Trending: Design With Community in Mind

In Austin, Texas, Detroit, Kansas City, Mo., Nashville, and Newfield, N.Y., tiny home villages are springing up in greater numbers to combat homelessness.

According to Veterans Community Project co-founder and entrepreneur Brandonn Mixon, “We build communities — communities that are the beginning of a journey for those who said yes to this country and need someone to say yes back to them.” The village is the first of its kind in Kansas City, and reflects the growing trend of nonprofit groups and other organizations in major metros building tiny home communities as a solution to unaffordability and homelessness. The homes are typically between 100 and 400 square feet, and "offer a mix of independence, stability and compassion on what supporters consider a critical micro level," The New York Times reports.

“If you’re living in a tent on the street by yourself, with all your belongings, you’re not going to move into a shelter,” said Sharon Lee, the founding executive director of Seattle’s Low Income Housing Institute. “You don’t want to sleep next to someone you don’t know. You’re worried about bed bugs. You’re worried about getting your stuff stolen or being assaulted. “You move into a tiny house, you lock the door. You’re safe.”

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