Imagine if hosting a transitional tiny home village for the homeless became the norm for all suitable vacant land?

Last time I was in Atlanta, I stayed near a spot where dozens, probably hundreds, of homeless people would congregate on the sidewalks in a couple block radius around a center that served their needs. There we many things striking about this, but I remember one of the things that bothered me was the two large empty lots on the corner, which had signs on them expressly forbidding entrance or camping. One still had the foundation of a previous building, so though totally open to the sky, it still would have been a mildly sheltered and slightly more private place to be. Since the lots weren’t fenced off, and yet were empty, while the sidewalks were crowded, I had to assume that those signs were backed up by aggressive enforcement. Yuck.
Some folks in Denver are trying to do a little better. At the Intersections conference last month, the Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) and design group Radian, gave a brief presentation in the Ignite pitch session on the Beloved Community village. Beloved Community is a self-governed tiny home village for those transitioning out of homelessness, especially those not served by the shelter system. People with pets, couples, transgender folks, and people trying to stay sober, for example, can all find themselves either not welcome or not safe in shelters, and are therefore among the priorities for acceptance into the Beloved Community village. Various organizations provide supportive services to the residents, who share the work of maintaining the community.
ULC has some land that they will be building permanently affordable housing on—but that for now is sitting vacant while the predevelopment work happens. ULC director Aaron Miripol said that while ULC’s work aims to reduce the housing crisis over the long term by increasing affordable housing, there is also the very immediate question of what to do for people who are homeless now. As we’ve written about before, tiny home villages are one life-saving answer to that question. But they need somewhere to be.
FULL STORY: Tiny Homes for the Homeless—Would You Host a Village?

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont