On a chilly September afternoon, two dozen Bozeman residents crowded onto a Streamline bus... to look at other people's homes. It’s an small but clear example of the interest - or anxiety - that many people in Bozeman feel about the city's lack of housing, especially affordable housing.

As part of an effort to tackle its housing crisis, Bozeman led a city-wide Affordable Housing Tour to look at potential housing solutions such as tiny homes.

The city says Monday's two-hour tour was a chance to give Bozeman residents an idea of what options are currently available for homeowners and renters, what's still in development, and the problems the city is facing to combat the housing crisis; a crisis that, for many in Bozeman, is a harsh daily reality.

Cathy Costakis, who took Monday's tour, has lived in Bozeman for more than 25 years, and she has had a front row seat to Bozeman's housing market explosion. Costakis is the landlord for a small townhome, and she worries the housing crisis may end up destroying the Bozeman she loves.

“I’m just very worried that the only people that are going to be able to live here," explained Costakis, "are the people that have a lot of money or people that have places for one or two weeks out of the year and then they’re not here for the rest of the time... what kind of place is that, you know? It’s not a community that I really want to live in, and I think we can do better than that in Bozeman.”

One possible solution are the experimental “Humble Homes” on 24th and Beall Street. The two tiny homes fit onto the size of one normal lot. The smaller home, a 300+ square-foot home notable for its exterior wood and corrugated metal siding, will sell for $140,000. The larger 600-square-foot home that reportedly already has a buyer, will go for $174,000.

Bozeman's or Human Resource Development Council led the tiny house project. They believe that for Bozeman to flourish, organizations need to work together.

"It has to take efforts from nonprofits, it takes effort from the city, and it takes effort from market-rate builders and developers," explains Brian Guyer, a Community Development Manager for HRDC. "The vibrancy of Bozeman really does depend on a diversified housing stock and it takes all three of those groups working on it to really address that."

Bozeman officials also introduced an exciting new option that they're working on in collaboration with Montana State University for current Bozeman homeowners. The project could potentially give homeowners the chance to build rental units in their own backyards, with planning assistance from the city.

The two hour tour was the first of its kind, but officials say they might consider more tours if the public was interested.