1000 tiny homes (Portland: low income, houses, neighborhood)

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Yup, so Portland.

So many hard working people whose salaries couldn’t keep up with the giant rent increases had the choice of either relocating or living on the streets. This has been going on for a very long time. Now it’s in crisis mode. And contrary to some people’s beliefs, homeless people are not all mentally ill or drug addicts, many are simply Portland’s citizens who are suddenly less financially able to keep up with the ever increasing COL.

Anyone remember what was there before the large Pioneer Square Mall downtown was built? It was a
large apartment building. Tenants fought to keep their building. They lost. Did they get any help relocating? They didn’t. That’s very Portland. Over and over again.

Something could have been done to help the homeless long ago if Portland really wanted to. Previous promises for affordable housing could have been kept instead of those buildings promised somehow always getting turned into high income housing instead.

As has been done in other cities, old buildings such as hospitals, high schools and warehouses could have been repurposed as moderate income housing rather than being demolished and replaced by luxury high rises.

No city is obligated to do any of these things of course. No one should expect them to. I am not saying they should. But the thing is they can if they so choose. The point is Portland has never chosen to help those who are in a more moderate financial position with housing on a substantial scale and probably never will because, well, that’s very Portland. As the cliche goes, “It is what it is.” So let’s not pretend it isn’t.

Very astute post. However, if people acknowledged the truth, the same type of moronic imbeciles that think activist local gov't wasting tax payer money can solve problems would not get elected over and over again.

[Luckystrike1]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

What frosts me is that the county did not require our 'campers' to live in the state of the art jail facility that has been vacant for years. No camping permitted. I know it is not close to social services but 'school' busses could transport residents to those services. Our city is beginning to look like India.. except the homeless in India are law abiding.

And, on top of that, it has facilities. It would need some level of maintenance staff to keep things stocked and running but I'm sure that the city doesn't even want to consider finding $ for that (after all, that would be money for yet another city planner when they think they need another one).

In these tiny houses, I can't help wondering what they have for "bath". Pit toilets? Those would smell great in no time. If the city could afford to hook up 1000 tiny houses to city utilities then they could staff the jail.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

It's certainly a very Portland thing to do.

Pollyanna Portland.

Happy Happy Happy.

Wait until the shiny wears off.

[Merrily Gather]

As previously established in conversations displacement is a west coast issue. Offering to resolve it with tiny houses is a Portland thing. Not sure how that was confused to be the same things when it's not mutually exclusive. Keep up wise guys.

[sorupaa]

ive heard of tiny home air b&b. if i had a house id do that. for homeless it depends if they do drugs or they are crazy. they have to be good

[Squidlo]

I lived across from a home built to house a shipyard worker during ww2. Built in the back of the lot of an existing home. Essentially 2 homes one lot. It would compare to a mother in law cottage or guest bungalow. It was used as a rental. In the 15 or so years I lived there the home was a headache.

Does anyone else have similar experience with this type of rental?

It was very small and was rented for a fairly low amount, perhaps that was the problem?

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by Squidlo

I lived across from a home built to house a shipyard worker during ww2. Built in the back of the lot of an existing home. Essentially 2 homes one lot. It would compare to a mother in law cottage or guest bungalow. It was used as a rental. In the 15 or so years I lived there the home was a headache.

Does anyone else have similar experience with this type of rental?

It was very small and was rented for a fairly low amount, perhaps that was the problem?

I didn’t myself but I did know someone who lived in a converted garage when I was living in Chicago. There was a big housing shortage after WWII and many people lived in this type of housing. It was not the best way to live. One or two adults maybe but add a couple of kids to the mix and it became a nightmare for all kinds of reasons: noise, room to play, wear and tear, safety issues and always the worry of a lawsuit if the kids got hurt on the property.

I know of a few mother-in-law houses in the back yards of homes in Portland. They open up into backyards so there is always the awareness of the prying the main house of their comings and goings which may or may not be a problem. Only one person lives in each them. They are larger than these tiny homes that are being proposed.

Oh and I just remembered, one of my Portland friends lived in a quanset hunt in her neighbor’s backyard across the street from where her parents lived back in the 80’s.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Don't they already have some trailer courts or campgrounds around?

[Nell Plotts]

There are no legal campgrounds in Portland Metro. There are a few mobile home parks.

[Metlakatla]

If this project gets off the ground, it'll be a fiasco along the lines of the Yellow Bike Project only on a larger scale.

Urban whites love to transpose their trends on "the poor." They think of tiny houses and picture cottagey-Air B and Bs with the cute factor dialed up high with window boxes brimming with flowers and other whimsical touches. I don't think the reality of stuffing families into spaces smaller than most motel rooms is going to match the romantic vision they've got of tiny homes.

I don't get the whole family aspect of this. Maybe they'd work as transitional housing for single parents with infants, but I agree with a previous poster who said that their most logical use would be to rent them to single people and free up some one-bedroom places around the city.