Krista Evans, PDBE Dissertation Defense

“Integrating Tiny Houses into the American Urban Fabric: A Comparative Case Study of Land Use Policy Change in the Carolinas”

Abstract:

The tiny house movement has emerged as a means to promote small, affordable, and sustainable home ownership.  However, the construction of tiny homes, or even the traditional cottage, is illegal in many urban places throughout the United States. The challenge remains, therefore, as how to change existing urban land use policy to accommodate the legal allowance of small and tiny houses, while retaining good city form. This research examines how communities are altering land use policy to accommodate small and tiny houses.  It does so through a comparative case research design and visual preference survey performed in Asheville, North Carolina, and Horry County, South Carolina. The results lead to a better understanding of how tiny house land use policy might best be crafted, and may aid those aiming to achieve the American dream of homeownership through small house living by exploring the best ways to make such living arrangements both legal and appealing.