What is That Smell?

I refer to myself as an off site ADU guy. I live in Denver and my company, Verdant Living, specializes in ADUs; all our units are built in a factory.

Today, I want to discuss the name  “ADU” – accessory dwelling unit.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.”

         William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2

Gül (Turkish)

Ward/Warda (Arabic)

Gulab (Hindu/Urdu)

Accessory Dwelling Units – ADUs – are a sweet solution to a host of problems, but the name stinks.

A…D…U…

Sounds like something a faceless bureaucrat thought of while toiling away in a windowless office. When people hear the term, there is no visceral feel as to what it means.

 And it is boring.

It should invoke the joy of living small, but doesn’t.

ADUs have been around a long time. In the classic TV show Happy Days, Fonzie lived in one (above the Cunningham’s garage). ADUs  haven’t been favored by local zoning regulations, but the need for affordable housing alternatives, combined with changing attitudes about acceptable living situations, they are becoming widely approved. How should we talk about them and help people understand the option?

Kol Peterson is a nationally known authority on ADUs (https://www.buildinganadu.com ). In an index to his book, Backyard Revolution, he lists 65 names for ADUs he has seen. A few examples:

-       Several using the word “accessory” are equally sterile and non descriptive.

-       Several using the word “alley’ conjure up visions of a dumpster.

-       Backyard cottage, at least that says where it is.

-       Carriage house or coach house, for those still using horse drawn conveyances.

-       Granny flat, and the like. Hey, what about Granpa? And my anti ageism friend Janine Vanderburg  (https://encoreroadmap.com ) might be not appreciate the stereotype.

-       Infill housing, sort of like a landfill

-       Sidekick, for your buddy on a horse

-       Grand Retreat… pluezzze…

-       Several use the words “second” or “secondary”, why not just call it number two?

-       Multigenerational home, a mouthful, but I guess it might satisfy the politically correct crowd.

There are a few decent ones, like: bungalow or casita (assuming Spanish works).  One I like isn’t on the list: mini home; I first saw that on the Fading West website (https://www.fadingwest.com ), a modular manufacturer in Buena Vista Colorado. Another one I like, and may be the best alternative, is additional dwelling unit. I have seen that once, in a news story about a community in California.

I once challenged a group of my business associates to come up with names. Other than being humorous (and/or unprintable), they were not any better.

Of course, none of the names “smells” right; none does it justice or really reflects the variety of situations where ADUs can be useful. Kol Peterson said we should just stick with ADU. Even though most folks don’t understand the term, we are stuck with it. Oh well.

The term “modular” has similar problems.