In the morning, Armani Turner heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. He makes his bed and tidies up—he likes his area to be neat. Gets dressed. If he’s got some food, he might have a quick breakfast. But, usually, he’s rushing. He goes to Laney College, a community college in Oakland, and doesn’t want to be late to class. His routine sounds typical, but where he’s doing that routine is far from ordinary.
Turner lives in a “Pocket House,” a prototype tiny home built by his fellow students at Laney. It sits on top of a 16-foot trailer bed in the parking lot of the West Side Baptist Church in West Oakland.