200-sq-ft mini mobile studios let artists and entrepreneurs escape out-of-control NYC rents

In New York they say "if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere," but as rents continue to skyrocket, that dream is becoming a distant vision for many. In order to stay afloat, some struggling artists and entrepreneurs have been searching for alternative avenues to foster creativity, such as working from home or in shared co-working spaces. However, one collaborative is on a promising road to curing the plight of the creative class. <a href="http://artbuiltmobilestudios.org/">ArtBuilt Mobile Studios</a>, the brainchild of <a href="http://www.artbuilding.org/">ArtBuilding</a> and <a href="http://www.arthome.org/">ArtHome</a>, is designing and building small mobile workspaces that give artists, startups, and community groups affordable and green spaces to create off-the-grid. See how this <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/resilient-design/">resilient solution</a> could change the landscape of our city as we know it.

<em>Artbuilt co-founder, Esther Robinson</em> <br> </br> Artbuilt is a 200-square foot street-legal trailer, easy enough for users to tow around the city themselves. The tiny studio is energy-efficient, well insulated with integrated heating and cooling, and runs on solar, biodiesel or grid power.

Image via <a href="http://artbuiltmobilestudios.org/">ArtBuilt Mobile Studios</a> They are especially designed to survive in areas susceptible to natural disasters, such as super storms and flooding, an innovative level of resiliency we haven't seen yet.

The thinking behind the tiny, moveable studio is to provide creatives with a place to call their own for very little money, especially when compared to New York's unstoppable rent prices.

One such initiative to utilize an ArtBuilt studio is the <a href="http://peoplespaperco-op.weebly.com/">People's Paper Co-Op</a> (PPC).

The <a href="http://peoplespaperco-op.weebly.com/">People's Paper Co-Op</a> (PPC), an artistic non-profit that teaches formerly incarcerated citizens to transform their criminal records into handmade, cathartic works of art.

PPC's current resident artists proudly represented their artistic works in the 200-square foot mobile studio parked along the Bowery at this year's annual <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/ideas-city/">IDEAS CITY Festival</a>.

The <a href="http://peoplespaperco-op.weebly.com/">People's Paper Co-Op</a> (PPC).

ArtBuilt at the 2015 IDEAS CITY Festival.

If you want to see the latest ArtBuilt exhibit in the flesh, you can attend Artist Matthew Jensen's <a href="http://www.queensmuseum.org/2015/06/the-queens-museum-artbuilt-mobile-studio-residency-program">month-long residency at the Queens Museum</a> in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, now on view through August 16th.