Tag: pocket community

Slowly advancing to a showcase community

Written by Founder on January 10, 2025. Posted in Founder's Blog. 1 Comment on Slowly advancing to a showcase community

Tim Welch Consulting Inc. (TWC), an independent housing research, planning and development firm, included the following Conclusion to a Feasibility Report commissioned by a municipality on a tiny home community development we proposed:

“This feasibility report underscores the potential of Tiny Town Association’s vision to address the critical shortage of affordable housing in … through innovative, sustainable, and community-focused solutions. By proposing a pocket-neighborhood model of compact and tiny homes, the project exemplifies a scalable and replicable approach to meet the housing needs of one- and two-person households, particularly those earning low to moderate incomes.

While challenges such as site selection, zoning compliance, funding gaps, and organizational capacity must be addressed, the report provides a roadmap and actionable recommendations to guide Tiny Town forward. Key next steps include securing a suitable property, engaging with municipal and provincial stakeholders to address zoning and servicing challenges, and leveraging partnerships to close funding gaps and build organizational capacity.

The Tiny Town project is more than just a response to the housing crisis; it is a bold and innovative initiative that can serve as a model for affordable housing development across Canada. By combining sustainable building practices, energy-efficient designs, and a focus on community living, Tiny Town has the potential to create not only homes but thriving, connected neighborhoods. With commitment and strategic execution, this project can redefine how we think about affordable housing solutions in rural and small-town contexts.

Tiny Town is encouraged to take the insights and strategies presented in this report as a foundation to move confidently into the next phases of planning and development. Through collaboration, persistence, and an unwavering focus on its mission, the organization has great potential to have a lasting impact on the lives of those in need of creative housing solutions.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

As we continue to work towards our showcase community, a living example of the vision, we are encouraged by those that have taken the time to understand and support what we are working to achieve. If you would like to become part of this movement, let us know!

Tiny Town community update

Written by Founder on March 15, 2023. Posted in Founder's Blog. 41 Comments on Tiny Town community update

We have been connecting with municipalities across the province about developing tiny home communities, emails sent to over 400 and here are the results so far.

81 municipalities have indicated that they are interested in our Pocket Community and Tiny Town affordable housing development model.
39 municipalities have said they have land available for us to develop into affordable housing communities.
10 municipalities have proposed sites that we have determined we could develop into affordable housing communities, ranging in size from 2.2 to 37 acres.

Stay tuned for more news as we begin working through the development process. Who will be the home of the first “Showcase” community?

Subscribe to your news feed below to see if an affordable micro/tiny/small home community is coming to a municipality/township/city/town near you.

Logan36 Concept Drawings

Written by Founder on August 11, 2020. Posted in Founder's Blog.

After posting our Logan36 RFP, we received some concept drawings to our specifications. NRB Inc. has provided a design that we feel best captures our tiny home vision. You will note that there are only windows and doors on 1-side of the home. This is to enhance privacy within Pocket Communities and our Tiny Town community design.

https://www.nrb-inc.com
NRB is our primary tiny home provider for our Pocket Community and Tiny Town projects.

World Town Planning Day Conference 2018

Written by Founder on May 18, 2019. Posted in Founder's Blog.

Last fall I presented to the Canadian Institute of Planners at their World Town Planning Day Conference about tiny homes as 21st-century affordable housing. The presentation was aimed at city planners and focused on why they should plan for tiny homes as part of the housing options available in their city.

The 1-hour presentation looks at who the typical tiny homeowners are and will be so that they can understand the coming level of demand. It touches on the types of tiny homes and why they are the fastest form of housing that can be utilized to address affordable housing needs everywhere. It takes a look at how tiny homes can be integrated into society and the benefits of the various methods of integration.

Just scroll down the Association homepage to view the video https://tinytownassociation.com

About The Association

Written by Founder on March 15, 2019. Posted in Founder's Blog. 1 Comment on About The Association

I just wanted to take a moment to clarify what the Tiny Town Association is and is not for those that have not visited our website. We do not own or operate any tiny home communities but are advocating for governments to make changes to allow people to live tiny. We have identified 4 key ways that zoning bylaws can change to accommodate tiny homes, and while we have an affinity for our Tiny Town concept (hence the Association name), we strongly support all ways that allow tiny homes to exist alongside traditional housing.

We are advocating for tiny homes on vacant land/lots, as inFILL housing, in Pocket Communities, and in Tiny Towns. Expanded explanations are on our website, but in a nutshell, here is what we mean:

Vacant land is rural, divided but undeveloped land that an individual tiny homeowner would purchase, make the needed improvement to and live on. Building lots are the same but within a city. In both these scenarios, we expect that the city/municipality would assess a tax rate equal to the smallest traditional house size that could be built on the land, in place of the tiny home. The land is owned by the tiny homeowner.

InFILL Housing is where a homeowner with a big enough yard that met the city requirements could apply and receive an annual permit to provide services for and rent space to a tiny homeowner. This would be like the coach house or laneway housing model that many cities are adopting, but for tiny homes on wheels. The site is rented by the tiny homeowner.

Pocket Communities would be developed on vacant lots within a city. The lots would either be cooperatively owned or owned by a developer. Cooperative Pocket Communities would be permanent sites, whereas undeveloped sites we expect would be temporary. However, some temporary communities could exist for many years. The site is rented by the tiny homeowner, but in the coop model, they could have the stability and rent geared to cost that a coop offers.

Tiny Towns we feel are the most exciting and offer the most potential for tiny home living. Cooperatively owned and built on rural properties of 100 acres or more, we envision that they would be connected to their host city through public transit. Tiny home sites would be larger than within the city and offer lots of community space. The towns themselves would be off-grid providing the utility services to its citizens in an environmentally responsible way. We see this growing into a network of Tiny Towns connected to all major cities so that a tiny homeowner can relocate to another city (for work or family) in a similar way that traditional homeowners would, but taking their tiny home with them when they move. The site is rented by the coop-member tiny homeowner enjoying a cost-based rental rate.