A report developed for Chattanooga and Hamilton County outlines potential small housing types that could easily and affordably fit into existing neighborhoods.
A Homelessness & Incremental Housing Toolkit recommends designs for “small, proximate, private, and dignified housing” that could be built on existing residential lots to create a new source of affordable housing in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Robert Steuteville describes the report on the Congress for New Urbanism site, noting that “The small individual buildings allow for privacy—and for housing to fit into existing neighborhoods.”
According to the toolkit’s authors, “The focus on infill at a manageable scale avoids concentrations of poverty.” The proposed housing types include studio cottages, duplexes, one-bedroom cottages, and small, two-story multifamily buildings. “ The units are designed to be attractive (“dignified”) yet inexpensive to construct. The building forms are simple, with inexpensive roof lines and foundations, and efficient plumbing and utilities.”
The homes are designed to fit into existing neighborhoods and access existing transit and other resources and infrastructure. “This toolkit is targeted to ways to increase housing supply in a way to maximize benefits while limiting resistance to traditional homelessness housing responses,” the authors explain.
FULL STORY: Infill micro-housing for the homeless
Tiny Homes are a First—but not Last—Step in Ending Homelessness
Cities are trying to stretch affordable housing funds to meet the demand for both short- and long-term housing.
Berkeley promised to build supportive housing in People's Park. Where is it?
More than two years after People's Park was cordoned off, there is no word on a timeline for a promised affordable housing project.
Cleveland program has housed 200 people since 2024
The A Home For Every Neighbor initiative successfully moves people into housing in under two weeks.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association