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When Jacki Pederson moved from her native Seattle to Milwaukee – the hometown of her wife, developer Melony Pederson – she couldn’t believe how many duplexes there were here.

Instead of the single-family homes, two-flats and triplexes that make up much of Milwaukee’s neighborhoods, medium-density housing along Jacki’s West Coast looks more like little houses in the backyards of homes or flats above garages in which family members or a renter can reside.

These households are known by many names depending on the region – carriage houses, secondary suites, granny flats, Polish flats, casitas – but planners call them accessory dwelling units. ADUs essentially achieve the same effect as duplexes, albeit in a form relatively uncommon

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