Katrina Cottages held such great promise 10 years ago, as an alternative to FEMA trailers. But a host of roadblocks stood in the way. After a decade, has the tiny house time arrived?
"This is the anniversary month of that mega-storm, which struck the Gulf States on August 29, 2005. So it’s as good a time as any to look back on what we’ve learned since, especially when it comes to safe, appealing, affordable housing."
Ben Brown was involved from the beginning in the Katrina Cottage movement, along with Andres Duany, Susan Henderson, Marianne Cusato, Steve Mouzon, and Bruce Tolar. Brown goes into a short history of the movement, and asks the hard questions about why it wasn't more successful.
"Moving zoning towards form-based codes and housing towards Katrina Cottage neighborhoods 'would have been tough in a lot of these communities even before the storm,' says Joe Cloyd. 'Immediately after Katrina, when leaders were constrained by all the stuff right in front of them, thinking about a Smart Code overlay or some other big policy change was just asking too much.'"
FULL STORY: Remember that Katrina Cottages thing? Whatever happened to that?
The Katrina Cottage Legacy
The New Urbanist Katrina Cottages initiative for the Gulf Coast appeared to be a failure but their legacy lives on in the SmartDwellings and in the Tiny House movement.
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What Can Sandy Learn from Katrina about Housing?
As the Sandy clean-up gets underway, could this be an opportunity for the Eastern Seaboard to apply some of the rebuilding lessons learned along the Gulf Coast after Katrina? Ben Brown shares some pointers.
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