Happy Thanksgiving Eve.
It should be a slightly warmer day with a high of 56 degrees.
As the nation’s homelessness continues to rise, housing advocates hunt for solutions. The trend of tiny houses, shed-like structures the size of bedrooms and typically organized in clusters around a central amenity building, started in the West.
But it’s gathered steam and popularity and can be found in a variety of cities like Austin, Texas, and Newfield, N.Y.
Philadelphia’s first tiny house village could open by early summer in Holmesburg. Our lead story is Inga Saffron’s latest column pondering if it’s a viable choice for the city.
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— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, [email protected])
Until now, Philadelphia resisted the tiny house trend that first began appearing in pricey West Coast cities.
Inquirer columnist Inga Saffron explores if it can work in Philadelphia.
Reminders: After homeless activists set up a protest camp on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 2020, Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration agreed to give the idea a try.
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The protest garnered extensive national attention and was celebrated as a breakthrough event.
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The activists’ larger focus was getting the city to transfer 50 houses from its large portfolio of vacant property into a community-run land trust. Tiny houses were farther down on their wish list.
In her own words:
“In normal times, no one would dare call such buildings, which lack private kitchens and bathrooms, “houses.” But as the nation’s homeless population soars, and people turn to cars and tents for shelter, the tiny house movement has captured the imagination of housing advocates around the country, who see them as a cheap, fast solution to the growing humanitarian crisis.
Because the bedroom-size cottages are assembled in factories, they can be installed on-site in a single day. And unlike group shelters, they offer people the dignity of private space.”
Keep reading to find out if Saffron believes tiny homes are worth pursuing in Philadelphia.
Consider this a reminder to slow down.
Danese Kenon, The Inquirer’s managing editor of visuals, asked staff photographers to take turns shooting with a 35mm mechanical camera with manual exposure and focus using just one roll of black-and-white film and one lens, a 50 mm f/1.8.
Using film forces the photographer to be more deliberate and intentional.
Before you start your holiday, take the time to check out the results of our photographers capturing beautiful moments throughout the Philadelphia region.
Ben Simmons played in front of a Philly crowd as a member of the Nets for the first time Tuesday since demanding a trade and holding out until he was shipped to Brooklyn.
When was Simmons traded to the Brooklyn Nets earlier this year?
A) Feb. 10
B) March 7
C) Jan. 5
D) Feb. 15
Find out if you know the answer.
🏈 Reading: What John Fetterman learned from his football career and the lessons he took into his political career. 🔑
📱Explaining: The Twitter chaos since Elon Musk took over for non-tweeters. You’ll be ready when your relative brings it up over Thanksgiving dinner.
🦃 Sharing: A quick tip. If you’re not trying to break the bank for Thanksgiving dinner, these are your cheapest options.
Hint: Mascot
POWSO
Think you know? Send your guess our way at [email protected] We’ll give a shout-out to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shout-out goes to Nadine Nehme who correctly guessed Squiggy as Tuesday’s answer.
And that’s it from me. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. I’ll be off for the rest of the week but I’ll be back in your inbox bright and early on Monday ☀️.