A Quiet Revolution: How Accessory Dwelling Units Can Transform Communities
A house with a garage that’s been converted into a backyard cottage. (Source: Sightline Institute on Flickr.)
Backyard cottages — also known as accessory dwelling units or ADUs — provide affordable housing options that adapt to people’s changing needs. Legalizing this form of development can improve residents' quality of life and help families stay connected, all while increasing housing supply and affordability without large-scale disruption to the community.
A family of adult children in Fayetteville, Arkansas, learned this firsthand. When their aging mother was diagnosed with dementia, they faced a difficult choice: place their mother in a sterile, expensive memory care facility or risk her safety as she struggled to maintain her independent life. Not willing to sacrifice her safety or her independence and joy, they created an alternative: They built a backyard cottage on one sibling’s property, creating a modest but dignified space where their mother could live independently for as long as possible.
Familiar surroundings and faces are critical for seniors with memory issues, and this environment allowed their mother to thrive. She could maintain her routines while staying safe and connected to her family, a scenario infinitely preferable to institutional care. Looking back, the family recognized that being able to build a second cottage would have helped even further, providing space for a full-time caretaker to stay in later years.
While building a backyard cottage was the perfect solution for the family, zoning restrictions meant that it was only possible through creative loopholes. The unit had to be connected to the main house and lack a stove to avoid qualifying as a full "dwelling unit." This was a stark reminder that many zoning laws — designed under the guise of maintaining “safe and desirable” neighborhoods — were hamstringing families’ ability to adapt to life’s challenges.
This family’s story became a turning point in the city’s push to reform its restrictive zoning codes. In 2018, Fayetteville legalized two ADUs per lot, as well as eliminating owner-occupancy and parking requirements. Instead of limiting the housing supply, they focused on legislating actual problems — for instance, over-occupancy, illegal parking or noise complaints. Homeowners can now adapt their properties to meet their changing needs, adding a rental unit for extra income, a space for aging parents, a second unit to start a small home business in, or a starter home for a young adult. This flexibility fosters both family stability and broader housing affordability.
The success of these reforms was rooted in a willingness to listen — to hear the stories of families navigating complex challenges and to recognize the systemic barriers they faced. It’s a testament to the power of incremental change and the importance of putting people at the center of planning decisions.
As cities continue to grapple with housing crises, aging populations and shifting family dynamics, these lessons remain deeply relevant. By embracing flexibility, fostering connection and prioritizing human needs, we can build communities that are not just places to live, but places to thrive.
Learn how to bring more housing to your city. “The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform” presents six code reforms that local officials can implement today with the authority they already have. It explains how to implement these reforms and provides real examples of places that have already done so.
Want to go even deeper? Sign up for the spring session of the Accelerator to get coaching from Strong Towns experts. Discuss approaches with other professionals and develop a plan to make your community housing ready.
Alli Thurmond Quinlan is an architect, landscape architect and small infill developer. She is also the acting director of the Incremental Development Alliance.
