#158 Fall 2009

Livin’ Tiny in Texas

At this point, it’s a good thing that we’re getting used to the greening trend in development, as well as in land-use planning, that encourages more energy and economically efficient […]

At this point, it’s a good thing that we’re getting used to the greening trend in development, as well as in land-use planning, that encourages more energy and economically efficient ways of living. But normally when we think of that, we think of more dense regions, where existing infrastructure, namely transportation, lends itself to increased efficiency. Not so in Texas: a big state where some folks are thinking little.

The Luling, Texas-based Tiny Texas Houses takes a “Salvage Building” concept and creates, well, really little houses, ranging anywhere from 12-foot by 16-foot to 12-foot by 28-foot. Our question is, with those little houses, is placing a shed on your property considered a subdivision?

OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

  • The Painful Impact of the Housing Downturn on Low Income and Minority Families

    November 23, 2009

    The current downturn in housing has seized the markets, pushed home prices down further than any time in generations and has sparked the worst recession since the Great Depression. At the same time, nearly 18 million households are severely burdened with housing costs that consume over half their household incomes. While few have escaped the fury of the recent downturn in housing, tenant, low-income, and particularly minority, households have fared the worst.

  • The Nitpicker’s Guide to Foreclosure Mitigation

    November 23, 2009

    First, it was judges like Justice Arthur M. Schack of the New York Supreme Court, who made waves by tossing foreclosure motions because he found a rising level of errors […]

  • Interview with Xavier de Souza Briggs, Associate Director for General Government Programs at the Office of Management and Budget

    November 23, 2009

    Xavier de Souza Briggs, Associate Director for General Government Programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget has a portfolio that includes HUD, Treasury, Commerce, Justice, Transportation, and Homeland Security departments, as well as the U.S. Postal Service and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. All of these make a direct and profound impact in the community development world.