknowledged as much. This kind of project straddles the boundaries of aspiration and necessity. Skip House does not demonstrate a way through the housing crisis and cost of living crisis, but nor are tiny houses claiming to be a silver bullet for our multiple crises. </p>
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<h2>High points and hurdles</h2>
<p>The women I have interviewed speak about the serious challenge of finding up front cash or navigating private bank loans to fund their tiny homes. The average self-build tiny house costs around £25,000 with <a href="https://www.tinyecohomesuk.com/shop-tiny-houses-for-sale/">off-the-shelf</a> options going for upwards of £75,000. </p>
<p>The next challenge is to find somewhere to put them. Marshall’s ability to find and come to an agreement with the arts charity that owns the land he is renting is made possible, in part, by what sociologists term his “<a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2022/02/17/what-is-social-capital-privilege/#:%7E:text=Social%20capital%20%E2%80%94%20the%20networks%20and,exclude%20others%20rather%20than%20include">social and cultural capital</a>”, as a white, educated, man.</p>
<p>This is further made visible by the other factors that make Skip House possible: the fact that he can shower at the gym which he pays a membership for; that he has access and can pay for a laundrette; that he can come to some sort of agreement with the local council about special waste collection and portaloo use. </p>
<p>People who are <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/doree/who-is-the-tiny-house-revolution-for">financially or socially privileged</a> benefit from access to resources, land and networks. This makes it easier to consider to a tiny house as an alternative mode of living. </p>
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<img alt="A wood-panelled interior of a small house." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523198/original/file-20230427-986-34at4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523198/original/file-20230427-986-34at4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523198/original/file-20230427-986-34at4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523198/original/file-20230427-986-34at4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523198/original/file-20230427-986-34at4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523198/original/file-20230427-986-34at4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523198/original/file-20230427-986-34at4r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Even doing up a tiny house yourself can involve significant costs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mobile-tiny-house-interior-great-outdoor-1626397210">Inrainbows/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>By contrast, those with limited means may find themselves turning to tiny houses out of sheer necessity. They might cobble together resources and support to build their own tiny houses and live in fear of being <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-look-marvellous-but-have-a-dark-side-three-things-they-dont-tell-you-on-marketing-blurb-109592">found out</a>.</p>
<p>One person I spoke to was forced to live first in her car and then in a converted van to escape a domestic violence situation. If she had had the money to do something more comfortable and safe – like stay in a hotel or rent a place of her own – she would have. But it was not an option. Despite this, she says that she now loves her converted van and wouldn’t want to live any other way. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02637758231165295">My recent research</a> explores how many of the people who do live in tiny houses experience a huge amount of satisfaction and time and money savings. They report a sense of reconnecting with nature and community. </p>
<p>Another interviewee, Amy, was 37 when we spoke in 2020. She was living in a tiny house in Colorado at the time. She said: </p>
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<p>It brought all of my values into alignment, I wanted a reduced carbon footprint. I wanted to spend my life doing rather than having. I wanted a space that was aesthetically beautiful, that I felt like I could stay in control of; like the cleaning wasn’t out of control, repair wasn’t going to bankrupt me. </p>
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<span class="caption">Where to park your tiny house is a big question.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mobile-tiny-house-great-outdoor-experiences-1328908643">Inrainbows/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>A larger question is what we can do to make this kind of life possible outside of the context of tiny houses. Access to land is a significant hurdle.<a href="https://www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk/">Community land trusts</a> are an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/apr/20/citizens-house-real-affordable-housing-london-community-property">excellent step</a> in this direction. Their numbers have been growing in recent years, with 587 projects active in England and Wales and a further 7,100 related homes due to be delivered in the coming years. </p>
<p>The tiny house movement embodies a complex mixture of counter-cultural ideals, economic pragmatism and the entrenched sheltering of privilege. They are not a fix-all, but neither should they be dismissed out of hand. <a href="https://www.uk.coop/">Co-ops</a> and communitarian approaches to land occupancy have a long history of success in creating high-quality, affordable homes. Perhaps tiny houses will become a greater part of their successes in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Elizabeth Wilson receives funding from the ESRC 1+3 PhD scholarship. </span></em></p>The tiny house movement embodies a complex mixture of counter-cultural ideals, financial pragmatism and socio-economic privilege.Alice Elizabeth Wilson, PhD Candidate in Sociology, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1996672023-02-26T19:04:20Z2023-02-26T19:04:20ZTiny houses and alternative homes are gaining councils’ approval as they wrestle with the housing crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511858/original/file-20230223-1774-5b2d4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C90%2C4025%2C2685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s coastal cities and surrounding hinterlands have long been popular with tourists, sea-changers and retirees. But they have a darker side. In the early morning you will often find car parks crowded with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-24/councils-and-housing-groups-call-for-400m-budget-boost/102015638">cars, vans, caravans and even tents</a>, where refugees from the housing crisis have spent the night. </p>
<p>People of all ages, including families with children, are cooking breakfast, using the cold-water showers and packing up for another day, always trying to keep one step ahead of council officers or police. These unhoused people <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk4eWjYVNYg">don’t conform to homeless stereotypes</a>. Many have jobs and children in school and no serious mental or physical health problems. They simply <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rent-crisis-is-set-to-spread-heres-the-case-for-doubling-rent-assistance-196810">cannot find an affordable home to rent</a>, or have lost or are unable to buy a home of their own.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-numbers-have-jumped-since-covid-housing-efforts-ended-and-the-problem-is-spreading-beyond-the-big-cities-194624">Homeless numbers have jumped since COVID housing efforts ended – and the problem is spreading beyond the big cities</a>
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<p>Soaring rates of housing stress are forcing Australians to explore new options, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-and-alternate-houses-can-help-ease-australias-rental-affordability-crisis-182328">living smaller and in tiny houses</a>. At Griffith University’s Cities Research Institute, we are surveying local government planners on whether they allow, encourage or limit tiny, temporary or alternative houses in their area. </p>
<p>In early findings (from a response rate of over 50% to date), nearly all respondents agree affordability is a problem for both home buyers and renters. While not representing formal council views, their responses indicate most councils now approve modular, manufactured and shipping container houses, despite a public perception they oppose such dwellings. Some have codes specifically for tiny houses on wheels.</p>
<p>As one planner explained:</p>
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<p>We will have to think differently about how we live, given housing affordability, inflation, susceptibility to emergency events and the like, and perhaps be more lenient on allowing these types of dwellings – whether on a permanent or temporary basis.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511874/original/file-20230223-776-5t5119.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511874/original/file-20230223-776-5t5119.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511874/original/file-20230223-776-5t5119.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511874/original/file-20230223-776-5t5119.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511874/original/file-20230223-776-5t5119.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511874/original/file-20230223-776-5t5119.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511874/original/file-20230223-776-5t5119.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511874/original/file-20230223-776-5t5119.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cumulative numbers of survey responses indicating types of dwellings permitted, considered or not allowed. Note: THOW is tiny houses on wheels, THSkids is tiny houses on skids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: Cities Research Institute survey/Griffith University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-and-alternate-houses-can-help-ease-australias-rental-affordability-crisis-182328">Tiny and alternate houses can help ease Australia's rental affordability crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>All housing must comply with the law</h2>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09697764221145436">Local governments in New South Wales</a> and Queensland were the most progressive. Many councils (41%) already approve alternative housing types for permanent dwelling. But they must comply with local laws, be in an appropriate residential zone and approved as a residential dwelling, connected to services and protect local amenity. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511875/original/file-20230223-2271-mw4uxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511875/original/file-20230223-2271-mw4uxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511875/original/file-20230223-2271-mw4uxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511875/original/file-20230223-2271-mw4uxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511875/original/file-20230223-2271-mw4uxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511875/original/file-20230223-2271-mw4uxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511875/original/file-20230223-2271-mw4uxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511875/original/file-20230223-2271-mw4uxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cumulative numbers of responses from each state indicating that the local council approves tiny houses and alternative housing types.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: Cities Research Institute survey/Griffith University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511876/original/file-20230223-18-sysg55.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511876/original/file-20230223-18-sysg55.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511876/original/file-20230223-18-sysg55.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511876/original/file-20230223-18-sysg55.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511876/original/file-20230223-18-sysg55.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511876/original/file-20230223-18-sysg55.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511876/original/file-20230223-18-sysg55.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511876/original/file-20230223-18-sysg55.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cumulative numbers of responses from each state indicating that the local council may approve tiny houses and alternative housing types.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: Cities Research Institute survey/Griffith University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511877/original/file-20230223-17-v0xg02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511877/original/file-20230223-17-v0xg02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511877/original/file-20230223-17-v0xg02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511877/original/file-20230223-17-v0xg02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511877/original/file-20230223-17-v0xg02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511877/original/file-20230223-17-v0xg02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511877/original/file-20230223-17-v0xg02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511877/original/file-20230223-17-v0xg02.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cumulative numbers of responses from each state indicating that the local council does not approve tiny houses and alternative housing types.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: Cities Research Institute survey/Griffith University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, a planner from a large regional city in NSW said options like tiny houses were possible, “subject to approval and compliance with Planning and Environment Act and Building Act requirements. All need to be approved for permanent use and hence comply with requirements for all dwellings.” </p>
<p>Another NSW planner said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are some temporary exemptions in the legislation for disaster event accommodation for up to two years, and [it] had to comply with planning and building act requirements. Local laws become involved if these structures are parked on council land e.g. on the side of the road or on public land. And environmental health issues arise when there is no waste management measure in place.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="https://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/temporary-home?fbclid=IwAR2QBvRUJpmFI1Vgo52Ptopyp3eZv6mMunAVR8j8xb1oro7TRdps59NGjLQ">Fraser Coast Council</a> in Queensland recently allowed property owners “to accommodate family or friends in a caravan on the dwelling allotment for up to six months in a 12-month period”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511855/original/file-20230223-25-rk6z7c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="View from the outside of a home made from a shipping container" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511855/original/file-20230223-25-rk6z7c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511855/original/file-20230223-25-rk6z7c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511855/original/file-20230223-25-rk6z7c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511855/original/file-20230223-25-rk6z7c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511855/original/file-20230223-25-rk6z7c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511855/original/file-20230223-25-rk6z7c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511855/original/file-20230223-25-rk6z7c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A basic container home can be very affordable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-you-want-to-live-tiny-heres-what-to-consider-when-choosing-a-house-van-or-caravan-129790">So, you want to live tiny? Here's what to consider when choosing a house, van or caravan</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the concerns about tiny houses?</h2>
<p>Many respondents did voice concern about false advertising by the tiny house industry. As one said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Tiny houses are the Uber and Airbnb of the housing industry. The idea that such structures can be temporary is in many cases fanciful.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some manufacturers market their tiny houses as not needing council approval. They fail to mention the requirements that apply to water supply, waste disposal, bushfire and flood risk, and avoiding conflict with agriculture.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Alternative housing] should be regulated to some extent to ensure that occupants and adjoining neighbourhoods experience a reasonable level of amenity (i.e. not unreasonably put a strain on existing infrastructure, not detract from local character (if prevailing), not cause overshadowing to adjoining neighbours, be fit for purpose etc).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another concern is tiny houses that don’t comply with building regulations. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Most of these buildings do not comply with the minimum 2.4m ceiling height of the National Construction Code/Building Code of Australia. Even if they do comply […] unless a compliancy certificate has been issued by the manufacturer, there is practically no way of approving them as a certifier has no access to the specifications, can’t visually inspect the frame prior to cladding etc.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511879/original/file-20230223-24-8hmrhr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511879/original/file-20230223-24-8hmrhr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511879/original/file-20230223-24-8hmrhr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511879/original/file-20230223-24-8hmrhr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511879/original/file-20230223-24-8hmrhr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511879/original/file-20230223-24-8hmrhr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511879/original/file-20230223-24-8hmrhr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511879/original/file-20230223-24-8hmrhr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Potential conditions of approval that apply to tiny houses and alternative housing types as indicated by survey respondents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: Cities Research Institute survey/Griffith University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A quest for creative solutions</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673037.2021.1884203">tiny house movement</a>, despite its limitations, could help deliver some of the creative solutions the housing crisis demands. It has sparked an important <a href="https://theconversation.com/loving-the-idea-of-tiny-house-living-even-if-you-dont-live-in-one-157052">conversation about alternative housing solutions</a>, with broader implications for housing design, construction, regulation, finance and insurance. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I personally would like to see more flexibility in allowing diverse house types (including temporary dwellings) to put less financial strain on people (put people into homes/home ownership who can’t afford traditional houses or can’t find a rental) and create opportunities for alternative lifestyles (i.e. more nomadic, work less, co-op). Keeping in mind there should be measures to preserve amenity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A focus on good design, adaptability and affordability can make smaller dwellings more attractive to more people. Assembling prefabricated components on site can cut costs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/loving-the-idea-of-tiny-house-living-even-if-you-dont-live-in-one-157052">Loving the idea of tiny house living, even if you don't live in one</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511852/original/file-20230223-16-cz7p3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Looking down at the interior of a tiny house from the upper level" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511852/original/file-20230223-16-cz7p3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511852/original/file-20230223-16-cz7p3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511852/original/file-20230223-16-cz7p3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511852/original/file-20230223-16-cz7p3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511852/original/file-20230223-16-cz7p3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511852/original/file-20230223-16-cz7p3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511852/original/file-20230223-16-cz7p3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A focus on well-designed, adaptable and affordable tiny houses will broaden their appeal as a housing solution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tiny homes can be deployed and redeployed quickly if necessary. This is important for areas hit by disasters. </p>
<p>Their small scale offers a way of <a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">increasing density</a> sensitively in built-up areas. They can also be clustered together to create new communities. </p>
<p>Conventional strategies such as more greenfield land releases, relaxed planning controls and subsidies for first-home buyers have <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-market-has-failed-to-give-australians-affordable-housing-so-dont-expect-it-to-solve-the-crisis-192177">failed to solve the complex challenges</a> of a seriously dysfunctional housing market. We need to experiment with new approaches to housing, and learn as we go. </p>
<p>Unconventional dwellings like tiny homes can make an important contribution. Our survey suggests planners around the country are willing to join in the process of developing and regulating these news ways of living.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you work for a local council and would like to participate in our survey, you can find it <a href="https://prodsurvey.rcs.griffith.edu.au/LGAHousingSurvey">here</a>.</em> </p>
<p><em>The authors would like to thank <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/natalie-osborne-282804">Dr Natalie Osborne</a> for her help with survey design and testing.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199667/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Burton receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the City of Gold Coast and is an active member of the Planning Institute of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Shearer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite a common belief that councils won’t approve tiny houses and modular and container homes, early findings from a national survey suggest planners are increasingly open to these housing options.Heather Shearer, Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversityPaul Burton, Professor of Urban Management & Planning, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1823282022-05-09T04:36:10Z2022-05-09T04:36:10ZTiny and alternate houses can help ease Australia’s rental affordability crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461899/original/file-20220509-24-5ku8rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C114%2C2474%2C1294&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rental housing in Australia <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/publications/rental-affordability-snapshot-2022/">is less affordable</a> than ever before. It is no exaggeration to call the situation a crisis, with vacancy rates at <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/research/vacancy-rates-april-2022-1135506/">record lows</a>.</p>
<p>But there are some relatively simple, easy-to-implement and cost-effective things that can be done to ease rental affordability pressures. </p>
<p>These include relaxing planning restrictions on small and non-traditional houses, allowing granny flats to be rented to anyone, permitting property owners to let space to tiny house dwellers, and possibly even subsidising the building of granny flats or modification of houses for dual occupancy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stability-and-security-the-keys-to-closing-the-mental-health-gap-between-renters-and-home-owners-179481">Stability and security: the keys to closing the mental health gap between renters and home owners</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘Dependant’ persons only</h2>
<p>The degree to which local councils permit very small dwellings depends on factors such as dwelling type, lot characteristics, planning scheme zoning and overlays, and state regulations. </p>
<p>Subject to these constraints, granny flats are generally legal in Australia, though states such as Queensland and Victoria restrict who can live in them.</p>
<p>In Queensland, most councils limit occupancy to members of the same household, <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/planning-guidelines-and-tools/brisbane-city-plan-2014/supporting-information/granny-flats">defined as</a> a group who “live together on a long-term basis and make common provision for food or other essentials for living”.</p>
<p>In Victoria, granny flats can only “provide accommodation for a person who is dependant on a resident of the existing dwelling” (and are hence called <a href="https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/dependant-person%E2%80%99s-unit-granny-flat">Dependant Person’s Units</a>). </p>
<p>While these laws are sometimes ignored, they limit the potential for this affordable housing option for other individuals who struggle in the housing market. Extra council regulations and fees also make building a granny flat complicated, time-consuming and expensive, particularly if they incur infrastructure charges. </p>
<h2>Desperately seeking parking space</h2>
<p>Tiny houses, especially those on wheels, are typically not approved for permanent residence. Councils consider them caravans, with periods of permitted occupancy ranging from zero to about three months. </p>
<p>Some councils will tolerate them but, if receiving a complaint, can demand the tiny house be removed at short notice. </p>
<p>This can cause extreme distress. Some tiny house owners report living in constant fear of being moved on. In recent years we’ve seen increasing numbers of posts on tiny house social media pages pleading for “parking space”. </p>
<p>Because of these barriers, most tiny houses in Australia aren’t in urban areas, where demand for rental properties is highest, but hidden “under the radar” in more rural areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tiny house in a rural setting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Planning laws have made it difficult for tiny houses in urban areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These areas typically have poorer access to public transport, employment, education and health services. If unknown to authorities, tiny house dwellers may also be at higher risk from natural disasters such as bushfires and floods. </p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="Ftd3Y" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Ftd3Y/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<h2>Benefits from easing restrictions</h2>
<p>Removing some restrictions on letting granny flats and permitting and regulating longer-term occupancy for tiny house dwellers can help ease these rental affordability challenges. </p>
<p>There are other benefits too. For local councils trying to limit unsustainable, low-density expansion on their fringes, these changes enable a relatively gentle and unobtrusive form of densification in places where resistance to change is common.</p>
<p>It could also support more <a href="https://www.irt.org.au/the-good-life/ageing-in-place-what-does-it-mean/">ageing in place</a> (enabling the elderly to downsize while staying in their neighbourhood), reduce development pressures on the natural environment, and provide valuable income both for home owners and give local councils a new stream of rate income. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-you-want-to-live-tiny-heres-what-to-consider-when-choosing-a-house-van-or-caravan-129790">So, you want to live tiny? Here's what to consider when choosing a house, van or caravan</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Allowing property owners to let space to a tiny-house dweller (with appropriate regulations on aesthetic appearance, safety features and environmental impacts) could be a cost-effective and rapid way to increase rental supply for some demographics. Single women over 50, for example, are at high risk of homelessness and also the demographic <a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">most interested in tiny house living</a>. </p>
<h2>This crisis needs innovative responses</h2>
<p>We have seen that, when disasters strike, governments can introduce innovative responses to local housing crises. </p>
<p>In response to the massive floods of February and March, the New South Wales government’s <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Policy-and-Legislation/Disaster-and-Pandemic-Recovery/Temporary-accommodation">Temporary Accommodation Policy</a> changed the rules to allow a moveable dwelling or manufactured home to be placed in a disaster-affected area for up to two years, or longer subject to council approval. </p>
<p>Allowing tiny houses for a trial period of, say, two years could provide a valuable pilot project, and perhaps alleviate the concerns of some local ratepayers. In nine years of research into the tiny house movement in Australia, we have found some councils are willing to consider permitting tiny houses – but only if another council does it first. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A tiny house for sale at the Sydney Tiny House Festival, March 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A tiny house for sale at the Sydney Tiny House Festival, March 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A longer-term solution is to encourage the building of more granny flats as part of a program of moderate densification, as is happening in <a href="https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/building-and-consents/building-renovation-projects/build-sleepout-cabin/Pages/default.aspx">Auckland, New Zealand</a>. </p>
<p>Rather than subsidising expensive renovations of existing homes – as the Morrison government did with its <a href="https://theconversation.com/homebuilder-might-be-the-most-complex-least-equitable-construction-jobs-program-ever-devised-140162">HomeBuilder grants scheme</a> – federal, state and territory governments could offer incentives to divide or extend homes in well-designed and sustainably constructed ways to enable dual living.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/up-on-a-roof-why-new-zealands-move-towards-greater-urban-density-should-see-a-rooftop-revolution-172226">Up on a roof: why New Zealand's move towards greater urban density should see a rooftop revolution</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While not as visibly dramatic as floods and bushfires, the crisis of housing affordability deserves equally imaginative policy responses. After all, adequate housing is enshrined in the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>. </p>
<p>The crisis is complex and multifaceted. There are no easy solutions to address it in its entirety, and for every demographic. Tiny houses and granny flats are not suitable for all households. But business as usual is no solution. </p>
<p>We need a willingness to experiment with and learn from innovative and even disruptive approaches.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Shearer is a member of the Australian Greens Party and of the Australian Tiny House Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Burton receives funding from the ARC (LP 190101218) and the City of Gold Coast as part of a long-standing Urban Growth Management Partnership. He is a Vice President of the Queensland Division of the Planning Institute of Australia and a member of the National Education Committee of PIA.</span></em></p>Relaxing restrictions on small and non-traditional houses can help to increase the supply of affordable rental housing.Heather Shearer, Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversityPaul Burton, Professor of Urban Management & Planning, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1570522021-03-28T19:07:17Z2021-03-28T19:07:17ZLoving the idea of tiny house living, even if you don’t live in one<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391328/original/file-20210324-23-18nw5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4019%2C2667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite early <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-09/house-prices-to-bounce-back-after-modest-fall-cba/12645780">forecasts of a COVID-driven slump</a>, <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/australian-property-prices-gather-fastest-pace-in-17-years-corelogic-1030545/">house prices are now surging</a> in many parts of Australia. This is further widening the gap between the housing “haves” and “have-nots”, and we are seeing related <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-covid-well-need-a-rethink-to-repair-australias-housing-system-and-the-economy-145437">rises in housing stress, rental insecurity and homelessness</a>. In Australia and elsewhere a movement has emerged that supports tiny house living as an important response to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-covid-well-need-a-rethink-to-repair-australias-housing-system-and-the-economy-145437">housing affordability crisis</a>.</p>
<p>One of us <a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">argued in 2017</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>“[Tiny houses] have significant potential to be a catalyst for infill development, either as tiny house villages, or by relaxing planning schemes to allow owners and tenants to situate well-designed tiny houses on suburban lots.”</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet, to date, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673037.2021.1884203">research</a> begun in 2014 shows no appreciable increase in Australia in the proportion of people actually living in tiny houses, including the archetypal tiny houses on wheels. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-you-want-to-live-tiny-heres-what-to-consider-when-choosing-a-house-van-or-caravan-129790">So, you want to live tiny? Here's what to consider when choosing a house, van or caravan</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>That’s despite the tiny house movement continuing to gain in popularity over the past decade, buoyed by Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2009-01-01%202021-03-17&geo=AU&q=%22tiny%20house%22">Google Trends</a> indicates the level of interest shows no sign of abating. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/10/tiny-homes-carnival-an-affordable-option-to-put-on-land-that-youve-already-got">A Tiny Homes Carnival</a> in Sydney in March 2020 attracted more than 8,000 people to see tiny houses for sale and listen to tiny house celebrities such as Bryce Langdon of <a href="https://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/">Living Big in a Tiny House</a> and Zack Griffin and John Weisbath of <a href="https://www.fyi.tv/shows/tiny-house-nation">Tiny House Nation</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z2_zGa1sAhE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Bryce Langdon of Living Big in a Tiny House visits an example in Queensland.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But that popularity isn’t translating into more people living in tiny houses. Data from four <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673037.2021.1884203">surveys of the tiny house community</a> (the latest in February 2021) show the proportion of respondents living in tiny houses remains under 20% (fewer than 200 people). It hasn’t grown in the past seven years. </p>
<p>The surveys were posted as links to tiny house social media sites, so of course the findings cannot be extrapolated to the whole community. Nonetheless, most tiny house advocates in Australia belong to these groups. </p>
<h2>What’s stopping people moving into tiny houses?</h2>
<p>Some in the movement argue this is due to obstacles such as restrictive planning policies and difficulties in getting finance and secure access to land. In response, some local governments – <a href="https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/302071/Tiny-House-Fact-Sheet.pdf">Cairns</a> and <a href="https://www.byron.nsw.gov.au/Services/Building-development/Do-I-need-approval/Development-and-Building-Fact-Sheets/Tiny-houses">Byron Bay</a>, for example – have published helpful fact sheets and guides.</p>
<p>However, in a recently published <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673037.2021.1884203">research paper</a> in Housing Studies, we argue even if these obstacles were removed, we might not see a big increase in tiny house living, especially in tiny houses on wheels. We reached this conclusion based on what people who are part of the movement, including our survey respondents, said about their motivations and aspirations. </p>
<p>They had three main motivations:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>having access to affordable housing</p></li>
<li><p>achieving a degree of economic freedom</p></li>
<li><p>living in a more environmentally sustainable way.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In reality, professionally built (off-the-shelf) tiny houses on wheels can cost <a href="https://www.canstar.com.au/home-loans/tiny-houses-australia/">three times more per square metre</a> than standard houses. The <a href="https://tinyrealestate.com.au/what-does-a-tiny-house-cost/">most popular size</a> for a tiny house on wheels is 7.2-by-2.4 metres, which is around 27 square metres (including loft space). That can cost upwards of A$80,000. </p>
<p>Of course many build their tiny houses fully or partly themselves, which can greatly reduce costs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Tiny house on wheels in a garden" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390819/original/file-20210322-15-q5s5ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390819/original/file-20210322-15-q5s5ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390819/original/file-20210322-15-q5s5ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390819/original/file-20210322-15-q5s5ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390819/original/file-20210322-15-q5s5ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390819/original/file-20210322-15-q5s5ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390819/original/file-20210322-15-q5s5ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ready-built tiny houses on wheels cost about three times more per square metre than standard houses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Burton</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-tiny-house-whats-it-like-and-how-can-it-be-made-better-110495">Life in a tiny house: what's it like and how can it be made better?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>It’s more about people’s values</h2>
<p>We suggest that for many (but certainly not all) members of the movement, their strongest commitment is to their principles and aspirations, rather than to a particular type of dwelling. <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-people-downsize-to-tiny-houses-they-adopt-more-environmentally-friendly-lifestyles-112485">Some research</a> indicates that tiny house dwellers live a more sustainable lifestyle even after moving to another type of dwelling. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391337/original/file-20210324-19-ergteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="women looks inside a tiny house on display" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391337/original/file-20210324-19-ergteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391337/original/file-20210324-19-ergteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391337/original/file-20210324-19-ergteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391337/original/file-20210324-19-ergteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391337/original/file-20210324-19-ergteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391337/original/file-20210324-19-ergteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391337/original/file-20210324-19-ergteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For many people, much of the appeal of tiny houses is the community of shared values they represent.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the important benefits of tiny house living was the opportunity to be part of a rather ill-defined “community”. The most recent survey unpacked this concept of community. For over 90% of respondents this meant living in a defined area with other tiny house dwellers. </p>
<p>As one respondent said, their ideal was “to share land with a group of tinies, without caravan park zoning”. We found more generally this meant a place with shared access to facilities such as vegetable gardens, workshops, tool sheds and community areas. </p>
<p>So, this research casts doubt on claims that tiny houses represent a major solution to the housing affordability crisis, held back mainly by cumbersome local council regulations and a lack of tailored finance. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">Interest in tiny houses is growing, so who wants them and why?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Reforms would still be welcome</h2>
<p>This is not to say better regulation and finance would not be welcome. </p>
<p>Reforms could include amendments to the National Construction Code. These include <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-30/calls-for-better-regulations-governing-tiny-house-movement/10168810">ensuring</a> tiny houses are structurally sound, energy-efficient and achieve a minimum bushfire attack level rating. </p>
<p>Local councils could also look more favourably on tiny houses on wheels. This would be subject to certain conditions, including the control of environmental waste and the creation of an appropriate local rates category. </p>
<p>Given the interest in community living, councils could also consider relaxing restrictions on multiple dwellings on larger properties. This would enable a degree of communal living, perhaps in <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/periurban/about/focus">peri-urban areas</a>.</p>
<p>These changes would help many aspiring tiny house dwellers achieve their dream. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391339/original/file-20210324-19-zpphet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a tiny house on display" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391339/original/file-20210324-19-zpphet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391339/original/file-20210324-19-zpphet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391339/original/file-20210324-19-zpphet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391339/original/file-20210324-19-zpphet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391339/original/file-20210324-19-zpphet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391339/original/file-20210324-19-zpphet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391339/original/file-20210324-19-zpphet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes to finance and planning regulations would help more people realise their tiny house dreams.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-chinese-courtyard-housing-can-help-older-australian-women-avoid-homelessness-151378">How Chinese courtyard housing can help older Australian women avoid homelessness</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Highlighting questions of housing choice</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most significant contribution the tiny house movement has made so far has been in opening up an important debate about housing choice. It has raised important questions, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Are smaller but well-designed homes better than big and poorly designed ones? </p></li>
<li><p>How can we support the market in providing much more diverse housing (in terms of size, tenure, price and so on)? </p></li>
<li><p>Should we become more tolerant of well-designed and innovative infill developments to rectify the “<a href="https://www.therealestateconversation.com.au/news/2020/01/28/the-persistently-missing-middle-housing/1580169393">missing middle</a>” – the lack of low-rise, medium-density housing options such as townhouses and duplexes – in our cities? </p></li>
<li><p>Can tiny houses help meet the housing needs of particular groups such as single older people who would like to live near each other but not necessarily under the same roof? </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-want-and-need-more-housing-choice-its-about-time-governments-stood-up-to-deliver-it-122390">People want and need more housing choice. It's about time governments stood up to deliver it</a>
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<p>In encouraging this debate, the tiny house movement’s greatest contribution might be to remind us of economist E.F. Schumacher’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/10/small-is-beautiful-economic-idea">famous principle</a> that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Is_Beautiful">small is beautiful</a> and more sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Shearer is a member of the Australian Greens Party</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Burton receives funding from the ARC for a Linkage Project on Constructing Building Integrity (LP190101218) and from the City of Gold Coast. He is a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and the Urban Development Institute of Australia.</span></em></p>The proportion of people actually living in tiny houses hasn’t been increasing but the movement has prompted debate about living smaller and more sustainably.Heather Shearer, Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversityPaul Burton, Professor of Urban Management & Planning, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1451222020-09-25T13:05:07Z2020-09-25T13:05:07ZSmall-scale modular housing could provide a lifeline for people experiencing homelessness<p>There are <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/media/press_releases/articles/280,000_people_in_england_are_homeless,_with_thousands_more_at_risk#:%7E:text=18%20Dec%202019-,280%2C000%20people%20in%20England%20are%20homeless%2C%20with%20thousands%20more%20at,published%20its%20landmark%20annual%20report.">280,000 homeless people</a> in the UK, and homelessness has been <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/238960/everybody_in_how_to_end_homelessness_in_great_britain_2018_es.pdf">projected to increase</a> even more. A key driver of homelessness is a <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/240419/the_homelessness_monitor_england_2019.pdf">shortage of affordable housing</a>, and particularly social rented properties. </p>
<p>In Cambridge, an innovative approach to the problem has now been tested for the first time in England: modular homes. Modular homes are movable, mostly temporary kinds of small-scale accommodation which give each occupant their own front door.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cchpr.landecon.cam.ac.uk/Research/Start-Year/2020/modular_homes_homeless/modular_housing_prelim_findings">Our research team</a> set out last year to assess the success of the project. Our initial findings are very promising. After planning permission was granted, the modular homes were set up quickly and cheaply. They provided six people formerly sleeping rough or in temporary, mostly shared, accommodation, but with their own space and front door.</p>
<h2>Quality of life</h2>
<p>The modular housing project is a collaboration between three local organisations. <a href="http://www.jimmyscambridge.org.uk/">Jimmy’s Cambridge</a> is a Cambridge charity providing emergency help, support and accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. Jimmy’s was involved in the overall modular homes project planning and organisation as well as the ongoing support for residents. </p>
<p>Social enterprise the <a href="https://www.newmeaningfoundation.org/">New Meaning Foundation</a> was responsible for constructing the modular housing units. <a href="https://allia.org.uk/">Allia</a>, a social enterprise supporting organisations and projects with space, support and access to capital, brought the different organisations involved together and also organised the financing of the scheme. </p>
<p>The Cambridge “mods” – as they are called by the residents – have 25sqm of floor space, with separate living and cooking, sleeping and bathroom areas. They are equipped with appliances such as a cooker, TV and washing machine, and were outfitted ready for their residents to move in.</p>
<p>Modular housing is being embraced as a way to counter homelessness in a number of countries. In Vancouver, Canada, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-latest-modular-housing-project-for-homeless-opens-in-vancouver/">a project</a> aiming to provide up to 600 units began in 2018. The first units <a href="https://www.vancourier.com/news/new-housing-project-for-homeless-opens-in-vancouver-1.24104827">opened</a> in the city in 2020.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Modular homes for the homeless in Vancouver, Canada.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Around the same time, the <a href="https://www.edmondsbeacon.com/story/2018/06/13/news/seattle-startup-chooses-edmonds-for-first-stackable-housing-project/19830.html">Compass Project</a> – a housing project for low-income individuals and couples – was established in Seattle, US. Oakland. Meanwhile, also in 2018, San Francisco’s acting mayor, London Breed, announced the start of the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-set-to-start-process-for-building-modular-12516479.php">planning process</a> for a modular homes project. Several sites have been approved so that the aim of opening up to <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/faster-and-cheaper-sf-saves-by-building-housing-for-homeless-with-modular-construction/ar-BB16dAlj">1,000 units by 2024</a> is still in sight.</p>
<p>In Scotland, the <a href="https://social-bite.co.uk/the-social-bite-village/">Social Bite Village</a> is working towards a similar goal, supporting up to 20 people affected by homelessness as they move towards independent living. </p>
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<p>In England, the charity <a href="https://centrepoint.org.uk">Centrepoint</a> has announced <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/10/modular-homes-endorsed-prince-william-built-charity-end-youth/#:%7E:text=Hundreds%20of%20modular%20homes,people%20aged%2016%20to%2025.">a project</a> to build 300 modular housing units across London and Greater Manchester by 2021 to support homeless young people. </p>
<h2>Independent living</h2>
<p>Feedback from residents during the first three months of the Cambridge project has been incredibly positive. Residents are impressed with the design of the freestanding units and the space provided, happy about the set-up as a whole and optimistic about the future.</p>
<p>The residents overwhelmingly expressed how much they enjoyed having their own front door. One resident remarked: </p>
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<p>It is brilliant, I am settled in fine. It is much better living on your own.</p>
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<p>This independence gave them a sense of freedom that they had not felt in quite some time, especially as most of the residents had been in shared living before moving into the modular housing. There was a process of adjusting to this new independence. Another resident told us that “getting used to being on my own, in my space again… is very good.”</p>
<p>To aid with this transition process, Jimmy’s provides on-site support almost daily. Dedicated support workers are present six days a week, and a warden, who has also experienced homelessness, lives on-site. </p>
<p>Each resident works with a number of support staff, especially their key workers, all of whom give individual attention to the resident’s needs. These key workers provide personalised care – for instance, to support substance use treatment or to help navigate the benefit and housing support system. </p>
<p>A sense of community is key to the success of the modular housing project. Residents were keen on communal dinners once a month and some have formed friendships with each other. This spirit is also present in the support that the broader local community has provided to the project. The owner of the site has been very welcoming to the residents, providing access to an additional common space nearby for bigger dinners, and a company in the neighbouring retail park has donated duvets, bedding and curtains. </p>
<p>While we will continue to conduct research on the project and with its residents over the coming months, we have already seen promising developments. The Cambridge project is a crucial and concrete first step. </p>
<p>We believe that the modular home approach can help our society provide adequate but truly affordable housing and support for homeless people. These projects serve as living testing grounds – with the necessary safety net – to help people transition to living fully on their own.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johannes Lenhard receives funding from the Max Planck Society, the Newton Trust and Cambridge University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gemma Burgess receives funding from Innovate UK through the Cambridge Centre for Digital Built Britain's work within the Construction Innovation Hub. She is affiliated with Cambridge Ahead, an organisation dedicated to the successful and sustainable growth of Cambridge and its region.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kwadwo Oti-Sarpong is employed as a Research Associate for Dr Gemma Burgess with funding from Innovate UK through the Cambridge Centre for Digital Built Britain's work within the Construction Innovation Hub. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richmond Juvenile Ehwi is employed as a Research Associate for Dr Gemma Burgess and his ongoing research is funded by Innovate UK through the Cambridge Centre for Digital Built Britain's work within the Construction Innovation Hub.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eana X. Meng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We monitored the progress of a modular housing project for people experiencing homelessness in Cambridge, UK.Johannes Lenhard, Centre Coordinator and Post-doctoral Research Associate, Max Planck Cambridge Centre for Ethics, Economy and Social Change, University of CambridgeEana X. Meng, Research Assistant, Max Planck Cambridge Centre for Ethics, Economy and Social Change, University of CambridgeGemma Burgess, Acting Director, Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, University of CambridgeKwadwo Oti-Sarpong, Research Associate, University of CambridgeRichmond Juvenile Ehwi, Research Associate, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1375222020-05-01T15:11:39Z2020-05-01T15:11:39ZTiny houses: why more people are living in miniature<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331815/original/file-20200430-42951-ez5acj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=740%2C0%2C4176%2C3376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/off-grid-tiny-house-on-wheels-1540879640">Ariel Celeste Photography/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tiny houses have been <a href="https://indyweek.com/guides/archives/tiny-house-movement-alternative-mcmansion-era">heralded as</a> a radical and creative way to address a lack of affordable housing, as well as reducing living costs and shrinking our carbon footprint. </p>
<p>My <a href="http://tinyhouseresearch.co.uk/">PhD research</a> looks at the tiny house movement in the UK. I am interested in who lives in them and why, and in the barriers that people face to living in this way. </p>
<p>I am also building my own tiny house at the same time. I am excited by the idea that people could build their own houses – it is a lot of fun – and halve their living costs at the end. </p>
<p>Yet my research is also highlighting that for many people, living in a tiny home is an act of necessity. It’s not that they want to live in a 5 metre by 5 metre timber box, it’s that they can’t afford to do anything else. And for others, even this is out of reach.</p>
<h2>Downsized living</h2>
<p>Tiny houses are homes usually 40 square metres or less. A popular construction style is to build them on a <a href="https://www.tiffanythetinyhome.com/blog/2019/6/23/year-2-living-tiny">trailer base</a>. This allows them to be classified as road-towable vehicles, and avoids many of the complications of building a permanent home with <a href="https://www.tiffanythetinyhome.com/blog/2020/1/22/5-things-i-learned-so-far-about-building-a-tiny-house-on-foundation-for-shellmate-island">foundations</a>. Others are log-cabin style or <a href="https://thetinylife.com/living-in-a-shed/">shed homes</a>, and some are even built <a href="https://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house/underground-micro-homes-part-2/">underground</a>. </p>
<p>They are much cheaper than traditional housing – the average tiny house price tends to be around <a href="https://www.tinyecohomesuk.com/shop-tiny-houses-for-sale/">£35,000</a> – and result in much cheaper living costs. This can <a href="https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/19948">free up time</a> from the obligation to work to pay rent or a mortgage. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331465/original/file-20200429-51470-g5ob66.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331465/original/file-20200429-51470-g5ob66.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331465/original/file-20200429-51470-g5ob66.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331465/original/file-20200429-51470-g5ob66.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331465/original/file-20200429-51470-g5ob66.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331465/original/file-20200429-51470-g5ob66.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331465/original/file-20200429-51470-g5ob66.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Painting the front of our tiny house.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Research has suggested that people who live in tiny houses spend more time outside or with <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v8y2019i1p26-d198541.html">friends and family</a>, which can make them happier than their overworked counterparts.</p>
<p>However, building a tiny house still requires thousands of pounds and, importantly, somewhere to build. This means these projects seem mostly to be done by people who do have some savings, access to personal loans, and friends or family who own land. It’s just that they don’t have enough savings to buy a “real” house. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-look-marvellous-but-have-a-dark-side-three-things-they-dont-tell-you-on-marketing-blurb-109592">Tiny houses look marvellous but have a dark side: three things they don't tell you on marketing blurb</a>
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<p>This means that although tiny houses are considerably more affordable than conventional houses, they are out of the reach of the people who are in most dire need of housing.</p>
<p>If somebody is unable to save up the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42565427">average deposit</a> for a brick house, they are not likely to be able to summon this amount for a tiny house either. What’s more, you can’t borrow money through conventional mortgages to build tiny houses because they are not attached to land, which is the real asset that appreciates in value over time. </p>
<h2>Costs and benefits</h2>
<p>Instead, tiny houses must be financed via private loans, just like if you wanted to buy a car. An typical interest rate on a mortgage loan in the UK right now is <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/386301/uk-average-mortgage-interest-rates/">roughly 2%</a>. Compare this to the interest you would have to pay on a personal loan to build your tiny house – an <a href="https://www.moneywise.co.uk/news/2019-02-06%E2%80%8C%E2%80%8C/warning-borrowers-average-loan-rates-much-higher-advertised-teaser-rates-could">average of 7%</a> – and it becomes clear how unfavourable the financial landscape is for this type of project.</p>
<p>Of course, tiny homes can be built for significantly less than the average price. A participant in my research study built a 10 square metre tiny house for just £900. He loves this home and spends a lot of time in it. However, it is built on land that he already owns – another <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/hg/2016/08/tiny_house_illegal_portland_cl.html">hurdle to overcome</a> which is eased by material capital.</p>
<p>The UK has the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/british-workers-hours-put-in-longest-hours-in-eu-study-finds-a8872971.html">longest average working hours</a> in Europe, and a significant proportion of earnings go towards housing costs. </p>
<p>My participants have described tiny houses as a way to reduce living costs in such a way that they can either work much less, or work in more fulfilling jobs for a lower salary. People have expressed to me how they found it strange that they used to work 40 hours per week to pay for a home that were seldom in. </p>
<p>People I have spoken to who build tiny homes cite a desire for simplicity and a move away from a life focused on spending and buying. Some have described the work-to-spend attitude of society as unfulfilling and harmful. </p>
<p>It seems counter-intuitive that people would prefer less space to more, and that people would volunteer to live in a shed on wheels if there were enough affordable homes. Yet I have encountered people who do have the money to live in a conventionally sized house but would prefer to live tiny – and find their goals obstructed by planning permission and access to land.</p>
<p>Another way to look at the tiny house movement is that it sums up the failures of adequate distribution of resources and access to opportunity. It can be seen to be <a href="https://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/tiny-houses-poverty-appropriation-and-stepping-back-as-a-critical-move/">romanticising poverty</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-look-marvellous-but-have-a-dark-side-three-things-they-dont-tell-you-on-marketing-blurb-109592">ignoring structural inequality</a>. The movement is known to be fairly <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/doree/who-is-the-tiny-house-revolution-for">white and middle-class</a>, which suggests its radical potential is being overstated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137522/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Elizabeth Wilson receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>Tiny houses mean smaller costs.Alice Elizabeth Wilson, PhD Researcher in Sociology, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1330362020-04-17T12:10:21Z2020-04-17T12:10:21Z3 innovations helping the homeless in Eugene, Oregon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328187/original/file-20200415-153347-1mmekoj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Volunteers are building villages of tiny houses for formerly homeless people.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.squareonevillages.org/cvc">Bruce Kelsh/Cottage Village Coalition</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Even when the economy is booming, the United States has trouble figuring out how to <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.4007">deal with homelessness</a>. Now, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-high-will-unemployment-go-during-the-great-depression-1-in-4-americans-were-out-of-work-135508">unemployment soaring</a> and millions of <a href="https://www.wltz.com/2020/04/13/1-3-of-americans-didnt-pay-rent-in-april/">Americans unable to pay their rent</a>, solutions are more needed than ever.</p>
<p>I think it’s worth considering some of the ways <a href="https://kval.com/news/local/new-estimate-shows-eugenes-population-has-risen-to-above-171000-for-first-time-ever">Eugene, Oregon</a> – a city of about 170,000 people – has approached this problem. A citywide effort to count the homeless in December 2019 found 2,165 people who were either sleeping in shelters or on the streets. With 432 homeless persons for every 100,000 residents, Eugene has the <a href="https://www.security.org/resources/homeless-statistics/">highest number of homeless per capita</a> in the country. The <a href="https://www.usich.gov/news/white-house-releases-report-on-state-of-homelessness/">national average is only 170</a>. Despite a recent uptick, the total number of the homeless in Eugene <a href="https://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/45881/TAC-Report_Final">fell between 2011 and 2016</a>.</p>
<p>When I <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nF2HybYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra&gmla=AJsN-F71h2CaG2f0hRgGk74j-UU9T5s7Xz4Q4Xb_KovDW25phhW5GjHmMqjnHmypOOg91msT831Q7GBfiorhm8N4nsvRZiAofudcF1vlJPzYDfZlFBmTNlM&sciund=3773653863845255366">studied the mid-sized city’s approaches</a>, three programs struck me as particularly promising. All of them are a result of the local government working with nonprofits and concerned residents to solve this daunting problem.</p>
<h2>A local housing movement</h2>
<p>Efforts to do more about homelessness in Eugene took shape during the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2012.708923">Occupy movement</a>, which began in <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/washington-whispers/articles/2011/10/17/how-occupy-wall-street-started-and-spread">New York City in 2011</a> to protest inequality and soon spread <a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/10/15/141382468/occupy-wall-street-inspires-worldwide-protests">across the globe</a>.</p>
<p>In December 2011, an Occupy encampment, located at a park in the middle of the city, hosted hundreds of the homeless, championing <a href="https://www.dailyemerald.com/ethos/eight-years-later-occupy-eugene-s-influence/article_326e8ebc-ada8-11e9-83f8-67cfa01b50d6.html">homelessness as the movement’s main cause in the city</a>. </p>
<p>The camp triggered a citywide public debate over how to solve this problem. That debate, in turn, led to close collaboration between the city and county governments, neighborhood associations, local nonprofits and activists and the city’s homeless community. Besides providing services for the homeless, several <a href="https://www.eugene-or.gov/3470/Homelessness">innovative programs</a> came out of this collaboration.</p>
<h2>1. Occupy Medical</h2>
<p>Being homeless is fraught with medical and health problems, from <a href="https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.39.1.2">sleep deprivation</a> to a high <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.13358">risk of becoming injured</a>. Eugene’s <a href="https://www.occupy-medical.org/">Occupy Medical</a>, a clinic with both mobile services and a permanent location, is staffed by volunteer doctors, nurses, nutritionists and other health professionals – and also offers services like basic grooming.</p>
<p>The clinic requires no insurance or even an identity card. Anyone seeking medical help is welcome on a no-questions-asked basis. “It’s more than just a free clinic,” the clinic manager explained during an interview I conducted. “It’s the model that we have of judgment-free, patient-centered care, integrated health, community involvement and recapturing your own body.”</p>
<h2>2. ‘Rest Stops’</h2>
<p>Eugene <a href="https://www.eugene-or.gov/3484/Illegal-Camping">bans sleeping in public places</a>, which can lead the homeless to spend their nights in nearby <a href="https://kpic.com/news/local/peaceful-protests-organized-in-eugene-to-fight-homeless-camping-ban">forests and along river banks</a>. Its “<a href="https://www.eugene-or.gov/3706/Rest-Stops">Rest Stop</a>” program, a collaboration between the local city government and nonprofits, offers safe temporary shelter for people to transition to more permanent lodging.</p>
<p>Eugene’s authorities provide land in parcels big enough to host up to 20 individuals in <a href="https://communitysupportedshelters.org/conestoga-huts">Conestoga Huts</a>, hard-shelled, insulated tents that were locally designed and built. The huts are mobile and can not be connected to electricity, gas or running water. Occupants are allowed to stay for up to 12 months. During their stay, occupants are expected to get mental health services, apply for jobs and seek out affordable housing. <a href="https://kval.com/news/local/city-of-eugene-makes-three-major-changes-to-rest-stop-ordinance-passed-on-monday">Nonprofits fund and operate these places</a> at no cost to taxpayers. No alcohol or drugs are allowed on the premises.</p>
<h2>3. Tiny house villages</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/fcsr.12205">Tiny houses</a>, free-standing homes that may or may not include kitchens and bathrooms and are only up to 400 square feet in size, are growing more popular. Villages of these diminutive homes <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/timmurphywriter/tiny-homes">reserved for the homeless</a> are springing up everywhere from <a href="https://shelterforce.org/2019/03/15/tiny-house-villages-in-seattle-an-efficient-response-to-our-homelessness-crisis/">Seattle</a> to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/austin-homeless-tiny-homes-village-community-first-photos-2019-10">Austin</a> to <a href="https://casscommunity.org/tinyhomes/">Detroit</a>. </p>
<p>Eugene led the way in 2013 with its <a href="https://www.pbs.org/video/religion-and-ethics-newsweekly-tiny-houses-homeless/">Opportunity Village</a>, building on the lessons it learned through the Rest Stop program. The village offered permanent housing structures with access to shared kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities for <a href="https://www.squareonevillages.org/opportunity">30 individuals</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/bd125b_f81ce553ab8b4a0c810e3b991bd063bf.pdf">Emerald Village Eugene</a> expanded to offer 22 permanent, fully equipped houses that range in size from 160 to 288 square feet. Volunteers designed and built the structures and residents are maintaining them and the surrounding land, enforcing their own village code and screening future occupants. Individuals and families began moving into this village in 2018. Their payments of between US$250 and $350 per month cover all their housing, utilities and maintenance costs. The rent residents pay goes toward their purchase of a stake in the land and their homes. A third village of tiny houses in the nearby community of <a href="https://eead3e67-3a27-4098-aa25-9fa572882b1f.filesusr.com/ugd/6e1afc_46143f20f858472cbfdacf98aa55761e.pdf">Cottage Grove</a> will accommodate another 13 tiny houses people, following a similar model.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KX2_Q5ejUpc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">People who used to be homeless have settled down in tiny homes custom-built to accommodate them in Eugene, Oregon.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mohamed Hassan Awad does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nonprofits and concerned residents are teaming up with the local government to solve a daunting problem in a city with the nation’s highest per-capita rate of homelessnesss.Mohamed Hassan Awad, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, California State University, Los AngelesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1297902020-01-15T19:10:01Z2020-01-15T19:10:01ZSo, you want to live tiny? Here’s what to consider when choosing a house, van or caravan<p>The reasons for choosing to go tiny range from reducing debt, inability to afford a conventional home, the search for sustainability, a life crisis, or even <a href="https://theconversation.com/architecture-of-doom-diy-planning-for-global-catastrophe-31836">preparing for an uncertain future</a> in the face of climate change by going off-grid. Or perhaps a combination of these.</p>
<p>An important first step is to decide what type of tiny house you want. To many, the phrase “tiny house” brings to mind an archetypal tiny house on wheels, a miniature cottage on a trailer, often made of wood, with a pitched roof and dormer windows. </p>
<p>Indeed, most tiny housers prefer some degree of mobility, whether a ready-made or DIY tiny house, converted caravan or bus/van. A survey by the <a href="https://australiantinyhouseassociation.org.au/">Australian Tiny House Association</a> found most (78% of 109 respondents) lived in tiny houses on wheels, but a small but growing proportion live in converted caravans, vans or buses. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">Interest in tiny houses is growing, so who wants them and why?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309807/original/file-20200113-103994-i5sqtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309807/original/file-20200113-103994-i5sqtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309807/original/file-20200113-103994-i5sqtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309807/original/file-20200113-103994-i5sqtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309807/original/file-20200113-103994-i5sqtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309807/original/file-20200113-103994-i5sqtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309807/original/file-20200113-103994-i5sqtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cost and type of tiny house.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ATHA Survey, 2019</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why do you want to go tiny?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309885/original/file-20200114-103982-1co1ea8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309885/original/file-20200114-103982-1co1ea8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309885/original/file-20200114-103982-1co1ea8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309885/original/file-20200114-103982-1co1ea8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309885/original/file-20200114-103982-1co1ea8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309885/original/file-20200114-103982-1co1ea8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309885/original/file-20200114-103982-1co1ea8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309885/original/file-20200114-103982-1co1ea8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tiny houses can be established or on wheels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>First you need to evaluate your motives, which may differ according to your situation or stage of life. The most important question here is, how often do you want to move? </p>
<p>Do you want to be ultra-mobile, and live like a digital nomad, perhaps in a “stealth van” in the city, changing parking spaces every night? Or do you want to travel around Australia like a “grey nomad”, staying in caravan parks or roadside camps for a week or so before moving on? </p>
<p>Alternatively, do you want to be more settled, perhaps moving occasionally, to be closer to work, medical facilities or schools for children? (Yes, some tiny housers have children). Or do you want to travel between the houses of adult children or do petsitting, staying from weeks to months? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/grey-nomad-lifestyle-provides-a-model-for-living-remotely-106074">Grey nomad lifestyle provides a model for living remotely</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many off-the-shelf caravans are extremely well designed and are accepted everywhere, at caravan parks or roadside parking areas. On the other hand, a tiny house on wheels is less mobile, and not suited to frequent moving (they are also extremely heavy, not aerodynamic and large tow vehicles are costly). </p>
<p>They’re also less accepted in caravan parks, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07293682.2019.1632358">most local councils consider them caravans</a>, with restricted periods of occupancy and often onerous conditions. Vans and buses are the most flexible (in the “stealth van” or vanlife movement, people live rent-free by parking, mostly illegally, often in industrial estates, and using public or work/gym bathrooms). </p>
<p>They are, however, extremely small and while it may seem glamorous to live in a van like celebrity rock climber <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d1ac7b02-34f8-11e9-bd3a-8b2a211d90d5">Alex Honnold</a>, the reality may not be practical. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B6psthNHTGU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-future-of-work-necessarily-glamorous-digital-nomads-and-van-life-89670">Is the future of work necessarily glamorous? Digital nomads and ‘van life’</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can you afford?</h2>
<p>Cost will likely be the next factor to consider. <a href="https://tinyrealestate.com.au/what-does-a-tiny-house-cost/">Ready-built tiny houses range from around A$50,000 - $120,000</a>; DIY are cheaper, especially if self-built, with some costing under $2,000. The higher end, architect-designed ones are more expensive. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sick-to-death-of-consumerism-find-freedom-in-a-tiny-house-35672">Sick to death of consumerism? Find freedom in a tiny house</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Converted caravans can be affordable, even under $10,000, but prices vary markedly, with some ultra-luxurious five-wheelers costing more than a typical suburban house (>$600,000). </p>
<p>Converting old buses and vans is much cheaper, with the cost of the vehicle tending to be under $20,000. Of note, unless you are living <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07293682.2019.1636837">under the radar</a> or free camping, you are going to have to factor in the ongoing cost of renting someone’s backyard or caravan park space.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B6y6fT6nEOE","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>How sustainable is your choice?</h2>
<p>Sustainability is a more nuanced aspect of tiny house living; living small means less energy needed for heating and less room for superfluous stuff, encouraging or enforcing a minimalist lifestyle. </p>
<p>Most tiny houses on wheels are off-grid to some extent, relying on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07293682.2019.1634111">solar power, rainwater and composting toilets</a>. They are often built entirely out of sustainable or reclaimed materials. </p>
<p>On the other hand, most caravans and vans are not particularly sustainable — they’re often built out of mass-produced material and may produce outgassing from carpets and paints. Vans and busses are generally no more or less sustainable than any similar vehicle. </p>
<h2>What kind of life do you want?</h2>
<p>Tiny houses, whatever the type, are just that: tiny. Space is at a premium and living tiny requires reducing stuff, such as clothes, sporting and hobby equipment. Tiny houses on wheels, where parked more permanently, allow for decks and even sheds, but caravans and vans are self contained, unless in a permanent caravan park. </p>
<p>If you are used to living in a very large space, it may take time to adapt to the practicalities of tiny living; people often complain about cooking smells and composting toilets. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Zmrq1BH-L/?igshid=1czy8vxlam6bk","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-tiny-house-whats-it-like-and-how-can-it-be-made-better-110495">Life in a tiny house: what's it like and how can it be made better?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Despite the popularity of tiny houses however, very few people actually live in them. Nonetheless, the vast majority of people who live or have lived tiny, <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-tiny-house-whats-it-like-and-how-can-it-be-made-better-110495">view their experience positively</a>, and feel it has greatly enriched their lives, and helped them <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-people-downsize-to-tiny-houses-they-adopt-more-environmentally-friendly-lifestyles-112485">re-evaluate their life choices, especially consumerism</a> even after moving to more conventional dwellings.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129790/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Shearer is a member of the Australian Greens Party. She also received a complementary membership of the Australian Tiny House Association for helping analyse their tiny house survey. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People are increasingly becoming interested in the tiny house trend, but what type of tiny house would suit your needs?Heather Shearer, Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversitySamuel Alexander, Research fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1104952019-01-27T18:57:02Z2019-01-27T18:57:02ZLife in a tiny house: what’s it like and how can it be made better?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255519/original/file-20190125-108358-4xnfwo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Although tiny houses take many forms, most are situated in rural or semi-rural areas.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://naturallyjek.com/">Jekka Shearer</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mention “tiny house” in any social gathering and people almost always say, “Oh I <em>love</em> tiny houses.” The enthusiasm for tiny houses isn’t matched, however, by the take-up of tiny house living. Very few people actually live in tiny houses. So, why the discrepancy? </p>
<p>As a follow-up to my research (in <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-love-tiny-houses-so-why-arent-more-of-us-living-in-them-44230">2015</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">2017</a>), I interviewed people around the country (in person and on social media) about their lived experience in tiny houses. I also stayed in a tiny house. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-love-tiny-houses-so-why-arent-more-of-us-living-in-them-44230">Australians love tiny houses, so why aren’t more of us living in them?</a></em></p>
<p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">Interest in tiny houses is growing, so who wants them and why?</a></em></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255526/original/file-20190125-108338-8nx9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255526/original/file-20190125-108338-8nx9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255526/original/file-20190125-108338-8nx9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255526/original/file-20190125-108338-8nx9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255526/original/file-20190125-108338-8nx9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255526/original/file-20190125-108338-8nx9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1192&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255526/original/file-20190125-108338-8nx9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1192&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255526/original/file-20190125-108338-8nx9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1192&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tiny houses need to maximise use of every space.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most of the people I interviewed were in southeast Queensland, but some were in Victoria and Tasmania. The majority were situated in rural or semi-rural areas, although a couple lived in suburban locations (Brisbane and Logan). </p>
<p>Most were aged in their 20s, or were 55-plus, and were couples or singles, the majority women. A few had children. </p>
<p>Nearly all had built their own tiny house, but some had bought their homes from tiny house builders. Interestingly, few homes were the archetypal tiny house on wheels – there were container houses, converted buses, and even tents. </p>
<p>This accords with research on the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14036096.2018.1487879?journalCode=shou20">typology of tiny houses</a>, which found they can take a number of forms. Note: “<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/1/26/htm">True tiny houses</a> … (whether on foundation or wheels) are generally smaller than 400 sq ft (37m<sup>2</sup>).” </p>
<h2>So how do people feel about tiny house life?</h2>
<p>People had lived in their tiny houses from weeks to a couple of years. The majority had only positive things to say about tiny house living. As one respondent enthused:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I LOVE it. Love living in it; independent side of things … it’s much better than [living in] the caravan – own shower, kitchen, composting toilet, complete independence. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I actually enjoy to live in a smaller space, because you don’t feel overwhelmed, and with kids you can see all the time, you can hear them and see what they’re up to. I love tiny house living, and I would love to help other people getting into it, it would be awesome.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255534/original/file-20190125-108348-16h2e80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255534/original/file-20190125-108348-16h2e80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255534/original/file-20190125-108348-16h2e80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255534/original/file-20190125-108348-16h2e80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255534/original/file-20190125-108348-16h2e80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255534/original/file-20190125-108348-16h2e80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255534/original/file-20190125-108348-16h2e80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255534/original/file-20190125-108348-16h2e80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some tiny houses can be found in the suburbs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other positive experiences included:</p>
<ul>
<li>freedom from debt – “the real cost savings and availability to be an actual home owner instead of permanent debt”</li>
<li>community – “joining the community of like-minded people”</li>
<li>having one’s own space. </li>
</ul>
<p>People also often mentioned the ease of maintenance. Nearly all commented on how easy it was to keep clean and to heat or cool. One respondent said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Cleaning the house takes half an hour and I know where everything is. I don’t accumulate things I don’t need.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another commented:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A tiny house is a breeze to clean. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Those who were negative expressed minor concerns with issues such as cleaning composting toilets and small spaces. One commented:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The multipurpose nature of each room means that the bedding smells like fish when I cook salmon. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255523/original/file-20190125-108367-1t8rxi1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255523/original/file-20190125-108367-1t8rxi1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255523/original/file-20190125-108367-1t8rxi1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255523/original/file-20190125-108367-1t8rxi1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255523/original/file-20190125-108367-1t8rxi1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255523/original/file-20190125-108367-1t8rxi1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255523/original/file-20190125-108367-1t8rxi1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255523/original/file-20190125-108367-1t8rxi1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can have a decent kitchen, but think twice about cooking anything that you don’t want to smell throughout the house.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://naturallyjek.com/">Jekka Shearer</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255524/original/file-20190125-108345-e6zpgz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255524/original/file-20190125-108345-e6zpgz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255524/original/file-20190125-108345-e6zpgz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255524/original/file-20190125-108345-e6zpgz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255524/original/file-20190125-108345-e6zpgz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255524/original/file-20190125-108345-e6zpgz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255524/original/file-20190125-108345-e6zpgz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255524/original/file-20190125-108345-e6zpgz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Making do: the basin doubles as a baby bath.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://naturallyjek.com/">Jekka Shearer</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But, more seriously, longer-term concerns included:</p>
<ul>
<li>insecurity of tenure</li>
<li>lack of privacy</li>
<li>inability to get bank loans</li>
<li>difficulties with having young children in a very small space. </li>
</ul>
<p>One young Tasmanian couple with a 15-month-old son moved out of their tiny house (which they had built themselves) partly because it was too difficult to keep their active child content in the small space during the cold and wet winter months. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-look-marvellous-but-have-a-dark-side-three-things-they-dont-tell-you-on-marketing-blurb-109592">Tiny houses look marvellous but have a dark side: three things they don't tell you on marketing blurb</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Here to stay but planning laws haven’t kept up</h2>
<p>An ongoing issue is where to put tiny houses. <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-the-big-idea-that-could-take-some-heat-out-of-the-housing-crisis-77295">Planning laws are still the major obstacle</a> to tiny house living.</p>
<p>One respondent said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t like the fact that there is no surety that I can stay legally in one place. I don’t like knowing that I can’t stay long-term. You know what your timeframe is for renting, [you’re] not going to be moved for a ridiculous reason. There’s no protection if in a tiny house. Silly [council] rules like I [have to] stay in it for two nights, then move into the main house for one night, I get why these things have been put into place … waste and water, amenity; but I don’t see why [regulations] for that can’t be implemented. </p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-the-big-idea-that-could-take-some-heat-out-of-the-housing-crisis-77295">Tiny houses: the big idea that could take some heat out of the housing crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255528/original/file-20190125-108367-1vdnf1f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255528/original/file-20190125-108367-1vdnf1f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255528/original/file-20190125-108367-1vdnf1f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255528/original/file-20190125-108367-1vdnf1f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255528/original/file-20190125-108367-1vdnf1f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255528/original/file-20190125-108367-1vdnf1f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255528/original/file-20190125-108367-1vdnf1f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255528/original/file-20190125-108367-1vdnf1f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The biggest challenge with tiny houses isn’t making them comfortable and homely, it’s finding a site with long-term security of tenure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://naturallyjek.com/">Jekka Shearer</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255532/original/file-20190125-108361-v51jqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255532/original/file-20190125-108361-v51jqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255532/original/file-20190125-108361-v51jqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255532/original/file-20190125-108361-v51jqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255532/original/file-20190125-108361-v51jqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255532/original/file-20190125-108361-v51jqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255532/original/file-20190125-108361-v51jqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255532/original/file-20190125-108361-v51jqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Interior of a tiny house for sale.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://aussietinyhouses.com.au/">Heather Shearer</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Major findings of this and other research are that tiny houses are here to stay. They are definitely not just a niche market, but <em>are</em> more suited to certain demographics. </p>
<p>Interestingly, those who had moved to more conventional houses seemed almost guilty about having left. Tiny houses should be more <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-look-marvellous-but-have-a-dark-side-three-things-they-dont-tell-you-on-marketing-blurb-109592">realistically viewed as one stage in the lifetime housing journey</a>, which may suit some and not others. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-more-flexible-housing-for-21st-century-lives-102636">Housing in the 21st century needs to be more flexible</a> to suit various lifestyle stages and households, not just singles and nuclear families. Safe shelter is a fundamental human right, but conventional housing has become increasingly unattainable for many. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-more-flexible-housing-for-21st-century-lives-102636">We need more flexible housing for 21st-century lives</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Local governments in particular could be far more proactive by adapting their planning schemes to permit more flexible types of dwellings, obviously in accordance with building, health, safety and environmental regulations. This would enable people to live in security without being afraid that they are going to be moved off because some neighbour might complain. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>As long as safe and sanitary, and not an environmental eyesore, then why not? It’s very easy to say, if you have a certain size property, then you can have x tiny houses, [at a] certain distance.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Finally, as the owner of a property that has a number of tiny houses said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have worked in urban development for 20 years and the concept of affordable housing is a furphy unless we change legislation and allow people to live smaller. I am passionate that housing should be accessible by all, that people shouldn’t have to resort to social and public housing. Tiny housing offers a major disruptive solution to an ever-growing housing unaffordability and social divide in housing.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Shearer is a member of the Australian Greens Party. </span></em></p>Tiny houses aren’t for everyone, but most people who live in them are positive about the experience. Yet planning laws still make this way of life harder and less secure than it could be.Heather Shearer, Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1095922019-01-10T15:44:33Z2019-01-10T15:44:33ZTiny houses look marvellous but have a dark side: three things they don’t tell you on marketing blurb<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253230/original/file-20190110-32145-1u9k9wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Room and gloom?</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Tiny houses are everywhere. They’ve received heavy <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/04/03/small-but-not-tiny-homes/484295002/">coverage</a> in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jun/26/tiny-home-communities-housing-solution-or-gentrified-trailer-parks">the media</a> and there are <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tinyhousemovement/?hl=en">millions</a> of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tinyhouse/?hl=en">followers</a> on dozens of pages on social media. While there is no census for these homes, they have seen a surge in popularity in the decade since the Great Recession – witness the <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/article/tiny-house-maker-legacy-housing-sets-terms-for-41-million-ipo-cm1063239">prolific growth</a> of tiny house manufacturers, for instance. Originating in the US, tiny homes have also been popping up across Canada, Australia and <a href="http://www.tinyhouseuk.co.uk">the UK</a>. </p>
<p>Tiny houses are promoted as <a href="https://theconversation.com/tiny-houses-the-big-idea-that-could-take-some-heat-out-of-the-housing-crisis-77295">an answer</a> to the affordable housing crisis; a desirable alternative to traditional homes and mortgages. Yet there are many complexities and contradictions that surround these tiny spaces, as I discovered when I began investigating them. </p>
<p>I have toured homes, attended tiny house festivals, stayed in a tiny house community and interviewed several dozen people who live inside them. My research took me throughout the US, from a converted accessory unit squeezed between two average size homes on Staten Island to a community in Florida full of cute and brightly coloured tiny structures – appropriately located just down the road from Disney World. Here are three things I unexpectedly discovered along the way. </p>
<h2>1. Tiny homes and the housing ladder</h2>
<p>Millenials have a complicated relationship with home ownership. They often still <a href="http://time.com/money/3551773/millennials-home-buying-marriage/">want to</a> own a home but are simply not able to do it in the same way as their parents, and are known as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jan/12/generation-rent-city-i-grew-up-in">Generation Rent</a>” as a result. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253233/original/file-20190110-32130-bwzd6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253233/original/file-20190110-32130-bwzd6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253233/original/file-20190110-32130-bwzd6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253233/original/file-20190110-32130-bwzd6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253233/original/file-20190110-32130-bwzd6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253233/original/file-20190110-32130-bwzd6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253233/original/file-20190110-32130-bwzd6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253233/original/file-20190110-32130-bwzd6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Going cheap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/little-house">Luke Stackpoole/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All the tiny-houser millenials that I interviewed wanted to own bigger houses in future; they saw tiny living as a means of owning something now and being able to save at the same time. Several young couples planned to upgrade once they had children, selling their tiny homes or even keeping them as guesthouses. </p>
<p>But if they saw these homes as a temporary option they would abandon as their lives progressed, it’s not always so straightforward in practice. Apart from the obvious challenge of saving enough to afford a bigger place, it’s not easy to sell tiny homes since they <a href="https://tinyhousetalk.com/do-tiny-homes-appreciate-or-depreciate-in-value-over-time/">usually depreciate</a> in value. And because they are not attached to land, there is often a question mark about their long-term viability as well. </p>
<h2>2. Groundlessness</h2>
<p>Tiny homes tend to be on wheels as a way of getting around government <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524531/160519_Nationally_Described_Space_Standard____Final_Web_version.pdf">regulations</a> on minimum habitable dwelling size. This often makes their inhabitants feel unsettled. In my own experience staying in a tiny home, I recall feeling a general awareness of the wheels underneath and a slight swaying as I jumped from the ladder that accessed the lofted bed. </p>
<p>As one interviewee who lives with his partner and small child on private land in rural Washington State told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It doesn’t feel that grounded; it feels like we are detached from the earth because there are wheels underneath us… It’s a constant reminder… you are in this fragile state of housing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The majority of dwellers that I talked to were eager to live on a solid foundation in future. I met one millennial who used her college fund to build a beautifully crafted and customised tiny home, but felt so groundless after only a year of living on wheels that she was trying to sell. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253234/original/file-20190110-32145-1d9xx16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253234/original/file-20190110-32145-1d9xx16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253234/original/file-20190110-32145-1d9xx16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253234/original/file-20190110-32145-1d9xx16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253234/original/file-20190110-32145-1d9xx16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253234/original/file-20190110-32145-1d9xx16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253234/original/file-20190110-32145-1d9xx16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253234/original/file-20190110-32145-1d9xx16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The wheel deal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pavdw/29426649064">Paul VanDerWerf</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This suggests that building codes will need to be relaxed to allow more tiny housers to live on foundations. Some places have taken the lead on this already – <a href="https://www.spurfreedom.org">one example</a> is Spur, Texas, which has changed its relevant housing laws with the express intention of attracting tiny housers in response to a declining population. Spur is <a href="http://spur.lifeonthe.cloud">pitching itself</a> as the first tiny house friendly town in America. </p>
<p>More broadly, however, <a href="https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Codes-and-standards/Building-Code-Development-Committee/BCDC_WhitePaper_TinyHome_5_12_17.ashx?la=en">the legalities</a> around tiny homes remain complicated. They continue <a href="https://www.aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2018/tiny-home-laws.html">to restrict</a> the potential for this lifestyle both in the US and elsewhere. In the UK, for instance, there can be issues with planning laws that require all new dwellings to have more than one bed space. In southwest England, Bristol City Council <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/tiny-one-person-houses-one-15623547">recently overruled</a> such rules to allow several tiny homes to be built in the back garden of a terraced house in the suburbs, reckoning that it was necessary to help alleviate a local housing crisis. </p>
<h2>3. Tiny homes ≠ tiny consumption</h2>
<p>Tiny houses are often put forward as a more sustainable housing option. They are certainly a <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/07/1014982">potential check</a> on the continued pursuit of bigger houses and greater consumption of energy, building materials and so forth. Yet reducing your environmental impact by going tiny is not as simple as some <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:s1b4zB3kaJQJ:https://www.sparefoot.com/self-storage/blog/15386-how-to-ditch-stuff-you-dont-need-and-move-into-a-tiny-house/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=safari">have claimed</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253235/original/file-20190110-32133-s307r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253235/original/file-20190110-32133-s307r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253235/original/file-20190110-32133-s307r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253235/original/file-20190110-32133-s307r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253235/original/file-20190110-32133-s307r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253235/original/file-20190110-32133-s307r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253235/original/file-20190110-32133-s307r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253235/original/file-20190110-32133-s307r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Still sinking?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherdombres/23265152514">Christopher Dombres</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I came across several tiny households that were using external storage spaces for items that wouldn’t fit in the home, for example. Referred to as a “dirty secret” by one interviewee, another explained her desire to keep items from her previous home in case she changed her mind about tiny living. </p>
<p>Over half of my interviewees had a “one in, one out” mentality, where they would throw away or donate one item to make space for something new. As one dweller in her late 30s, who lives in a state-of-the-art home in a caravan park in rural New Hampshire, said, “I have a TJ Maxx addiction. I still go out every couple months and buy a bunch of stuff then come home and decide which things to get rid of.” </p>
<p>Regardless of how tiny living is marketed by the enthusiasts, sustainability was not a major driver for most of the participants in my study. Instead it was almost an afterthought. It seemingly takes more than changing the size of a home to change the mentality of the people who live inside.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109592/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Carras does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For all the attractions of little dwellings, there are some drawbacks that need to be factored in.Megan Carras, Doctoral Researcher, Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1026362018-09-13T20:33:36Z2018-09-13T20:33:36ZWe need more flexible housing for 21st-century lives<p>The Great Australian Dream, underpinned by private home ownership, is a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-18/australias-proprty-crunch-foreign-investment/10131090">concept from the 19th and 20th centuries</a>. Our housing stock was, and continues to be, designed and built for people who lived in previous centuries. The result is <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-financialisation-of-housing-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-73767">housing that discriminates and excludes, and that is becoming increasingly unaffordable</a>. We need 21st-century housing that responds to the needs of 21st-century living.</p>
<p>The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/2684/NRV2_Research_Paper_1.pdf">report on 21st-century housing careers</a> points to factors that are unique to 21st-century lives and which have <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/2684/NRV2_Research_Paper_1.pdf">direct impacts on housing</a>. The greatest of these impacts is the <a href="https://medium.com/idols-of-the-theatre/are-we-living-in-a-risk-society-e36a7ee266e0">risk society</a>, a term originally defined by sociologist Ulrich Beck. As the AHURI report observes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Change within economic and social structures has eroded the certainties of the previous Fordist or industrial society and resulted in a process of “individualisation” where individuals and households are increasingly confronted by the risks – and opportunities – of a rapidly changing social and economic environment.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-financialisation-of-housing-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-73767">Explainer: the financialisation of housing and what can be done about it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These risks come in many forms: limited opportunities for ongoing employment, an ageing population and the uncertainty of old age, or separation and divorce from a partner. All these factors can significantly alter housing circumstances.</p>
<p>Without digging too deeply into the literature on Australian housing in the 21st century, it seems obvious that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-costs-of-a-casual-job-are-now-outweighing-any-pay-benefits-82207">workforce casualisation and the gig economy</a> are incompatible with 30-year bank loans for a fixed asset such as a house. Existing approaches to housing, from apartments to detached dwellings, are too inflexible. Instead, we need options for housing that are more flexible and can accommodate the risks associated with 21st-century living.</p>
<p>This might go some way to explaining the popularity of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">Tiny House Movement</a>. Tiny houses provide the flexibility required in 21st-century lives. They are mobile, can be packed away and stored, and are assets that can be liquidated much more easily than a house.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">Interest in tiny houses is growing, so who wants them and why?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, small living is not for everyone. There are design-led solutions for flexible housing that don’t require people to move into cramped quarters.</p>
<h2>So what does this housing look like?</h2>
<p>Two examples of flexible housing can be found in Brisbane. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235730/original/file-20180911-144461-1hhngoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235730/original/file-20180911-144461-1hhngoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235730/original/file-20180911-144461-1hhngoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235730/original/file-20180911-144461-1hhngoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235730/original/file-20180911-144461-1hhngoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=612&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235730/original/file-20180911-144461-1hhngoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235730/original/file-20180911-144461-1hhngoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235730/original/file-20180911-144461-1hhngoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One Room Tower’s central location of services – a services core – provides maximum flexibility for this space.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: Christopher Frederick Jones</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.phorm.com.au/one-room-tower/">One Room Tower</a> (2017) in West End, designed by Phorm architecture + design with Silvia Micheli and Antony Moulis, is an addition to an existing inner-city house. Instead of adding to the house in the traditional manner, One Room Tower is a <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/brisbane-qld/is-this-one-room-tower-the-future-of-innercity-living/news-story/5f68eba912f24e98decc21d0a879261a">detached pavilion carefully designed with an open layout</a>. The extra space can be adapted to provide many different uses to suit the needs of its inhabitants. </p>
<p>This innovative design, which provides much-needed flexibility, recently won a <a href="https://architectureau.com/articles/2018-queensland-architecture-awards/">Queensland Architecture Award</a>.</p>
<p>Another example is in the suburb of Clayfield. <a href="https://newatlas.com/two-pavilion-house-skinny/54918/">Two Pavilion House</a> (2014) was designed by Kirsty Volz and David Toussaint. The house is split into two pavilions joined by a communal outdoor space and an internal courtyard. </p>
<p>This design provides flexible modes of occupation: it can be occupied as a single detached three-bedroom dwelling, or as a two-bedroom house with a self-contained bedsit. The result is a house that can be occupied by a multigenerational family, provide rental income, incorporate a home office, or a second living area.</p>
<p>It’s not just room layouts that provide the flexibility in these houses. They require careful consideration in the design process to develop. Things to be considered include: the sequences of access (entering and leaving a house and/or room); the adjacencies of rooms, so as to maintain privacy, security and adequate fire separation; and the provision of services such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundries, some of which can be shared.</p>
<p>Both of these houses provide for flexible living arrangements while still complying with the requirements of building regulations. </p>
<p>One Room Tower and Two Pavilion House will both be open to the public on the weekend of October 13-14 as part of the <a href="http://www.brisbaneopenhouse.com.au/">Brisbane Open House</a> event.</p>
<h2>A regulatory rethink is needed too</h2>
<p>A growing number of housing solutions are meeting the need for multigenerational housing, providing accommodation for ageing parents or adult children. <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-08/are-granny-flats-the-answer-to-australias-housing-crisis/8784106">Granny flats are a good example</a>. </p>
<p>However, some of these solutions <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/thousands-of-brisbane-homeowners-breaking-law-with-granny-flats-on-their-land-expert-warns-20180313-h0xfii/">do not meet building regulations</a>. It is a concern if these houses fail to provide adequate health and safety, fire separation, or security to protect belongings. Carefully designed, fit-for-purpose dwellings that safely provide options for multiple and varied occupancies are needed. </p>
<p>It is also time for some local authorities to re-evaluate regulations, and consider how these might safely <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-01/couple-wins-right-to-keep-tiny-house-in-brisbane-backyard/8082950">match the need for flexible and adaptable accommodation</a>.</p>
<p>Flexible, “<a href="http://www.ovga.vic.gov.au/images/Infill_Opportunities_-_Design_Research_Report_-_FINAL.pdf">loose fit</a>” housing will provide greater diversity in accommodation. And, by doing so, it will be more inclusive of a broader cross-section of society – diverse housing for a diverse society. </p>
<p>Flexible housing also has the potential to be a design-led solution to housing affordability, by adapting housing to suit the needs of everyone in the risk society. </p>
<p>Existing housing stock is designed around the numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms that appeal to the market and so fails to be responsive to what people need from housing in the 21st century.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Volz co-designed one of the houses discussed in this article.</span></em></p>People living with the change and uncertainty of this century need flexible and adaptable housing. Here we look at a couple of examples of what’s possible.Kirsty Volz, Lecturer, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/838722017-09-19T19:40:40Z2017-09-19T19:40:40ZInterest in tiny houses is growing, so who wants them and why?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186328/original/file-20170918-24074-a6suc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A tiny house in the backyard appeals to some as a solution that offers both affordability and sustainability.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkoutloud/7545431816/in/photolist-cuLj11-odvgqt-cArWj-VprxAq-Uns66m-TkkBqK-VsACBa-VE51Br-V4SPyf-9mtYAJ-qrJ8cA-9mqULH-dqWUKT-8gubGG-869RDM-ktwJHX-7LP3ZG-dqWVVF-8iYifH-8j2wz3-8FuDz9-dqX6UA-eWSECn-dqWSZc-jzNCK4-4FfUDX-ac7j1R-mp2gDt-VE51VH-V4SP1G-9hSnZ-ffjV2a-pWYNZ-JCFGL-Uns6zY-Vprve1-UqySKB-Uns5R3-dqX7BJ-eWSErr-dHkbyV-ktz4uj-8iYiXR-dqWEmV-a6iwo3-9Rd52Y-4Lx37p-UdF6iw-dqWQUq-avKuQi">Think Out Loud/flick</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tiny houses are now so popular that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-14/stolen-tiny-house-found-in-qld/8943178">someone was charged with stealing one</a> last week. A social media campaign tracked its journey from Canberra to Hervey Bay. My <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BH6PSL5">research to date</a> has found a marked increase in people who want their own tiny house, particularly among older women.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WGpoj-43aW8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This tiny house was tracked across the country last week.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since the first tiny house groups appeared on Facebook in 2013, such groups and pages have proliferated. The original Facebook pages, such as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TinyHousesAustralia/">Tiny Houses Australia</a>, have nearly 50,000 followers. Some groups, such as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/tinyhousesbrisbane/">Tiny Houses Brisbane</a>, are extremely active and hold regular meetings.</p>
<p>Based on <a href="http://soacconference.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Shearer..pdf">earlier research</a>, I <a href="https://theconversation.com/move-over-mcmansions-the-tiny-house-movement-is-here-32225">argued</a> that tiny houses could be part of a solution to the perennial and wicked problem of unaffordable housing, as well as improving urban density and the environmental sustainability of housing. In 2015, very few people had <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-love-tiny-houses-so-why-arent-more-of-us-living-in-them-44230">actually built one</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/move-over-mcmansions-the-tiny-house-movement-is-here-32225">Move over, McMansions – the tiny house movement is here</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>A repeat of the 2015 survey has found a marked increase in people building or wanting to build a tiny house. Some 20% of current respondents (173 to date, but the survey is ongoing) had built or were building a tiny house. Another 61% intended to build one.</p>
<p>Most of these tiny houses were fully mobile, partly mobile (that is, a container house) or on skids. Only 20% were intended to be permanent. Interest was equally divided between urban and rural residential areas. </p>
<p>There was a statistically significant relationship between preferred location and type of tiny house. Most of those preferring rural locations wished to build a permanent or container-type tiny house. Those wanting urban locations preferred mobile tiny houses. This is likely the result of urban land costs, although more than 50% of survey respondents stated that they would prefer to build on their own land.</p>
<h2>Tiny houses appeal to older women</h2>
<p>Demographically, interest in tiny houses is biased towards older women. The majority of respondents were women over 50. </p>
<p>Although this could be a result of sampling bias (more women than men tend to complete surveys), it also could reflect other research showing that single women over 50 are the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/older-women-fall-victim-to-crisis-in-homelessness-20140407-36957.html">fastest-growing demographic for homelessness</a> in Australia. This is due to relationship break-ups, employer bias against older women, and lack of superannuation savings.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/building-funds-cut-even-as-older-women-swell-ranks-of-homeless-25545">Building funds cut even as older women swell ranks of homeless</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Tiny houses are an ideal housing form for single women, as they could site one on property belonging to an adult child or other relative, yet maintain their independence and privacy. As one respondent said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am 53 and am finding it hard to get employment, so this reduces the pressure on me by paying less rent in a tiny house. Hopefully will free me up to have a better lifestyle, health and fitness and time…</p>
<p>A tiny house with a small fenced-off yard for my small dogs is really all I need. I’d be happy to live in a TH community with communal gardens etc. This is my only viable option to own a home and homelessness in the future is a real fear.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As with the previous survey, the drivers for tiny house living were predominantly economic, then environmental. </p>
<p>In a possible reflection of the strong demand for urban living, the most important driver was “too expensive property in preferred area”. Then came: wanting to reduce overall debt, not wanting a mortgage, wishing to downsize, and housing too expensive in general. </p>
<p>This respondent summed up the economic drivers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I just want to own my home. I have been a renter for 30 years and long to own my own space and have more freedom to do things I love and work less.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Environmental sustainability and conscious consuming were seen as the second-most important benefits. The backlash against the McMansions of previous decades is strong:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I support the ideas of tiny houses for conscious consuming. We all consume too much land. Infrastructure and space for what we need. We then choose to fill up the spaces with more stuff and also travel further to our destinations using more fuel to get there. It’s a downward spiral, which could be contained by more sensible accommodation choices and a more thoughtful attitude towards resources.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another respondent said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Maintaining and building/sustaining standard stock (4 bed 2 bath) is time-consuming and soul-destroying. I own a 6-bedroom house now … the upkeep and the way it gets in the way of real relationships is something I have come to realise and do something about.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What does this mean for urban planning?</h2>
<p>In keeping with previous research, respondents noted significant barriers, particularly inflexible planning schemes, and then the cost of land. However, these barriers were ranked much lower than the drivers – only two (planning scheme inflexibility and complexity) were given a mean score more than four (out of five). </p>
<p>This might indicate that local governments are becoming more open to the idea of tiny houses as an alternative to high-rises for increasing density in what is known as the “<a href="https://www.dilgp.qld.gov.au/about-ilgp/news-media-and-events/media-releases/the-challenge-is-on-to-address-the-missing-middle.html">missing middle</a>”. </p>
<p>Indeed, architects, consultants, planning professionals and academics collaborated on the recently released <a href="https://australiantinyhousedirectory.com.au/planningresources/">Tiny House Planning Resource for Australia 2017</a>. It aims to assist planners, policymakers and the wider community to better understand the tiny house movement and its potential to contribute to greater choice in housing supply and diversity.</p>
<p>Yes, tiny houses are one, possibly extreme, end of the housing form continuum. They don’t suit all demographics, but the increasing interest shows that local governments need to seriously consider allowing tiny houses in urban areas.</p>
<p>They have significant potential to be a catalyst for infill development, either as tiny house villages, or by relaxing planning schemes to allow owners and tenants to situate well-designed tiny houses on suburban lots.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186331/original/file-20170918-1335-1k9bwes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186331/original/file-20170918-1335-1k9bwes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186331/original/file-20170918-1335-1k9bwes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186331/original/file-20170918-1335-1k9bwes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186331/original/file-20170918-1335-1k9bwes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186331/original/file-20170918-1335-1k9bwes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186331/original/file-20170918-1335-1k9bwes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186331/original/file-20170918-1335-1k9bwes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Washington DC’s first tiny house village showcases a new model of urban living.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/inhabitat/10712778265/in/photolist-nWrLD8-hjEeLE-hjFfjF-hjENdn-cK5ySA-e6PTk2-hjDLZK-hjDPVK-hjDMKx-hjEkqs-hjEf8m-hjEcJo-hjEjkm-hjEf4L-hjEgMW-hjEfnb-hjE9ZL-hjEeBd-hjDLdV-hjEfYw-hjDJ7k-hjEd6f-hjEdTj-TYiMru-hjDNX2-rj17kP-fhdPDt-ouioTH-s2KD7E-oHgSbE-MZYqUt-fht1Ry-FQN665-FcUQeq-J2wKjp-vax6rA-pur1kk">Inhabitat/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One respondent summed it up well:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Regulations need to be freed up to allow more than a small secondary dwelling on a typical suburban lot in a general residential zone. Financiers, valuers and mortgage insurers need to be coached into the benefits of small as arguably the only way to move forward in this current affordability and sustainability crisis. </p>
<p>The tiny house on its own freehold lot - whether in a community or Torrens title - has to be a way to enable ease of financing. This means that if a local government is serious about affordability, planning regulations need to change to enable freehold titling and increased density without having to go through costly and time-consuming development approval processes.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em>You can take part in the ongoing tiny house survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BH6PSL5">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83872/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Shearer is employed by, and receives funding from the Cities Research Institute, Griffith University; and has received other research funding from the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre . She is also a member of the Greens Party. </span></em></p>New research has found a marked increase in people, particularly among women over 50, who are building or want to build a tiny house. However, inflexible planning rules often stand in their way.Heather Shearer, Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/751142017-08-17T22:39:17Z2017-08-17T22:39:17ZHow ‘temporary urbanism’ can transform struggling industrial towns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167200/original/file-20170428-3525-8ust6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The city of Dortmund is seeking citizens' input on plans for this 44-hectare brownfield site of Hoesch Spundwand und Profil in Dortmund.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robing Chang</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What will become of manufacturing towns in a post-industrial world? From <a href="https://theconversation.com/redesigning-the-rust-belt-an-old-german-steel-region-gets-a-mindful-modern-makeover-75273">the Ruhr region of Germany</a> to the American “Rust Belt”, once-prosperous factory cities are today faced with dwindling industry, shrinking populations and fundamental questions about their role in the modern global economy. </p>
<p>The population of Detroit, Michigan, for example, an auto manufacturing centre that was once one of the United States’ largest cities, <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/2017/05/25/new-census-data-show-detroits-population-decline-continues/341336001/">has declined</a> from 1.85 million in 1950 to 675,000 in 2017.</p>
<p>Reinvigorating these <a href="http://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/policy-focus-reports/regenerating-americas-legacy-cities">legacy cities</a>, as they are sometimes called, is not easy – but it is not impossible. Based on my research in Europe, and inspired by the work of the urban planning nonprofit Die Urbanisten, located in my hometown of Dortmund, Germany, I have identified several innovative redevelopment models that may offer lessons for post-industrial cities across the globe. </p>
<p>These three movements focus on ephemeral, flexible solutions that are broadly applicable to any city seeking to reinvent faded manufacturing zones: <a href="http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/03/guide-tactical-urbanism/1387/">tactical urbanism</a>, <a href="https://www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes/vid_urbanag.html">sustainable landscapes</a> and the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tiny-houses-housing-crisis-2017-5">tiny homes movement</a>. </p>
<h2>Temporary, tactical urbanism (Plantage 9, Bremen)</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167205/original/file-20170428-12963-i9ncl3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167205/original/file-20170428-12963-i9ncl3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167205/original/file-20170428-12963-i9ncl3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167205/original/file-20170428-12963-i9ncl3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167205/original/file-20170428-12963-i9ncl3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167205/original/file-20170428-12963-i9ncl3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167205/original/file-20170428-12963-i9ncl3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167205/original/file-20170428-12963-i9ncl3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Plantage 9 in Bremen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robin Chang</span></span>
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<p>For decades, the <a href="https://www.planetizen.com/tag/post-industrial-cities">post-industrial harbour city</a> of Bremen, in Northern Germany, struggled to to adapt to the socioeconomic ideals of the 21st century.</p>
<p>Today, it is known for the success of its <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.5822/978-1-61091-567-0_5">tactical urbanism-inspired</a> approaches. Officially coined by the <a href="http://www.street-plans.com/">Street Plans Collaborative</a>, this approach broadly encompasses all short-term, low-cost, scalable measures that instigate longer-term, community-building change.</p>
<p>In Bremen, the <a href="http://www.zzz-bremen.de/ueber-uns/">ZwischeZeitZentrale (ZZZ)</a>, a local organisation set up to work as a project middlemen, set out to match underutilised urban spaces in Bremen with projects in need of a home. </p>
<p>One result was <a href="https://plantage9.wordpress.com/">Plantage 9</a>, an old textile factory turned culture and innovation hub with over 30 independent, creative and entrepreneurial temporary users, including a food-truck kitchen, bike repair workshop, and studios and galleries for young artists.</p>
<p>Some of these businesses stayed for less than two years. Others remained, and in 2012 these users negotiated a new lease and management contract between the city and the collective. Plantage 9 has gone from a pilot project to a community association with an ongoing role in the city’s cultural life.</p>
<p>This temporary urbanism experiment succeeded in large part because of citizen engagement. ZZZ played a moderator role between citizens and the municipality, working with a cook, a bicycle mechanic, students, teachers, photographers and filmmakers, among other Bremen residents, to conceptualise and coordinate these tactical initiatives. </p>
<p>As Plantage 9-style matchmaking revitalised lifeless spaces with exciting projects, Bremen’s national reputation has changed, too – from struggling post-industrial city to dynamic urban innovator.</p>
<h2>Sustainable landscapes (Zomerhofkwartier, Rotterdam)</h2>
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<p>Local residents in Rotterdam, Netherlands, have also cultivated comprehensive urban revitalisation processes in one neglected neighbourhood. The result: <a href="http://zohorotterdam.nl/over-zoho/">Zomerhofkwartier, aka Zoho,</a>, the new face of a former industrial area near the city’s central train station. </p>
<p>Originally conceived in 2013 as a temporary project by a handful of community organisations, many of which later reconfigured as ZOHOCITIZENS, Zoho now includes permanent co-working spaces, along with studios that host events, classes and green spaces. </p>
<p>Already in this decade-long process that its developers have dubbed “<a href="https://thecityateyelevel.com/tag/slow-urbanism/">slow urbanism</a>”, the area has matured into one of Rotterdam’s core makers’ district.</p>
<p>Zoho’s innovations include <a href="http://www.urbanisten.nl/wp/?portfolio=climate-proof-zomerhofkwartier">climate-proofing</a>, and the site serves as an urban laboratory for ecological adaption and transition. Thus far, the project has implemented water collection, storage systems in public spaces, green roofs, urban gardens, and the reduction of hard surfaces. </p>
<p>The ultimate goal is to increase the whole district’s ecological resiliency and the socioeconomic vitality of the district through the micro-greening of the specific locations in the urban concrete fabric. </p>
<h2>Tiny Houses (Berlin)</h2>
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<p>The <a href="http://thetinylife.com/what-is-the-tiny-house-movement/">Tiny House Movement</a>, which relies on small modular units that recall images of cottages, has ballooned in the aftermath of the US housing crises as an alternative for affordable housing. These wee residences, which are sometimes standalone and other times secondary units, have even inspired an American TV show, “<a href="http://www.hgtv.com/shows/tiny-house-big-living">Tiny House, Big Living</a>”.</p>
<p>This movement is firmly established in North America, but is still developing on the European continent (as this <a href="https://www.tinyhomebuilders.com/map#1215">tiny house map</a> confirms). </p>
<p>While the typical context for tiny homes is residential, the <a href="http://bauhauscampus.org/#home">Bauhaus Campus Berlin</a> collaboration between the Tinyhouse University and Bauhaus Archive from the Museum of Design in Berlin is demonstrating how these units can temporarily reconceive unused spaces for social justice, learning and research. </p>
<p>Inspired by the challenges with providing housing for new residents and refugees in Germany, for example, the project established in early 2017 an educational forum and workshop that allows people to learn how to build their on tiny homes. </p>
<p>Recently featured in <a href="http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/architektur-tetris-am-bau-1.3624734">German media</a> alongside other similar projects, Bauhaus Campus Berlin includes 12 tiny homes on the front lawn of the museum and promotes tiny house building through design crash courses, panel discussions, and other cultural gatherings.</p>
<h2>Scaling innovation</h2>
<p>These European narratives reveal resilient trajectories of temporary urbanism, comprehensively coordinated at the neighbourhood scale, using informality to engage citizens and ensure that municipal governments respond effectively and inclusively to contemporary urban quandaries.</p>
<p>Temporary use <a href="https://www.planetizen.com/tag/tactical-urbanism">at the street and neighbourhood level</a> in a diverse range of formats is not limited to post-industrial cities, nor is it confined to Europe. Denver, Colorado, for example, took a tactical approach to launch <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17549175.2015.1029510">one of the US’s first large-scale modern bike share systems</a> in a highly automobile-dependent city. </p>
<p>And Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, included pop-up landscapes as part of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02723638.2016.1276719?scroll=top&needAccess=true">the revitalisation of its Delaware River waterfront</a>, engaging entrepreneurial municipal officials, urban planning agencies, and landscape designers to strategically harness and catalyse investment. </p>
<p>Something is working. But from a scholarly perspective, however, we still know little about the mix of enablers and drivers that inspire such transformative moments. What, exactly, are the factors that make one temporary urbanism project succeed where another fails? </p>
<p>Much critical literature seems stuck on questioning whether the ephemeral has just as much impact as the planned, and whether citizens are as entitled to create effective urban revitalisation as professional planners are. And most current research on temporary use is descriptive or expository – narrating and cataloguing the process and types of users, formats and instruments seen in tactical initiatives. </p>
<p>Critical scepticism is healthy to understanding the change. But I believe that this adaptive practice is the next frontier in city planning. </p>
<p>Ultimately, we have to work backwards to measure the specific dash, dosage, amount and numbers of specifically defined stakeholders, processes, and mechanisms necessary to replicate those results and develop pre-configured “recipes” for more resilient temporary urbanism. </p>
<p>By deconstructing the successful conditions and their combinations, we can help cities across the globe build new and modern futures for their residents.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Chang is affiliated with the urban planning nonprofit Die Urbanisten.</span></em></p>Pop-up parks and tiny houses are just a few of the innovative solutions that can help post-industrial cities across Europe and North America adapt to the future.Robin A. Chang, Associate research scientist, Technical University of DortmundLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/772952017-05-09T18:47:14Z2017-05-09T18:47:14ZTiny houses: the big idea that could take some heat out of the housing crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168562/original/file-20170509-11015-1i7ptg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C174%2C1854%2C1140&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bugged/13190708573/in/photolist-m6BQ6T-S6C3Ju-TbD4ic-b3nUje-m6BftK-kwZgL7-cuKr1d-cuLj11-S9aCUZ-TPnbvy-n2sRX-4qMB53-SN6YGG-7TM7Er-gY81Z-oQ5aFA-b2sYr2-4jvgj8-LYZsK-6iK9g2-6pNAH9-2GVxWq-4kCRor-7JU5vb-b3nWut-8c4MF9-cJggRu-aAZeu5-9KQ5mz-cPXUqu-G9mn1-9RrLvi-zjxyP-otMZSz-doMYhm-rrvDca-n2qVV-n2svd-4KBCVD-4kCRgv-n2scq-D9Z6mn-cpFPFA-8uHT8W-7BkbFm-fyAeCV-Cbkk11-4te6hU-n2qr8-RTYT1Y">Anna/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you could have a new home, exactly to your specification for about a year’s average salary wouldn’t you take it? Many people, in the US, UK and Europe want to find an alternative housing solution that is cheap and mortgage free but also ecologically sustainable. The solution may be to build so-called “tiny houses” – very small dwellings, often built on trailers, that make the most of unused, unwanted or free sites in the city or country.</p>
<p>The tiny house is, indeed, tiny. It comes in at less than 25 square metres, but is able to provide comfort and security at minimum cost. These are primarily wooden buildings and can be bought ready-to-use or can be assembled by their future occupant. For as little as <a href="http://www.tinyhouseuk.co.uk/build-a-tiny-house-cabin.html">£15,000</a>, you can buy a kit, or for up to <a href="http://www.theweehousecompany.co.uk/our-houses/studio-wee-house.aspx">£50,000</a> you can get a fully assembled and fitted-out home for two. </p>
<p>Because of their size they can be built on a steel-framed base similar to a trailer or caravan, meaning they can be mobile and therefore capable of use on temporary sites. They are usually single-space dwellings, sometimes with an open loft for sleeping reached by a ladder or steep stair with a shower room below. Most people would choose to set up a permanent or temporary connection to conventional services, but you can also go “off-grid” with solar panels, wood burners, and bottled gas for energy needs and chemical toilets or outhouses for sanitation. </p>
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<h2>Cutting back</h2>
<p>There are now so many tiny house enthusiasts that it can justifiably be described as a movement, with online forums for practised and aspiring builders to share ideas and experiences. These houses are both cute and eccentric. Perhaps they <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/art-and-design/2013/01/why-we-live-trees">tap into a common aspiration</a> that people had as children to build a fort, a tree house, or a den. However, they also meet the deep human need to find a home that is just right for us. For those who have built their own Tiny House there is a special sense of connection to something made by their own hand, tuned to their own needs, even if they have used other people’s plans and commercially available components.</p>
<p>Tiny house advocates are attracted for both practical and cultural reasons. Although the idea of sorting out your main living expense for the price of a family car is undoubtedly a key motivation, it is also about empowerment of the individual to step outside the corporate idea that “bigger and more expensive is better”. Tiny house owners no longer aspire to an island kitchen unit or a wide screen TV in the basement, and it’s fair to say that buying stuff slows right down when you have nowhere to put it. </p>
<p>It is also about environmental responsibility and sustainable living. These buildings, simply because of their size, use considerably less energy both in their construction and running costs. The inclusion of other simple efficiencies such as LED lighting, super-insulation, and water reclamation simultaneously boosts ecological credibility and lowers monthly bills.</p>
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<h2>A sustainable life</h2>
<p>We might think that this sort of living stems from ultra-modern, post-capitalist thinking, but in truth, it isn’t a new concept. The historic roots of the tiny house movement are in the traditional buildings that 17th-century settlers first built when <a href="http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown-settlement/">homesteading North America</a> and before that in earlier <a href="https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/hole-cottage-8603">European rural precedents</a>. These were simple, often one room buildings, built on minimal stone foundations and made from local timber hewn to shape. </p>
<p>The modern versions are often built to the same or better construction standard as full size houses, but contemporary American tiny house owners relate to the early settlers’ way of life using minimal resources, and to Henry David Thoreau’s book <a href="http://www.thoreausociety.org/life-legacy">Waldon: A Life in the Woods</a>, an important and influential record of the author’s experiment to live a sustainable life. </p>
<p>However, there are hurdles to overcome in tiny house living. A major issue is identifying suitable and available sites. In both Europe and <a href="http://thetinylife.com/the-search-for-new-land-part-2/">North America planning legislation</a> is clearly aimed at conventional buildings with expensive, long-term connections to services such as water supply, drainage, electricity and gas. Obtaining permission to set up a tiny house in an urban area close to employment and resources isn’t easy. </p>
<p>In the UK, the problem can be even more difficult with <a href="https://tinyhousescotland.co.uk/tiny-house-scotland-articles/building-on-non-development-land-uk/">planning permission</a> hard to obtain unless the building type meets recognised size, type and materials guidelines. The mobility aspect of many tiny houses can be a bonus here as in theory it enables owners to take advantage of temporary sites with the capacity to relocate when permission expires, or their requirements change. </p>
<p>The crucial question, of course, is whether the tiny house helps solve the larger housing problem in the UK, where housing charity <a href="http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns_/why_we_campaign/the_housing_crisis/building_more_homes">Shelter estimates 250,000 dwellings</a> are needed each year. It is a possibility if planning restrictions on dwelling size and typology can be relaxed and construction companies are willing to take on such low cost work on the small sites these buildings can utilise. However, a fundamental problem of providing any affordable accommodation in property hotpots would also need to be addressed by government legislation, ensuring these desirable little residences were only occupied by their owners and not gobbled up by absentee investors.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Kronenburg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Could building small affordable dwellings be a part of the solution?Robert Kronenburg, Roscoe Professor of Architecture, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/603212016-07-05T05:31:12Z2016-07-05T05:31:12ZAre shipping containers really the answer for affordable housing? Time for a reality check<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126420/original/image-20160614-29209-yzzt4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's a lot to consider before you can be sure a shipping container home is your best affordable housing option.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/faircompanies/6023023420">Nicolás Boullosa/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-australias-housing-affordability-problem-in-12-charts-43171">Housing affordability</a> issues in Australia have resulted in people looking for alternative ways to build accommodation more cheaply. A recent worldwide trend has been to convert shipping containers to liveable accommodation. However, some real challenges lie behind the rosy picture of turning shipping containers into homes. </p>
<p>From the perspective of recycling and environmental sustainability, it is a very good initiative. Many containers are on a one-way journey, mostly originating from China (the world’s manufacturing house), to the developed nations. These containers are used just once for shipping and then end up being used – if at all – as storage or portable office spaces. </p>
<p>Many companies are now offering to build container homes. One can find a great <a href="https://au.pinterest.com/explore/container-house-plans/">variety of interesting floor plans</a> to turn containers into housing. But the reality isn’t always as straightforward as these plans suggest. What are the main challenges to consider?</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Container homes: the rosy view of the upmarket version.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Container quality and engineering sign-off</h2>
<p>Online videos and photos emphasise the benefits of recycling containers to build accommodation. However, a number of conditions must be met to ensure the house is structurally sound.</p>
<p>First, if the design requires cutting through the walls to put in windows or doors, it affects the structural integrity of the container. A structural engineer will be needed to develop an engineering drawing to ensure the house will be structurally sound. There is a cost associated with this activity, as with any other type of construction such as steel-frame housing, timber-frame housing or brick-and-tile housing.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126426/original/image-20160614-18068-1glpidw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126426/original/image-20160614-18068-1glpidw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126426/original/image-20160614-18068-1glpidw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126426/original/image-20160614-18068-1glpidw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126426/original/image-20160614-18068-1glpidw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126426/original/image-20160614-18068-1glpidw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126426/original/image-20160614-18068-1glpidw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126426/original/image-20160614-18068-1glpidw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You have to work within the dimensions of a shipping container, or add to the build cost by cutting and restructuring the metal cargo box.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipping_container_architecture#/media/File:Container_housing.jpeg">Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Further, many engineers are wary of signing off on used shipping containers, because it is more difficult to assess the structural state of these. They most often recommend using a brand-new container. This is another added cost, as the price of <a href="http://www.australiatrade.com.au/Shipping/ContainerSizeSales/">12-metre cube containers</a> starts from A$5,000, whereas a used container may cost $1,800. </p>
<h2>Health and safety</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126433/original/image-20160614-12948-1cggsfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126433/original/image-20160614-12948-1cggsfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126433/original/image-20160614-12948-1cggsfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126433/original/image-20160614-12948-1cggsfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126433/original/image-20160614-12948-1cggsfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126433/original/image-20160614-12948-1cggsfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126433/original/image-20160614-12948-1cggsfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126433/original/image-20160614-12948-1cggsfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people are attracted by the green credentials of re-using shipping containers, but first one must ensure they’re not contaminated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/inhabitat/2886761258/in/photolist-5p6pxQ-5p6khJ-b2i1Wg-is2Xqi-is24at-is2WQk-is2Cmj-is2DbA-is2Xiz-is2XPe-is2Cpf-is2CZo-is2msU-hjEkqs-is2mfj-hjEjkm-hjEf4L-bp1ngF-hjEeBd-hjEgMW-hjENdn-6fTHAN-hjEdTj-h2BHue-ehQAAu-ehQEmd-ehQxA5-ehQC81-ehj5LT-b2i3ZP-b2i2kV-ehj9LR-b2i1wK-b2i2s4-b2i3La-b2i22p-b2i3eD-b2i3Qp-b2i3xZ-5p26SF-5p28H8-5p6jPd-anpSqn-5p29cK-5p29ED-5p27m6-anpSm4-cF2qQN-5p27Pr-5p24pa">Inhabitat/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Health and safety concerns arise when it cannot be ascertained what was shipped using a second-hand container. </p>
<p>If human carcinogenic elements or harsh chemicals (which may have left invisible traces) were shipped in a container, one would not want to use that container to live in. </p>
<p>Ensuring this is not the case adds to the challenges of using a second-hand container. This is because tracing the cargos and journeys end-to-end across the full container lifecycle can be very difficult.</p>
<h2>Usable space</h2>
<p>Housing built from shipping containers is limited by <a href="http://www.australiatrade.com.au/Shipping/ContainerSizeSales/">their dimensions</a>. They are roughly 2.35m wide internally and commonly come in two lengths: 6m or 12m. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126035/original/image-20160610-5894-1ndktpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126035/original/image-20160610-5894-1ndktpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126035/original/image-20160610-5894-1ndktpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126035/original/image-20160610-5894-1ndktpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126035/original/image-20160610-5894-1ndktpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126035/original/image-20160610-5894-1ndktpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126035/original/image-20160610-5894-1ndktpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126035/original/image-20160610-5894-1ndktpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You have to consider how to work with the space constraints of a 2.35m-wide container.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/onecoolhabitatcom/4439057205">one cool habitat/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One also needs to take into account internal stud work to put in drywalls, which can further reduce the width. A 2.35m width is already quite small for any room other than a shower or a bathroom. </p>
<p>To give an idea of how small, a king-sized bed is 1.83m wide. So there will very limited room to put bed side tables or dressing table. </p>
<p>If two containers are cut to create a 4.7m wide room, the space becomes too big for many purposes. If you need a smaller (or more common) width, you need to build a stud wall. That is another added cost.</p>
<p>Hence, the options for customising the container home are very limited if it is to remain affordable.</p>
<h2>Insulation and comfort</h2>
<p>Insulation is a very critical element of a comfortable lifestyle. The <a href="http://www.abcb.gov.au/Resources/Publications/NCC/NCC-2016-Complete-Series">Building Code of Australia</a> as well as the local shire or council are very conscious of insulation standards. </p>
<p>The shipping container is a basically a large steel box. Physics says steel will get hot in summer and cold in winter. To counter these natural effects, the <a href="http://www.containerhomeplans.org/2015/03/5-methods-to-insulate-your-shipping-container-home/">container has to be very well insulated</a>.</p>
<p>Now, the question is where to insulate: on the exterior, or the interior, or both? </p>
<p>Exterior insulation will be better because this will prevent the heat or cold reaching the metal and keep the internal environment comfortable. But putting external insulation on a container means having a stud wall frame or similar arrangement to hold the insulation in place, so that’s an additional building cost. </p>
<p><a href="https://renaissanceronin.wordpress.com/ceramic-insulation/">Ceramic paint insulation</a> is another option and it does offer some degree of insulation. Note, though, that most “before and after” studies have taken a dark-coloured container (such as red, green or blue) and shown the benefit when painting it with a white ceramic paint. The reduction in temperature is partly due to using white paint.</p>
<p>Container housing may be a viable alternative accommodation option. But it can be hard to know whether it will be significantly cheaper than any other ways of building a home without doing considerable research into what the housing requirements and design will involve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60321/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vidyasagar Potdar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Have you thought about usable space, re-engineering, structural integrity, contamination, insulation and comfort? If not, you need to before jumping into building a home from shipping containers.Vidyasagar Potdar, Director, Blockchain R&D Lab, Curtin University, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/442302015-07-09T20:06:30Z2015-07-09T20:06:30ZAustralians love tiny houses, so why aren’t more of us living in them?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87575/original/image-20150707-1306-2rcveo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The tiny house movement originated in the US in the late 1990s.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bill Dickinson/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Housing affordability is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/tackling-housing-unaffordability-a-10-point-national-plan-43628">perennial problem in Australia</a> and has <a href="http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/363648/2011-14-the-quarter-century-record-on-housing-affordability-drivers-government-policy-responses.pdf">worsened significantly over the past three decades</a>. </p>
<p>Multiple reasons exist for the the lack of affordable housing. On the demand side these include population growth and increased migration to urban areas, easily accessible housing finance, tax incentives and a “<a href="http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/363648/2011-14-the-quarter-century-record-on-housing-affordability-drivers-government-policy-responses.pdf">strong cultural preference for owner-occupied detached houses</a>”. On the supply side, affordability problems are exacerbated by inflexible and slow responses to the need for new housing stock, lack of infrastructure and generally inefficient planning processes and development assessment by local governments. </p>
<p>The increasingly popular tiny house movement has been mooted as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/move-over-mcmansions-the-tiny-house-movement-is-here-32225">potential solution to some housing affordability issues</a>. The movement originated in the US in the late 1990s, largely in response to housing affordability problems, the global financial crisis and the desire to live more sustainably. At the time, the tiny house movement was very small and <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbournes-housing-crisis-would-you-live-in-a-floating-apartment-20150323-1m0flc.html">localised</a>; in the past decade, it has become increasingly <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/tiny-homes/">mainstream.</a> </p>
<p>But how realistic is the potential for tiny houses to address some affordability problems in Australian urban areas? Certainly, there is very strong demand for affordable housing and for alternative housing forms. Recent research (an online survey, a series of interviews and social media analysis) has shown tiny houses appeal strongly to a wide demographic, particularly to single-person or couple households.</p>
<p>Economic and social factors were the major drivers of the interest in tiny houses. Economic factors included affordability, the desire to own (detached) property without a high mortgage and to reduce expenses and debt. Social factors included a strong desire for “freedom” and to live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle in “a community”. Tiny houses were also considered more aesthetically appealing and better designed than standard houses.</p>
<p>For example, a retired woman in her sixties said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I want to live in a community where I have my own space, but am surrounded by people who actually speak to me and share the big things (mowers, gardens etc). We need to strive for more affordable land usage and more community.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Australia, however, few have actually built a tiny house. This is likely due to economic, regulatory and social barriers, particularly high land prices and having “nowhere to park it”. Other economic barriers found in the study included insufficient cash, lack of mortgage finance, inability to insure mobile tiny houses, and no potential capital gains. </p>
<p>Regulatory issues included onerous planning schemes and building codes and transport restrictions for mobile tiny houses. Social issues included the unwillingness to relocate (generally from urban areas with proximity to employment, social networks and services) and a dislike of renting and of units in “high rises”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87576/original/image-20150707-1306-1ydpdv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87576/original/image-20150707-1306-1ydpdv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87576/original/image-20150707-1306-1ydpdv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87576/original/image-20150707-1306-1ydpdv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87576/original/image-20150707-1306-1ydpdv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87576/original/image-20150707-1306-1ydpdv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87576/original/image-20150707-1306-1ydpdv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tiny houses on wheels are popular in the US.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tammy Strobel/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With respect to tiny houses, these perceived barriers, however, are largely relevant for detached properties in urban areas. For example, high land prices are primarily an urban issue; thousands of properties in regional Australia, even with existing houses, can be considered affordable (under A$150,000). Regional councils are often considerably more flexible than urban councils regarding house form, planning permission and building codes. In addition, very small dwellings are already common in both regional areas (i.e. beach shacks or converted sheds) and urban areas (i.e. studio units). </p>
<p>But despite the interest in the movement, the barriers may pose too great a challenge for most, particularly for the very tiny house on wheels now common in the US. Another factor may be the unavailability of purpose-built tiny houses (readily available in US). The tiny house movement in the US is now so popular that some bespoke tiny houses <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2014/04/28/12-tricked-out-tiny-houses-and-why-they-cost-so-much/">are approximately double</a> the cost per square meter of standard houses. </p>
<p>It may be that the archetypal very tiny house on wheels will only ever appeal to a small, albeit passionate, niche of the total housing market. Nonetheless, this research seems to indicate a strong demand for affordable, well-designed, smaller and more sustainable houses, in a community. If policy makers and industry could meet this demand with <a href="https://theconversation.com/tackling-housing-unaffordability-a-10-point-national-plan-43628">land-use planning reform together with innovative housing forms and structured financing methods</a>, this could potentially address not only some aspects of housing affordability, but also improve urban sustainability. Perhaps the age of the McMansion really is coming to an end.</p>
<p>In the words of two respondents:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I hope the growing interest will make tiny house living attractive enough to developers to build them. At an affordable price.”</p>
<p>“Having title to a property is a key in gaining finance, and the only locations where this might be possible is on suburban lots flagged for increased density including ‘multiple dwelling’ or small lot ‘dwelling houses’.”</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44230/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Shearer is affiliated with the Greens Party</span></em></p>Already common in the US, the tiny house movement has the potential to take hold in Australia, but only with help from urban planners and regulators.Heather Shearer, Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.