In this engaging essay, Donna Stepien and Ignacio Villa share their experiences and lessons learned in using shipping containers to build a very small home on a vacant lot in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood. Filled with practical details about design choices, sustainability strategies, permitting issues, and the pros and cons of being your own general contractor, their report will be of value to anyone interested in sustainable housing, vacant lot redevelopment, tiny houses, shipping-container structures, or life in a post-industrial city.