I was a secondary supervisor on this thesis by Chelsea Novak at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism – one worth the read for those keeping up with new ideas to address the housing issue:
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On a clear January morning in Abbotsford, Kayla Feenstra nails shingles to her house. Thirty years old and self-employed, she has what so many living in Metro Vancouver at her age only dream of: her very own, mortgage-free home. It may only be 130 square feet and on wheels, but it’s hers. And while there’s still some work to be done on the house, so far it’s only cost her $15,000.
Feenstra is part of the emerging tiny house movement in North America: a group of individuals who embrace the idea of small living, and who typically live, or hope to live, in houses between 80 and 180 square feet built on trailers. Like Feenstra, they’re willing to give up square footage for things they consider more important. Feenstra first made the decision to go tiny back when she was renting a basement suite. “I walked into my living room one day … and realized that I hadn’t been in there in three months.” She already knew she wanted to own her own home some day—in fact she had an offer on a house, but it fell through because of her self-employment. “After that, I started really questioning myself on what I need,” she says. “How much space I need, what my priorities are. Like, I want to travel and I want to go do stuff, and I don’t want to be a slave to a quarter-million dollar mortgage or half-million dollar mortgage.”
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