Our Experimental Prototype Community of Tiny Homes addresses current challenges to affordable housing nationwide through establishing a research zone for discovering and implementing best practice approaches and solutions to this crisis. The targeted beneficiary of our efforts will be the current unhoused population living on our streets. The secondary beneficiaries will be the currently housed who for many reasons have chosen to live in a footprint smaller than current building codes and zoning restrictions allow.
We intend to identify and invite to discussions representatives of the broader stakeholder community to share knowledge and find consensus regarding the causative factors underlying homelessness. Should these discussions enlighten our understanding of the root causes – and support further efforts to explore remedies derived through a blended approach incorporating: alternative housing structures, innovations in sustainable urban farming, community building, skills training, job opportunities, and educational outreach, we propose developing and adopting this plan.
Infrastructure
Sustainable living is at the heart of the tiny home solution to the country’s housing crisis – and we will seek to employ and demonstrate a full spectrum of modalities (for educational and practical purposes) – to function “off the grid”.
As a research and demonstration campus power generation will be accomplished through renewable sources such as solar and wind as well as two important resources – methane and heat – generated during the composting process. Greenhouse temperature fluctuations will be mitigated using thermal tubes and sub floor radiant heating produced by the composting process. We will engineer a water capture/cistern storage system on all buildings to capture rainwater, and grey and black water will pass through various natural filtering systems for reuse. Swales and ponds will control and capture heavy rains and run-off and provide habitat for beneficial fish and fowl.