PERSONAL PLANNING
Downsizing to smaller homes could allow more seniors to age in place RIGHTSIZING Will Johnston, executive director of the MicroLife Institute in Atlanta, writes about downsizing as you age. His new column, Rightsizing, will appear every other month in Atlanta Senior Life. A “pocket neighborhood” of eight houses, each smaller than 500 square feet, has just been completed in Clarkston. You read that right –– 500 square feet. That is the total living space of seven of the eight homes, with the last home sitting at only 250 square feet, a truly tiny home.
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All eight of these “micro-cottage” homes are clustered around a common area on just .57 acres. They are the MicroLife Institute’s first-of-its-kind pilot project, which we call “The Cottages on Vaughan.” My grandparents lived in their house for 55 years. When they were ready to downsize to a smaller home, there were no options in their established neighborhood or community. Their choices were high-rise assisted living or neighborhoods that they didn’t want to live in. They ended up moving an hourand-a-half away. I tell that story a lot because it was very hard to watch my grandparents move from everything they knew to a place that “helped them age.” My
OCTOBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com
grandparents and their experience are part of what seeded the idea that led eventually to our Cottages on Vaughan. MicroLife believes that if there were a better housing policy in place, residents would have more choices in their neighborhoods and be able to downsize and remain in their communities. Why did the Microlife Institute build this community? To show that not only is this project financially feasible to build, but there’s also a demand for it.
There’s no doubt that one of the major drivers of current housing crisis is scarcity: there is a lack of diverse housing in every major market across the country. The dream of homeownership is slipping away for many millennials and young people, and at the same time it’s becoming harder and harder for long-time residents to image a future where they remain in their community. The good news is this is a solvable challenge. We can allow seniors to downsize and age in place with dignity. We can create abundant, accessible housing options, and MicroLife built the Cottages on Vaughan to prove it. Years were spent conducting research, passing policies to allow for projects like this, and then actually building. By the time the plans were announced to build the first pocket-neighborhood in Georgia, the interest list had ballooned to more than 1,500 people. The Cottages on Vaughan proved it’s not about the size of the home but the nature of the design. Pocket neighborhoods, or cottage courts, are built to allow a community to thrive. That was the attraction for all eight homeowners. They wanted a community. It also laid the groundwork of research and housing policy necessary to create community — driven policies — something MicroLife believes is critical to allow intentionally designed homes
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