Category Archives: Community Design

Black Rock City Inspiration

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Michael Janzen

At this very moment 50,000 people have setup housekeeping in a temporary city in the Nevada desert. If you don’t know much about the Burning Man Project you might find it surprising that this temporary city (Black Rock City) has an … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged Black Rock City, Burning Man Project, city plan, city-state, ecovillage, Rod Garrett | 16 Comments

Can you imagine a Tiny House Community next to the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage?

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Michael Janzen

There is an 80-acre parcel for sale virtually next door to the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, which is located in the north east corner of Missouri. Rural Missouri is one of those places that is very open to alternative & sustainable … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged cob house, dancing rabbit, ecovillage, land for sale, Tiny House Community, ziggy | 6 Comments

Cottage Court Proposal

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Michael Janzen

Ron Czecholinski from DIY Home Building is in the process of putting together a tiny house community, and is currently doing his due diligence in choosing a piece of land. The property he’s seriously looking at is six undeveloped lots … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged Asheville, DIY Home Building, North Carolina, Ron Czecholinski, Tiny House Community | 5 Comments

Dissolve your HOA/POA Today!

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Michael Janzen

Do property owners’ associations (POAs) and homeowner associations (HOAs) really protect home values and communities, or do they simply add another layer of bureaucrats and cost communities money? I personally think the world would be a better place if most … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged Cal Pines, California Pines, Dissolve, HOA, Homeowners Association, POA, Property Owners Association | 11 Comments

Could allotment gardening in Europe provide a model to end Homelessness in America?

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Michael Janzen

One of my Tiny House Living readers, Wayne, passed this onto me. A Kleingarten, or allotment gardening is similar to the community gardens you might find across America but have some significant differences. The parcels typically range in size from … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged allotment garden, europe, garden, homeless, Kleingarten, Tiny House Community, tiny house village, village | 5 Comments

CLEAR VILLAGE Call For Entries

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I must admit I was a little disappointed to see so few tiny homes in the list of finalists for the Design It: Shelter Competition. It just seemed like a perfect opportunity for tiny houses to emerge; although I admit … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged clear village, community, contest, design competition, new mexico, pueblo, sustainable architecture, taos, village | 2 Comments

Earthbag Eco-village in Uganda

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Michael Janzen

While I make my living as a web designer my education and training is as a potter… which has given me a particularly close bond to… well… dirt. Construction techniques like adobe, rammed earth, cob, and earthbag are really beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged community, earthbag, eco-village, ecovillage, japan, japanese, uganda, village | 1 Comment

Innovative Orphanage Design in Thailand

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Michael Janzen

This is an incredibly innovate orphanage design by TYIN, a student-run Norwegian non-profit organization focused on developing humanitarian architecture. Soe Ker Tie House is one of four projects recently completed in Thailand near the border with Burma. The design is … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged architecture, bamboo, Burma, Humanitarian, natural cooling, Norwegian, Orphanage, rainwater collection, Soe Ker Tie House, sustainable, sustainable architecture, Thailand, TYIN | 4 Comments

The Tiny House Project – Bring On The Competition!

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I haven’t been THIS excited about tiny houses since I first saw a photo of Jay Shafer’s tiny house. The Tiny House Project seems to be designed to take tiny house design (in general, not my blog) to the next … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design, Sustainable Living | Tagged competition, Projects, tiny house, tiny house design | 1 Comment

Tent Cities on Oprah Today

Posted on February 25, 2009 by Michael Janzen

This is a little off topic but a good example of one of the many problems simple owner-built tiny houses could solve… and a story worth listening to. I also hope that stories like this begin to wake up local … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Design | Tagged affordable housing, housing, low-cost housing, oprah, sacramento, tent city | 9 Comments