Text II
Are shipping containers the future of affordable
housing?
Millions of people need homes. Millions of
shipping containers are going unused. Could this be
an answer to the global housing crisis? Cleveland
Containers explore further.
England is facing a housing crisis. According
to housing charity Shelter, more than 50,000
households a year are being forced out of their homes,
and there are more than 9 million renters in unsecure
rented accommodations.
The situation is shaky even for those who own
their own homes. 28,900 homes were repossessed
across the UK in 2013.
But this situation isn't unique to England.
House prices are soaring across the world, which is
placing home ownership out of reach for millions.
And that's just in the developed world. Around 850
million people are currently living in “informal
settlements”. In numerous rapidly urbanising cities,
the average housing costs can be up to 200% of the
net monthly income.
There is no single explanation as to why the
world's facing a housing crisis, and there's no easy
answer for how to solve it. But one major factor is a
general dearth of good quality, affordable housing.
Many developments in the housing market are
focused on constructing high-end units that are
expensive to build and out of the price range of most.
This needs to change.
Desperate times often call for radical
Solutions. One thing the world isn't lacking is shipping
containers. There may be up to 40 million shipping containers in the world right now, and experts believe
that only six million are currently in use.
Who'd live in a shipping Container?
Shipping containers are built to be strong,
secure and practical. These are all sound benefits for
storage and mass transit, but do they make for
comfortable accommodation?
The idea of living in a shipping Container
might strike some as odd, unfeasible, impractical and
maybe even a little unappealing. But it's important to
think of shipping containers not as finished products,
but as raw materiais - as exoskeletons for future
homes.
Because, really, there's no end to what you can
do with a shipping Container. They can easily be
insulated and fitted with Windows, doors, indoor
partitions, electricity and running water - everything
that's needed for human inhabitation. A single
shipping Container can be transformed into a cosy
dwelling in no time at all. But if more space is
needed, you can just stack multiple containers on top
of each other.
And if you're really wondering whether people
would be comfortable living in converted shipping
containers, just consider the great reaction that greets
shipping containers converted for retail use. They're
thought of as cool, hip and quirky. When used as
affordable housing, it's no stretch to say that many
won't think of shipping containers as a last resort, so
much as actively desirable.
(Abridged and adapted from
https://www.openaccessgovemment.org)
