Less Is More: The Impact of Tiny Home Living on Carbon Emissions and Well Being

Abstract

Tiny Home living serves as an alternative to the standard American lifestyle in which the size of one’s home and their respective consumption patterns are constantly increasing. Understanding consumption habits, well-being, motivations, and carbon emissions of tiny home dwellers is vital to the adoption of tiny home policy and creating affordable housing solutions. The objective of this work is to understand the impact this different lifestyle can have on both an individual’s carbon emissions in addition to their well- being. The study was comprised of a detailed survey to measure subjective well- being, behavior change, and carbon emissions in order to discover the interconnectivity of these factors. The results of this study will contribute to the growing tiny house movement and serves to inform policy makers and stakeholders of the impacts of this evolving trend. Findings from this survey suggest that on average, tiny home living contributes to below average carbon emissions and positively impacts well-being. These results are promising, but further academic research must be done to prove that the tiny home lifestyle movement is feasible and beneficial from a policy standpoint.