Friendship villages, ADUs & small homes

Reconsidering density

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are gaining popularity, it seems. ADUs are in-law apartments, granny flats, garage apartments, basement apartments or detached structures. Did you watch Parenthood? That garage apartment that the Gilmore lady stayed in (I think it was her?) is an ADU. The detached structures seem to be getting a lot of attention at the moment.

Source: American Planning Association, adapted from the ABCs of ADUs

In Habitat’s advocacy efforts in New York State, we’ve often found a sympathetic audience amongst political liberals when we talk about the potential of ADUs to increase housing supply, bring down housing costs, build modest density, support a care economy and integrate neighborhoods. We’ve also gained traction with political conservatives who applaud a move toward deregulation and stronger private property rights.

This week, my newsletter subscriptions and reading habits have been in conversation with each other, and I love that.

Diana Lind

wrote a great piece about how ADUs are gaining political traction, which made me reconsider my lukewarm thoughts on them. I don’t have a solid reason for feeling “meh” about ADUs, they just haven’t seemed like enough of a policy solution, maybe not even the right solution, for my community. This week, though, I’ve been looking at them with fresh eyes.

Right after that, I read

Supernuclear

’s newsletter about three couples who live in three one-bedroom bungalows built on a single lot on the San Diego coast. There not ADUs exactly and the buildings aren’t even tiny — about 1,200 sq ft — but they’re all very close proximity with shared outside space, garage, avocado tree and beachfront. On Fridays, they sit by the ocean for a “sundowner” drink. The governance isn’t anything fancy; each couple rents their bungalow from a different landlord.

Six cottages on one lot by the Atlantic Ocean, cozy and perfect.

They reminded me of the cottage we stayed in during our trip to Wells, Maine this summer. Except in that scenario, it was six tiny cabins on a single lot. Honestly, it was beautiful to see nestled in amongst the rest of the 5+ bedroom vacation homes lining the shore. My understanding is that each is owned by a different person, maybe one person has a few, and that they’re part of a homeowner’s association. There’s a shared parking area, picnic tables, outdoor showers, grills and beachfront.

ADUs of all sorts can also be a really wonderful way to provide senior housing and multigenerational living. As this New York Times op-ed says, “A.D.U.s are just one piece of a sprawling, dizzyingly complex puzzle.” Basement apartments and other traditional “granny flats” have been around for a long time. My neighborhood has a huge share of two-family flats, in particular, that gave families flexibility when it came to living arrangements. But the detached model of ADU — or garage conversions and apartments — offers an interesting way to densify suburban neighborhoods.

Source: Ivan McClellan for The New York Times

All of this made me think of a piece I read earlier this year about the rise of the small home subdivision. They interview a guy who couldn’t afford a three-bedroom home so he bought a 600 sq ft home in a subdivision. I remember wondering why he didn’t just move into an apartment or condo building. Wouldn’t that have been an obvious choice? But the power of single family homeownership is strong. And also — our goal should be to have a range of different housing options for a range of different situations, households and preferences, right?

Source: Missing Middle Housing. Oh look, I hadn’t remembered that this framework actually included small standalone houses but there it is… the cottage court!

Building a bunch of small homes — even if they’re not strictly “tiny homes” — still isn’t the most efficient land use option, but so what? Maybe there are communities and people that would benefit from this alternative form of density. It’s another component of that “missing middle” housing I like to talk about so much, and it’s a valid path for increasing housing supply.

I’ve never been crazed about the tiny home movement. As an aesthetic on Pinterest, maybe. A small home? Yes, I love. I adore! But the super tiny ones seem impractical as a long-term solution, and I think I started to dismiss anything that even approached the tiny home villages people kept talking about.

All of this to say, I’m thinking about ADUs and friendship villages and small homes more, and I’ve gotta say, there’s potential.

Infrastructure for friendship

Houses and cars have gotten quite big

Density in a small city

Elsewhere

I had fun sharing about my laidback, easy letter-writing parties on last night’s Vote Forward call celebrating the joy in letter writing! More than 400 people tuned in to learn how to write letters to voters and to hear from others in the community about how we’re bringing people together to get out of the vote. If I can get a link to the recording I’ll post it in the comments later. Thinking my next letter party might involve a bourbon slushie recipe I want to try out…