Tiny Homes Now

 

While sitting immersed in thought this morning, planning out my tiny house design, for the creation of a tiny home construction business, I hear a family walking down the street after the rain, and I think, how wonderful to hear families walking together, and talking happily. I stood up to look out the window, and didn’t recognize them from our tiny street regulars (yes, it really is a tiny street, with only eight houses), and guessed they were not from the neighbourhood. Then I heard the Dad say, “We’re going to get a tiny house.” Then two of the raft of five kids chimed in excitedly, “Tiny house, tiny house!” 

Spot on trend? Damn straight. It is an urgent and great social need, for affordable housing; and an urgent ecological need, for green housing – and a public health need for homes that are non-toxic, and don’t poison the families living in them. I intend to help fill those needs.

Nope, not thneeds – needs.    😉 

Ok, silly joke, but I am quite serious about the urgent social and ecological need for affordable, healthy, green homes – be they tiny or otherwise.

So let’s go. Obviously I can’t fix this global problem myself. We need millions of tiny home and green home builders. We need an army. Let’s build it now.

JTR,

August 2, 2020

 

Post-Script:

 

The need:

1 billion people need basic, decent housing (ballpark numbers – and growing)

5 billion people are struggling with expensive rent or mortgage (ballpark numbers again – and growing)

Not counting the billions of existing homes and buildings which are in urgent need of retrofit upgrades for energy and environmental standards, we need affordable, healthy green homes for roughly six billion people, asap.

As I say, the need is urgent, and great – and that is a radical understatement.

 

Defining a tiny home:

The average size of what is typically called a tiny home is 200 square feet, but they go up to 700 or 800 square feet, depending on who you ask. The “war homes” built for families of veterans after WWII were typically 400-700 square feet. They are still around, and are as charming as they are modest. To me, that is a very practical size for a home (400-700 sq. ft.) and it should be much more common a size today, for both economic and also ecological reasons.

 

The core priorities for a tiny home:

1. Affordable: 

   a, Lower cost to build or buy; 

   b, Lower on-going operational costs to live in 

     (heat, electricity, utility bills, property tax, etc.)

2. Functional 

3. Comfortable

4. Charming

5. Beautiful

6. Ecological (low-impact)

7. Healthy (non-toxic)

 

Most tiny homes currently being built meet the first five priorities admirably. Most mainstream homes meet two of seven, only: functional and comfortable, but fail on the other five.

The last two priorities are not being adequately met: neither in the general standards for mainstream, new and existing homes and buildings; nor in the tiny home movement.

That must change, and now. 

 

That’s my job: revolutionize the tiny home movement, the standards, and the industry, along with the broader home and construction industry standards and norms, in the process. It is time.

Ok…do aim high, yes indeed. And clearly, I could use a little help….or an army.

 

But do take note:

In 2020, the actions of extreme arrogance, hubris, and brazenness on the part of the sociopathic elite, in taking a wrecking ball to the global economy – in order to build a global neo-feudal police state – has sown the seeds of resistance, and non-violent revolution; and also, has driven the tiny home movement into the mainstream – out of sheer necessity, in the wake of the *politically* caused economic devastation.

In short, not only has the market demand for tiny homes exploded in scale; but moreover, the army is being built.

And I will say again, in summary:

Most governments are failing utterly to meet either the needs of the people, or the challenges of the environmental crisis. The corporate elite, who now effectively rule the world, and have taken over, are not meeting the needs of the people or the planetary crisis. They are lost in a truly sociopathic addiction to power-lust, egomania, and insatiable greed – and are devouring the poor, the middle class, and the earth. Clearly, it is up to the people. It is up to us.

 

See my first two published books for further reading:

Enlightened Democracy:

Visions For A New Millennium

and

The People vs The Elite:

A Manifesto For Democratic Revolution, Or Survival In The 21st Century & Beyond

 

See also, my recent essays:

Sinking All Ships (But Our Own)

and

A Tiny Home Or Revolution