Housing Solutions

I think there may be other ways to deal with the housing crisis that could be more beneficial, at least to the poor, than is our current system.

The main difficulties might come because of lack of knowledge or the unwillingness of some, such as zoning committees and communities, to allow other types of housing in certain areas, and the perception that the best houses are always the ones made of bricks or wood.

Granted, there are some good things about the housing we typically build in America.  Techniques have been perfected for just about every aspect of construction, building houses can generate a lot of money for people who build, buy and sell them, and many of them are very attractive.

Quality of such houses can vary greatly, though, even if they are up-to-code.

I saw what appeared to be some rather shoddy construction in what was supposed to be an up-scale condominium I lived in for part of the time I was in Boston.  Cheap toilets had been put in (there were frequent problems with them), and one of the walls in my room started separating, starting to crack open.

I’m sure the landlady paid a lot of money for the condominium–it looked beautiful.  But it seemed to me that whoever constructed it must have used the cheapest materials to get the maximum profit out of the job.

I’ve noticed that if Americans volunteer to make houses for people in other countries, the kind of housing they build is the kind we usually have here in America.

Is that because the people there want houses like ours, because we think our housing is superior to theirs, or because that’s the only kind we know how to build?

Alternative Housing

I have done quite a bit of reading on alternative types of housing through places like Mother Earth News and books it recommended.

Some of this kind of housing is common in other places and often much less expensive to build than our houses, and many are quite sturdy, too.

Some, such as those made from mixtures of clay and other things (like cement), are fireproof too and relatively maintenance free.

There is more than one kind of house that can be built from clay and water and (sometimes) other kinds of substances.

One of these types of houses was built in England.  Many are still standing today and are just now starting to need major repair, many years later.

They typically last much longer than wooden houses last for us in America before needing repair–they about 400 years, I think the book said, and they naturally provide better insulation against the cold than wooden houses do.

Wiring can be plastered right into the walls so if there is a short in the wires, any fire it might create doesn’t even reach the inside of the house.  You’d have to use a pickax or jackhammer to get through the walls and then just make some more of the clay mixture and plaster it up again when the problems inside the walls were fixed.

These walls are also very insulating against either hot or cold weather when the right thickness of walls is used and when the windows are positioned in the house in the right place in relation to the sun.

Since a form of dirt (clay) is used in the making of the walls, any fire that starts there doesn’t go very far. (Dirt is one thing you can throw on a fire that will help put it out, as you may know.)

When building a house made with a clay mixture, interesting furniture (including beds, bar stools, tables, shelves and couches) can be built right into the walls of the house on the inside, formed out of the same clay mixture as the walls.  Recycled items (doors, pop can tops, or whatever) can also be plastered right into the design of the walls in interesting ways.

I read that certain shapes of houses (such as those with domed-shaped tops) are often more easily passed over by tornados as well (especially if they are made out of a clay mixture, I assume, as that might more closely resemble the dirt in and shape of hills in the countryside).

Arched-shaped doorways hold up far longer than doors with square angles (rectangle shapes like we use) in storms… The ancient Romans were among those who used arched doorways, and some of those arches are still standing.  (The buildings the doorways were in collapsed, but the doorways kept on standing!)

What if we were to use some of the fireproof kinds of houses for rebuilding in places like California, where fires rage out of control every year?  Fewer houses would have to be rebuilt in succeeding years, and it might even be safer to “stay put” during that time of year, as the houses are supposed to be better insulated against heat or cold.  (I couldn’t tell you that for sure, not having lived in one.)

…OR maybe we could create the relatively maintenance-free ones for older folks who have trouble maintaining their houses and roofs without more expense than they can afford to pay out of their limited incomes?  Since furniture can be built right into the walls, everything could be made to the right proportions of the person who lived there.  Instead of trailer parks, they could have a whole bunch of houses in a circle, perhaps joined to a main building in the center. The main building could sponsor senior activities, meal preparation and serving (especially efficient if the residences shared a window with the main building in the center of the circle), and an office, if they wished–similar to a trailer park but a little more cozy.

This might be convenient and inexpensive housing for shut-ins or for people who wanted to live in an assisted living community more inexpensively.

I admit, some of the houses in the pictures I’ve seen look really primitive. I’d bet, though, if enough time and skill was invested in erecting them, they could look pretty nice.

If only one person or family had to do all the work themselves, “primitive” might be a common result. However, some alternative houses are also sculptable (those with clay) and could become an enviable work of art if someone with artistic skills was allowed to help out with the design or plan the structure.

Perhaps we just need to decide on and require certain standards for each kind of house, keeping in mind its good points and bad points, and try to accommodate current trends and needs for beauty and function.

And perhaps there could even be contests for creating the most beautiful and/or functional alternative-style houses, such as the funniest, the most efficient, or whatever.  Small prizes could be awarded and the plans used by the winners could be featured in or sold through magazines or newspapers.

If volunteers could work together to help make alternative (but still sane-looking) kinds of houses for the poor, I know it might be harder to sell existing houses on the market. However, people who can’t afford to buy that kind of house really shouldn’t be buying them anyway.

A lot less money might be needed for loans for these alternative types of housing, and the poor might more easily qualify for them without overall harm to the nation’s economy.  The state of the debt in this country is important, too!

Encouraging the poor to buy homes they cannot afford is not the answer.

Part of our problem in this country is the over-extension of our credit and our debts, individual and national, is it not?

It does seem to me that the poor aren’t really considered citizens, on some level, until they have a    residence of some kind.  In other words, not homeless.

Consider what we require of people looking for jobs:  if a job applicant sends out resumes, he or she needs to include an address and phone number to which employers can respond.

The homeless have even more difficulty becoming contributing citizens if there isn’t a viable way for them to having housing of some kind.  Even rent is out of the financial reach of the poor in some places, even if they have full-time–but low-paying–jobs.

We might need to help them get what they need in a way that also helps our country.

I think there might be other ways to deal with a housing crisis as well, and there are others with a lot more expertise in this area than I have.

And see what happens when government tries to force the market to provide for the needs of our country in the wrong way…