Building Tiny Homes for Detroit's Homeless

The city of Detroit plans to build tiny houses to shelter its homeless, according to a story by Weston Williams in the Christian Science Monitor. "Tiny houses have become a fad in the United States. These homes, which have only a fraction of the square footage of traditional houses, are cheap to build, easy to maintain, and energy efficient." This makes tiny houses a logical option for a cost-effective way to tackle homelessness. Williams reports that, "Detroit is the latest city to build a community of tiny houses to provide homeless and low-income people with affordable housing."

These homes are to be built on empty lots within the metro Detroit area. "Since tiny houses are 500 square feet and smaller, they don't cost much to heat and are cheaper to rent than the average home with more than 2,500 square feet of space," the story says.

This community will not face the same obstacles many tiny home builders have faced. Because the city is on board with the plan, they will not be zoned out of reach of downtown transport options and employment as has happened to other tiny house communities around the country. The first seven of these homes are scheduled for completion by the end of this year.