Category Archives: Cities

All last week I’ve been home from work with a pinched nerve in my back.  Ugh. Also OW! I’m taking a prescription that will help alleviate the nerve pain, but it takes 2 weeks to work, so in the meantime I’m relying on my old standbys, extra-strength Advil and whining.

However I have been rising from my bed of pain and inconvenience to do the exercises my physiotherapist assigned me, and to pack some boxes of things we are putting into deep storage — the storage space we have rented to put things we won’t need for our temporary home during the build phase.  These things include three decorative teapots, some of the dozens of mugs we have managed to accumulate, “plain” martini glasses we bought for our yearly martini parties (from the dollar store, cheaper than renting!), a set of lager glasses (drink from the bottle!), and flower vases (no frou-frous at the temporary place!).

Then yesterday, DH picked up the van he had reserved from ZipCars and doing all the (literally) heavy lifting, managed to fill the entire thing and then regurgitate its contents into the storage space.  I stood by and gave him the benefit of my opinion.  We also made a stop at the bike repair shop where he is getting his old, classic bike reconditioned, and some side trips to the transfer station, then to some recycling depots when we found the transfer station would not take old tires or old paint (who knew?).

And now our condo storage space is empty and ready for more packed boxes.

We thought it would take two hours, it took four. Luckily, DH was able to extend the reservation on the van on the spot with his cell phone.  Also unlock and lock the van with his cell phone.

When DH was using his cell phone to unlock the van, he stood beside the van, the signal travelled up to a satellite, then back down to the van he was standing beside.  It’s funny to think of that.

But that made me think of this:

It’s a picture of Vancouver, taken from the ISS by our own Canadian satellite jockey, Chris Hadfield.  I joked to a friend that I could see my house — but you know, I can!  It’s easy to pick out which main streets are which, and work out approximately where our building is.

It’s my dream that someday our little laneway will nestle in a neighbourhood of similar homes….up and down the lane.  It’s also my dream that until that happens, our fellow laneway owners will gather together in a “virtual” neighbourhood online, and I hope that any lane dwellers will get in touch with me to see if that can come about.

However, there is already a neighbourhood of homes of 500 to 800 square feet each — in Toronto.

According to this story from Spacing (thanks for the link, Colleen!)

Craven Road was once known as Erie Terrace, but before that, these lots that now house tiny buildings were attached to the back of properties on Ashdale Avenue — properties that used to extend back from the road over 140 feet. Ridout says those who lived in the houses gave people materials to build places at the back of their lots. When there was a dispute over whose land belonged to whom around 1910, the City stepped in, expropriated the land, and created a tiny road between the houses on Ashdale and the rear lots.

These homes remain, and are being cared for by their owners.

They are charmers, aren’t they?  And the homes that are being built in the neighbourhood continue the style and grace of the originals.

Another common trait of the road is construction. Many people who have moved into tiny houses on the tiny street have decided to tear down their houses completely and start over from the ground up. With small lots, there isn’t a lot of room for expansion, but some architects have taken it upon themselves as a personal challenge to create the most innovative, modern, desirable designs despite the restrictions. Other people simply choose to add another floor on top of their house.

But the thing that makes this neighbourhood truly stand out is the sense of community among its inhabitants.

 The one thing that hasn’t changed about the neighbourhood is that some strange force exists between the people who live on Craven Road, holding them together, as though the fact they all live in similar sized houses makes them more than just neighbours, but instant friends. The term “Tiny House Society” has even been thrown around, effectively making everyone on Craven members of the exclusive group. The voices of people saying hello and speaking with one another is common background music while walking down the street.

I’m not sure how a virtual neighbourhood would work….we couldn’t make it exclusive — no passwords or secret handshakes — but friendly and open.

Any idea on where to start?