The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is building a small, modular home on its Evansville campus to demonstrate how the tiny housing model could make independent living accessible for people of all ages and abilities. It’s part of a larger effort aimed at creating a cultural transformation related to aging in a community. The home’s small size is a selling point for people unable to maintain a larger dwelling as they age and help them remain independent. Dr. Bill Thomas, a geriatrician and national expert on aging partnering in the project, envisions a pod-like village of such “Minkas” with older people living within a community instead of being sequestered in nursing homes.

This article appears in the November 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.