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===Notes=== | ===Notes=== | ||
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== A letter from a volunteer in Papua New Guinea == | |||
(This was moved from the category namespace... but maybe it should be an article) | |||
There are housing problems everywhere, in industrialized as well as developing countries. In Jakarta, Manila, Mexico City, and Calcutta millions of squatters camp indefinitely in structures made of cardboard, sheet plastic and flattened cans, on strips of land beside canals and railways, sometimes even in the shadows of high-rise "low-cost" housing. In the urban United States, the great majority of homeowners could not afford to purchase the homes they live in today if they had to do so at today's prices. In these and countless other urbanizing areas, the cost of a place to live is rapidly outstripping the ability of ordinary people to pay. Inflation of land values triggered by the growth of gigantic urban centers is one factor. The cost of energy intensive manufactured building materials, which inevitably rises faster than the other costs of living, is another. | |||
In developing countries, the amount of attention and resources that public works administrations and development assistance agencies devote to housing is probably second only to that devoted to water supply. And the history of housing projects, like that of water supply projects, is largely a history of disappointments worldwide. In Housing by People (this section), John Turner notes that, | |||
" ... it is common for public agencies to build houses or flats to standards which the majority cannot afford, nor can the country possibly subsidize them on a large scale. On top of this, it is not unusual for governments to prohibit private building of the type of housing the vast majority can afford and are satisfied with." | |||
Turner argues that governments should not provide houses built to arbitrary specifications, but should instead make building codes more flexible and provide opportunities for secure access to land. An appropriate housing strategy would rely on a community's initiative, thrift, and ability to organize and turn local resources.to advantage to meet the basic human need of shelter. Many of the entries in this section provide illustrations and documentation of the power and validity of this approach. | |||
(Thanks to David Bartecchi of Village Earth for some of the above content.) | |||
Revision as of 11:21, 12 August 2009
Some potentially useful background stuff that was behind the category as of the datestamp at the end of this note: --CurtB 21:50, 11 February 2007 (PST)
Construction and materials
- Alternative building[1]
- Bamboo • Cordwood • Earthquake safety • Earthship • Ferrocement • Living roof • Papercrete • Strawbale • Tires
- Earthen construction
- Adobe • Bajareche • Cobb • Earth bags • Earthen oven • Earthen plaster • Living roof • Rammed earth • Stone and brick • Wattle and daub
- Bioplastic • Hemp • Lechugilla • Smartwood
- Vermiculture • Pit • Spinning barrel
- Fluid dynamics • Solid dynamics • Solid statics
Natural capital
Supplies
Surveying
Notes
- ↑ Alternative building needs to be a redirect to Construction, or a subcat
A letter from a volunteer in Papua New Guinea
(This was moved from the category namespace... but maybe it should be an article)
There are housing problems everywhere, in industrialized as well as developing countries. In Jakarta, Manila, Mexico City, and Calcutta millions of squatters camp indefinitely in structures made of cardboard, sheet plastic and flattened cans, on strips of land beside canals and railways, sometimes even in the shadows of high-rise "low-cost" housing. In the urban United States, the great majority of homeowners could not afford to purchase the homes they live in today if they had to do so at today's prices. In these and countless other urbanizing areas, the cost of a place to live is rapidly outstripping the ability of ordinary people to pay. Inflation of land values triggered by the growth of gigantic urban centers is one factor. The cost of energy intensive manufactured building materials, which inevitably rises faster than the other costs of living, is another.
In developing countries, the amount of attention and resources that public works administrations and development assistance agencies devote to housing is probably second only to that devoted to water supply. And the history of housing projects, like that of water supply projects, is largely a history of disappointments worldwide. In Housing by People (this section), John Turner notes that,
" ... it is common for public agencies to build houses or flats to standards which the majority cannot afford, nor can the country possibly subsidize them on a large scale. On top of this, it is not unusual for governments to prohibit private building of the type of housing the vast majority can afford and are satisfied with."
Turner argues that governments should not provide houses built to arbitrary specifications, but should instead make building codes more flexible and provide opportunities for secure access to land. An appropriate housing strategy would rely on a community's initiative, thrift, and ability to organize and turn local resources.to advantage to meet the basic human need of shelter. Many of the entries in this section provide illustrations and documentation of the power and validity of this approach.
(Thanks to David Bartecchi of Village Earth for some of the above content.)