After last weeks class, I cannot stop thinking about whether shelters and agencies are actually helping the homelessness issue at hand or if we are only “beautifying” these issues. At first, I thought tiny houses were a great way to help create affordable housing while also reducing human footprint on the planet, but after consideration, the idea of beautifying these issues to fit public standards starting setting in my mind. Are tiny houses such a great option because it distracts the public eye from visually seeing tents or homeless camps on the streets? The idea of tiny houses was to create radically smaller homes dedicated to simplicity for affordable housing opportunities. The outside of the house can appear to fit the standards of typical housing, but the inside is not comfortable or can even fit the normal necessities by humans.

Tiny houses are what made me begin thinking about the idea of beautifying  homelessness. And I realized, NIMBY (not in my backyard) is such an issue that help for the homeless population is almost never intact without attempting to beautify the issue. Individualistic Americans are so concerned with the appearance of their living state, that beautifying the homeless population might actually help in achieving neighboring support. I don’t believe in beautifying the homeless community, but if the idea of beautifying can actually achieve more support (in some areas) then maybe its not such a bad thing. This idea of building tiny houses,  attempts to normalize the homelessness issue. I believe tiny houses, in some way, are a good idea but I disagree along the lines of such small houses/living spaces where the resident cannot live comfortably. If tiny houses are used to support the unhoused community, then the living spaces should include a normal and healthy living area.