Homelessness is a growing concern in the United States.
One proposed solution to managing this growth: building tiny houses.
Dr. Krista Evans, director of geography and planning at Missouri State University, focuses studies of tiny house villages’ potential to Missouri, offering a look into the role they can play in addressing homelessness in the state.
She recently published research on the subject in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Building foundations of knowledge
Evans studies barriers to creating tiny house villages for the homeless.
Few researchers before her have explored these concerns.
“There is very little scholarly research on the tiny house movement itself,” Evans said, “and especially on how tiny houses are being used to address homelessness.”
Evans hopes to apply her findings about the tiny house movement as building blocks for further research. She is developing best practices for successfully integrating tiny house villages into communities.
“It is my hope that this research can be pivotal in creating a foundation for more scholarship in fields such as urban planning and sociology,” Evans said.