Homelessness & Incremental Housing Toolkit


Completion Date: Spring 2024

Project Details: 

Homelessness is a complex issue but at its core it is a housing problem. CNE worked with local organizations to develop a toolkit to address some of the housing specific issues.


Through our research we found the majority of people experiencing homelessness are singles living alone with minimal support needs. While there will always be people that do not fit this description, a housing strategy that focuses on the majority can free up more resources for the minority with the highest amount of support needed.


This document provides a series of prototypes that can flexibly adapt to local condition and needs in Chattanooga. No matter the type, all of our PSH housing aims to meet the following criteria: small, proximate, private, and dignified. 


View the toolkit.

Cover for
2022 Chattanooga Food Map for Oak Grove, an aerial view of the area with store locations color-coded for services.
By Chelsea Smith September 19, 2025
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Oak Grove Neighborhood Plan cover. Tan background with oak branch sketch. Text: Oak Grove Neighborhood Plan, Summer 2023.
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Cover for Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise platform: text over houses,
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Group of people, some wearing vests, stand outside two houses on a grassy lot.
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Family stands in front of a small house with an American flag. The house is tan with a porch.
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Modern apartment building with light brick base, metal siding, and balconies. Blue sky overhead.
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Aerial view of four similar two-story houses with front porches, trees, and buildings in the background.
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Aerial view of a residential neighborhood with houses, apartment buildings, trees, and a road.
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CNE adds density to the Ridgedale neioghborhood by adding two sixplex prototypes along with single family homes on Union Avenue. Learn more.
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