Designing Policy to Encourage Tiny Houses and Density

In this outtake from the S03 episode of The Life-Sized City, we see how Hamilton, Canada has passed legislation that encourages "tiny houses" or Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) on properties in the city. Reversing a ban put into place in the car-centric 1950s. Other cities are doing the same. Trying to get density and urban life back into the downtown after years of depopulation. In Hamilton, like many other cities, smaller homes in the laneways were a normal feature for many decades. The laneways were, in effect, mini streets with a strong urban fabric and integral in the larger context of the city. With a growing trend and desire to return to a smaller living footprint, policy changes like this are the way forward for cities.