HELPING OUR MISSING MIDDLE EXPAND

HELPING OUR MISSING MIDDLE EXPAND

The housing crisis is a direct result of an imbalance in supply and demand. Many people want to move here, and many long-time residents are wanting to buy a home for the first time, or continue to rent without breaking the bank. As long as we continue limiting ourselves in the way we build our city, this crisis won’t get any better. Currently, ‘missing middle’ housing, such as duplexes and triplexes, are not allowed in most residential zones of town, which accounts for most residential land in the city. Our HOME Initiative seeks to change that by updating our antiquated zoning codes which limit most city land to the construction of only single family homes. We believe every neighborhood should allow ‘by right’ the construction of duplexes, one type of this crucial housing stock that, for many many decades, was legal everywhere. It is the quickest way to end our housing crisis and protect the affordable character of our neighborhoods.

Join us in ‘helping our missing middle expand.’

-Dan Parolek, Opticos Design

“More than a quarter of Baby Boomers and nearly 60% of Millennials are looking for missing middle housing.”

-American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

“Across the country, there’s a mismatch between available housing stock and what the market wants and needs. Missing middle housing is a critical part of the solution.”

SAYING YES TO HOUSING

Our initiatives are based on simple concepts, like having more freedom and choices in housing, but they are accomplished through concrete steps. This initiative specifically requests that the City of Knoxville update our zoning codes to change our RN-1 and RN-2 areas to allow, at minimum, duplexes ‘by right’.

PROTECTING

NEIGHBORHOOD

CHARACTER

AND HISTORY

Historically, our neighborhoods allowed all types of residential buildings to be built in them - from shotgun houses to fourplexes and more. This freedom to construct homes for multiple living preferences in every part of town not only gave residents more choice in where they wanted to live, but it allowed for a greater mixture of incomes to be neighbors, which has been proven to increase the chances of upward mobility for those of a lower income. Allowing low-density housing such as duplexes not only protects the history of our neighborhoods being affordable, it preserves their character as family-friendly places helping to provide a chance at living the American Dream. Neighborhood character is defined by the people that live there, and by the opportunities that place provides for a better life. The longer we wait to make this critical housing type legal in all neighborhoods, the more we risk losing their character forever.

HOW TO SAY YES

  • The easiest way for you to show your support for this initiative is to email us and join our organization. It’s free, and the more people our movement has behind it, the more powerful our collective voice becomes when we speak to the City or to the Planning Commission. In your email, make the the subject line ‘YES, HOME’ and provide us with your basic details like name and street address. Your address will stay private, but it helps us know where in town our supporters are. We may use your name for petitioning purposes.

  • If you want to take immediate action, alongside joining our movement, go to https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_council and find your City Council representative and email them. Tell them you support missing middle housing and YES! Knoxville’s HOME Initiative to legalize duplexes ‘by right’ everywhere in Knoxville!

  • Want to help us do ground work advocacy? This may involve showing up to neighborhood meetings to explain missing middle housing, it may involve using graphic design skills to design brochures and flyers, it may involve helping us recruit more neighbors to support this initiative. Who knows! But if you want to be directly involved in the HOME Initiative, email us with the subject line ‘HOME TEAM’ and we’ll get in touch!