What Happened to the Tiny Homes Revolution?

Tiny homes were one of the hot button topics of the previous decade. In 2023? Not so much.

2 minute read

August 14, 2023, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


A tiny home in a residential neighborhood.

Vacation home, homeless shelter, or accessory dwelling unit? | Natalia / Adobe Stock

An article by Eve Andrews for Grist critiques the tiny homes movement—an idea that seems to have come and gone in the public consciousness, not to mention the newsfeeds of planning publications.

What once seemed like a revolution in housing and culture—born from a crisis of housing affordability and the ravages of the Great Recession—now seems like an “Instagram aesthetic,” according to Andrews.

But for all the hubbub, tiny houses never really entered the mainstream realm of homeownership. Instead, they entered the province of tourists seeking a brief decampment to a smaller-scale, climate-friendly lifestyle. You’re more likely to encounter one while scrolling through $300-a-night Airbnb listings than browsing Zillow.

Still, Andrews is unwilling to call the tiny homes movement a failure, rather it’s more of a victim of unrealistic expectations: “[T]he expectations placed upon it were too high: that it could take on all the sins of a bloated, profit-driven housing industry, and deliver us as a nation to a humbler, happier way of living,” writes Andrews.

The source article, linked below, includes a while history of the tiny homes movement, including the highs provided by the debut of a Netflix home improvement show in 2014, Tiny House Nation, to the lows of the Airbnb-ification of the movement.

Andrews also sees some reason for optimism that the ideas that birthed the tiny homes movement still have a chance at wider adoption, including in the resources tiny homes provide people experiencing homelessness and as a popular new typology of housing, the accessory dwelling unit.

Tuesday, August 1, 2023 in Grist

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Yellow electric school bus with preteen students exiting.

California Invests Additional $5M in Electric School Buses

The state wants to electrify all of its school bus fleets by 2035.

April 25 - Associated Press

City Hall building in Austin, Texas.

Austin Launches $2M Homelessness Prevention Fund

A new grant program from the city’s Homeless Strategy Office will fund rental assistance and supportive services.

April 25 - Spectrum Local News

Brick school building with mid-sized tree on front lawn.

Alabama School Forestry Initiative Brings Trees to Schoolyards

Trees can improve physical and mental health for students and commnity members.

April 25 - Governing