“We must shift our thinking away from short-term gain toward long-term investment and sustainability, and always have the next generations in mind with every decision we make.” Deb Haaland What does it take to start a conversation on smaller homes in a community that traditionally bans them? How can we collaborate to move the conversations to reality? What can be learned when a real-world project closely examines housing size, land area, and energy use through the lenses of charity and sustainability? Spencer Frye (State Rep House District 118 at Georgia General Assembly and Executive Director for the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity) and Jeremy Field (VP of Operations at Imery Ratings) join us to describe the background and execution of the Kinda Tiny Habitat House that was recently constructed in Athens, GA. This house, a product of a design contest cosponsored by SK Collaborative and the Atlanta Branch of the USGBC is an example of a greener home, but it’s also meant to start a conversation in Athens about zoning codes, according to Frye. On a related note, in 2021, RESNET and Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) entered into a formal collaboration to promote the work of their members and affordable, sustainable housing. RESNET and HFHI will cross-promote HERS® ratings as the metric of energy-efficient homes and the efforts of HFHI to create efficient, affordable homes. The goal is to create tools each organization’s members can use to demonstrate the alliance between energy efficiency and long-term affordable housing. Listen in as we learn the details of how this Athens project came about, the impact it has had in the community and the important role that the RESNET HERS® rating process had in bringing this vision to fruition. Some links to press on this podcast’s topic: https://flagpole.com/news/news-features/2022/05/18/habitat-for-humanitys-new-affordable-housing-model-kinda-tiny-homes/ https://news.uga.edu/uga-student-designs-winning-kinda-tiny-home/ https://www.wuga.org/local-news/2022-04-27/athens-area-habitat-for-humanity-completes-kinda-tiny-homes https://www.usgbc.org/articles/kinda-tiny-homes-deliver-huge-results-usgbc-georgia https://www.athenshabitat.com/ You can reach our guests via email: jfield@imerygroup.com and spencer@athenshabitat.com Listen to the full episode here.
