The lasting effect of the Great Recession: tiny homes and the shrinking American dream.

Insights are based on my PhD research which is one of the first in-depth academic investigations into the world of tiny houses, including touring homes, attending events and festivals, staying in a tiny house community, and interviewing dozens of ‘tiny housers’.

The burst of the housing bubble in the United States triggered political and economic shockwaves, bringing global financial markets to the brink of collapse and kick-starting the Great Recession. The promise of wealth accumulation and social benefits from homeownership were exposed as a fallacy, igniting new housing ‘choices’ out of necessity. Enter the tiny home lifestyle. While this 21st century iteration of small and simple living arose in the early ‘00s, popularity grew exponentially alongside the housing crisis. The growth of tiny homes is significant as this alternative housing response has the potential to shift future housing trajectories, especially for Millennials. Millennials came of age witnessing how irresponsible policymaking that allowed access to the mortgage market fueled the global financial crisis. This younger cohort has entered the housing market at a point of caution and uncertainty, developing their identities and aspirations accordingly. Indeed, Millennials should be cautious. Despite claims of the ‘recovery’ of the housing market, as Madden and Marcuse (2016) argue, ‘the contemporary housing system is unsustainable by its very nature’ (p. 11). The affordable housing crisis is a consequence of policymaking working as it is intended. Housing costs continue to increase due to inflating property values yet income growth remains static, resulting in gentrification, displacement, homelessness, evictions, and so on (Madden and Marcuse, 2016). 

The contemporary pursuit of the American dream is inseparable from traditional homeownership. In recent years, scholarship has suggested that the American dream is variously in crisis (Putnam, 2015), sabotaged (Mettler, 2014), fading (Chetty et al., 2017), has been stolen (Smith, 2012), and needs reclaiming (Cornuelle, 2017). These claims are supported by the decline in social mobility, as the potential to earn more than one’s parents is on a downward trajectory with each decade (Chetty et al., 2017). Yet most Americans believe they have achieved the American dream or that they are on their way to achieving it. The findings of my research fit amidst this contradiction. Tiny house dwellers were found to be restricted around their housing options due to contemporary policymaking and financial restraints, yet they still aspired to a version of homeownership, a fundamental aspect of the contemporary American dream. Dwellers then shifted their identities accordingly. Many ‘tiny housers’ became adamant about the distinction between themselves and traditional homeowners – who they now identified as wasteful, excessive, and irresponsible members of society. Similarly, the difference between tiny houses and other small, often stigmatized housing options (i.e. RVs, trailers) was articulated often and resolutely by dwellers. Many made claims of tiny houses being more ‘real’ than RVs. This suggests that dwellers made compromises around their American dream then (re)constructed identities and how they relate to others in order to legitimize these decisions. 

The restrictive nature of the contemporary housing market has also altered how meaning is attached to the home space. Housing as a commodity is used to suggest social belonging and is attached to one’s cultural capital (Douglas and Isherwood, 1979; Bourdieu, 1984). The size, style, and location of one’s house ‘is an integral part of the power structure in society’ (Gram-Hanssen and Bech-Danielsen, 2004, p. 25). Yet, as the nature of housing policy places evermore restrictions on the ability to ‘choose’ these aspects, identity creation and emblems of social belonging have moved to the interior, whereby home décor acts as a means to express and develop the ‘self’ (Gram-Hanssen and Bech-Danielsen, 2004). This is supported by my research on ‘tiny housers’. As dwellers ‘chose’ to downsize in order to obtain more financial security and many compromised on location due to legal issues, the style of the home became ever-more important. Identity and meaning were attached to the process of building, designing, and decorating. This was observed in how dwellers explained the individuality and freedom in self-build and DIY aspects of the home - even from just the placement of the sockets to the color of the paint.

At the same time, this newfound housing opportunity offers significant options otherwise not available within traditional housing trajectories (i.e. working less, having more time and energy). Due to reduced expenses, several dwellers began working less, left unfulfilling work to pursue careers that align more with their passions, and had more time to spend with family and on things they enjoy. These benefits beyond the financial are notable as they have the potential to alter the way dwellers view and approach future decisions around house, work, and time.

Sources:

Bourdieu, P. (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. London: Routledge.

Chetty, R. Grusky, D., Hell, M, Hendren, N, Manduca, R, and Narang, J. (2017) ‘The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility Since 1940’, Science, 356(6336), pp. 398-406.

Cornuelle, R. (2017) Reclaiming the American Dream: The Role of Private Individuals and Voluntary Associations. London: Routledge.

Douglas, M. and Isherwood, B. (1979) The World of Goods. New York: Norton.

Gram-Hanssen, K. and Bech-Danielsen, C. (2004) ‘House, home and identity from a consumption perspective’, Housing, Theory, and Society, 21(1), pp. 17-26.

Madden, D. and Marcuse, P. (2016) In defense of housing: the politics of crisis. London: Verso.      

Mettler, S. (2014) How the Politics of Higher Education Sabotaged the American Dream. New York: Basic Books.

Putnam, R. (2015) Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks.

Smith, H. (2012) Who Stole the American Dream?. New York: Random House.