Jam-packed with waterfalls tumbling through dramatic gorges, the vibrant college town of Ithaca in New York’s Finger Lakes region also has the cultural landscape of a much larger destination.

These three neighborhoods of tiny houses show what’s possible to build quickly when towns don’t have overly restrictive zoning. On Main Street in the village of Freeville, New York, on a 2.8 ...

On Main Street in the village of Freeville, New York, on a 2.8-acre lot where a dilapidated single-family house once stood, there are now a dozen tiny storybook-like cottages surrounded by the ...