Housing - Shelter - Buildings

House is a structure that provides shelter, privacy, and protection from danger or bad weather. A place where people are cared for. A dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families. Relating to or being where one lives or where one's roots are. Structures collectively in which people are housed. A social unit living together. Place where something began and flourished. A home should be an energy generator and not just an energy user.

Housing Failures - Foreclosures - Big 5 Needs - More is Not Always Better



Home is a dwelling-place used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for an individual, family, household or several families in a tribe. It is often a house, apartment, or other building, or alternatively a mobile home, houseboat, yurt or any other portable shelter. A principle of constitutional law in many countries, related to the right to privacy enshrined in article 12 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights is the inviolability of the home as an individual's place of shelter and refuge. Homes typically provide areas and facilities for sleeping, preparing food, eating and hygiene. Larger groups may live in a nursing home, children's home, convent or any similar institution. A homestead also includes agricultural land and facilities for domesticated animals. Where more secure dwellings are not available, people may live in the informal and sometimes illegal shacks found in slums and shanty towns. More generally, "home" may be considered to be a geographic area, such as a town, village, suburb, city, or country. Transitory accommodation in a treatment facility for a few weeks is not normally considered permanent enough to replace a more stable location as 'home'. In 2005, 100 million people worldwide were estimated to be Homeless.

Housing is ensuring that members of society have a home in which to live, whether this is a house, or some other kind of dwelling, lodging, or shelter. House types (wiki).

Affordable Housing - Green Building - Multi-Family

Domicile is the residence where you have your permanent home or principal establishment and to where, whenever you are absent, you intend to return; every person is compelled to have one and only one domicile at a time. Housing that someone is living in. Make one's home in a particular place or community.

Residence is a place or a building used as a home or dwelling.

Dwelling is housing that someone is living in. Dwelling is a self-contained unit of accommodation used by one or more households as a home - such as a house, apartment, mobile home, houseboat, vehicle, or other "substantial" structure.

Accommodate is to be agreeable or acceptable to something new. To make fit for something new, or change to suit a new purpose. To make one thing compatible with another thing. Provide someone with something desired or needed. Provide a service or a favor for someone. To provide housing or a room for someone.

Lodging refers to the renting of a short-term dwelling. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, shower, food, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions. Lodging is a form of the sharing economy. Lodging is done in a hotel, motel, hostel, inn or hostal, a private home (commercial, i.e. a bed and breakfast, a guest house, a vacation rental, or non-commercially, as in certain homestays or in the home of friends), in a tent, caravan/campervan (often on a campsite). Lodgings may be self-catering, whereby no food is provided, but cooking facilities are available. Lodging is offered by an owner of real property or a leasehold estate, including the hotel industry, hospitality industry, real estate investment trusts, and owner-occupancy houses. Lodging can be facilitated by an intermediary such as a travel website.

Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership. An example of renting is equipment rental. Renting can be an example of the sharing economy.

Apartment is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies only part of a building, generally on a single storey. There are many names for these overall buildings, see below. The housing tenure of apartments also varies considerably, from large-scale public housing, to owner occupancy within what is legally a condominium (strata title or commonhold), to tenants renting from a private landlord (see leasehold estate).  Flat vs Apartment (wiki).

Condominium is a type of living space similar to an apartment but independently sellable and therefore regarded as real estate.

Owner-Occupancy is a form of housing tenure where a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. This home can be house, like a single-family house, an apartment, condominium, or a housing cooperative. In addition to providing housing, owner-occupancy also functions as a real estate investment.

Quest for Home Ownership turns Dreams into Nightmares (youtube) - Predatory Rent to Own Home Programs. Because rent-to-own real estate contracts are flexible open-source documents, there is room for scammers to take advantage of unprepared tenants. Rent-to-own proponents recommend consulting licensed realtors and/or real estate lawyers for every step throughout your transaction for your safety. Rent to Own Homes.

Lease agreement is a contract between two parties, the lessor and the lessee. The lessor is the legal owner of the asset; the lessee obtains the right to use the asset in return for regular rental payments. The lessee also agrees to abide by various conditions regarding their use of the property or equipment. For example, a person leasing a car may agree that the car will only be used for personal use. The narrower term rental agreement can be used to describe a lease in which the asset is tangible property. Language used is that the user rents the land or goods let out or rented out by the owner. The verb to lease is less precise because it can refer to either of these actions. Examples of a lease for intangible property are use of a computer program (similar to a license, but with different provisions), or use of a radio frequency (such as a contract with a cell-phone provider). The term rental agreement is also sometimes used to describe a periodic lease agreement (most often a month-to-month lease) internationally and in some regions of the United States. Evictions.

Castle Doctrine is a legal doctrine that designates a person's abode or any legally occupied place (for example, a vehicle or home) as a place in which that person has protections and immunities permitting one, in certain circumstances, to use force (up to and including deadly force) to defend oneself against an intruder, free from legal prosecution for the consequences of the force used. The term is most commonly used in the United States, though many other countries (see below) invoke comparable principles in their laws. A person may have a duty to retreat to avoid violence if one can reasonably do so. Castle doctrines lessen the duty to retreat when an individual is assaulted within one's own home. Deadly force may either be justified, the burdens of production and proof for charges impeded, or an affirmative defense against criminal homicide applicable, in cases "when the actor reasonably fears imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm to him or herself or another". The castle doctrine is not a defined law that can be invoked, but a set of principles which may be incorporated in some form in many jurisdictions. Castle doctrines may not provide civil immunity, such as from wrongful death suits, which have a much lower burden of proof. Justifiable homicide in self-defense which happens to occur inside one's home is distinct, as a matter of law, from castle doctrine because the mere occurrence of trespassing—and occasionally a subjective requirement of fear—is sufficient to invoke the castle doctrine, the burden of proof of fact is much less challenging than that of justifying a homicide in self-defense. With justifiable homicide in self-defense, one generally must objectively prove to a trier of fact, against all reasonable doubt, the intent in the intruder's mind to commit violence or a felony. It would be a misconception of law to infer that because a state has a justifiable homicide in self-defense provision pertaining to one's domicile, it has a castle doctrine protecting the estate and exonerating any duty whatsoever to retreat therefrom. The doctrine can be misused as a pretext for extrajudicial punishment in private spaces. The use of this legal principle in the United States has been controversial in relation to a number of cases in which it has been invoked, including the deaths of Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori and Scottish businessman Andrew de Vries. Trespassing.

A Man's Home is His Castle. What more sacred, what more strongly guarded by every holy feeling, than a man's own home? And the law of England has so particular and tender a regard to the immunity of a man's house, that it stiles it his castle, and will never suffer it to be violated with immunity.

Home is where the Heart is is a saying that states that your home will always be the place for which you feel the deepest affection, no matter where you are.

Home Is Where The Heart Is - Elvis Presley (youtube) - Home is where the heart is, And my heart is anywhere you are, Anywhere you are is home. I don't need a mansion on a hill, That overlooks the sea, Anywhere you're with me is home. Maybe I'm a rolling stone, Who won't amount to much, But everything that I hold dear, Is close enough to touch. For home is where the heart is, And my heart is anywhere you are, Anywhere you are is home, Home, home, home, home.

Phenomenology is an aspect of philosophy researching into the experience of built space, and as shorthand for architectural phenomenology, a historical architectural movement.

Sustainable Building - Sustainable Habitat

Smart Homes - Windows

Location (safe places to build) - Orientation

Development (land-city) - Building a Home - DIY

Brick Houses (Building Blocks) - Domes

Prefab Homes - Mobility - Emergency Shelters - Shipping Containers

Tiny Homes - Small Homes

Homeless - No Shelter - No Place to Live

Homelessness is defined as living in housing that is below the minimum standard or lacks secure tenure. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: living on the streets (primary homelessness); moving between temporary shelters, including houses of friends, family and emergency accommodation (secondary homelessness); living in private boarding houses without a private bathroom and/or security of tenure (tertiary homelessness. Evictions.

Homeless (hidden homeless) - Social Services - Cooperatives - Affordable Housing

Invisible homeless are the millions of people who are sleeping on couches and are in temporary living arrangements with friends or families.

Empty Homes Outnumber the Homeless 6 To 1. There are 6 empty homes for every homeless person in America, so homelessness is not a housing shortage. Rents are increasing but incomes have not increased. City's spend millions of dollars on incarcerating homeless people and harassing the homeless when it would be a lot cheaper and less expensive just to provide housing for the homeless. City managers allow developers to keep building expensive housing and they also allow rents to increase, which causes more people to become homeless. Cities are not building enough affordable housing units, which is criminal. 3.5 Million Americans are Homeless and 600,000 Americans can experience homelessness on any given night.

Why do towns and services define Chronic Homelessness as a person who has been homeless for at least a year? There are still hundreds of homeless people in those communities who do not meet that criteria, so why are some people considered to be housed, when in fact they are still homeless? Towns are Cherry-Picking Data in the same way that other criminals do, and for the same reasons, to get money and to trick and fool people.

Normal Guy Goes Homeless (youtube) - I left my car wallet and phone in a storage unit in New Orleans to see if it is possible for an average American to work their way out of homelessness in a city they are unfamiliar with. This video is a video journal of my time spent on the streets in the French Quarter of New Orleans and my efforts.

Low-Barrier Shelter means to accept people as they are and provide a safe, warm place of shelter for those who may have no other option. While some shelters may require a homeless neighbor to be sober or pass a drug test, low-barrier does not. Interventions.

Renovate - Reuse - Restore

Renovation is the process of improving a broken, damaged, or outdated structure. Renovations are typically either commercial or residential. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, or bringing something back to life and can apply in social contexts. For example, a community can be renovated if it is strengthened and revived or healed.

Restore - Retrofit - Repurpose (reuse) - Replacement and Modernization - Maintenance

Restoration is the upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a restoration project. Culture. Environment Restoration.

Home Improvement is upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC). Upgrading rooms with luxuries, such as adding gourmet features to a kitchen or a hot tub spa to a bathroom. Increasing the capacity of plumbing and electrical systems. Waterproofing basements. Soundproofing rooms, especially bedrooms and baths. Maintenance projects can include: Roof tear-off and replacement. Concrete and masonry repairs to the foundation and chimney. Repainting rooms, walls or fences. Repairing plumbing and electrical systems. Additional living space may be added by: Turning marginal areas into livable spaces such as turning basements into rec-rooms, home theaters, or home offices – or attics into spare bedrooms. Extending one's house with rooms added to the side of one's home or, sometimes, extra levels to the original roof. Saving energy and reduce utility costs with: Energy-efficient thermal insulation, replacement windows, and lighting. Renewable energy with biomass pellet stoves, wood-burning stoves, solar panels, wind turbines, programmable thermostats, and geothermal exchange heat pumps (see autonomous building). Emergency preparedness safety measures such as: Home fire and burglar alarm systems. Fire sprinkler systems to protect homes from fires. Security doors, windows, and shutters. Storm cellars as protection from tornadoes and hurricanes. Backup generators for providing power during power outages.

Modernize is to Adapt something to modern needs or habits, typically by installing modern equipment or adopting modern ideas or methods. Advance - Develop - City.

Upgrade is to Improve what was Old or Outdated to a Higher Quality. Sustainable.

Revive is to give new life or energy to something. To restore from a depressed, inactive, or unused state. To be brought back to life or to regain consciousness or strength. Rehabilitation.

Harvard's newly completed 'HouseZero' was designed to take existing architecture and upgrade it with 100% natural ventilation, 100% natural daylight and zero carbon emissions. Zero-Energy retrofit House is designed to interact with the seasons and environment, sometimes rapidly adjusting itself to achieve comfort for its occupants without using powered HVAC systems. The home uses a “window actuation system” that relies upon software and room sensors to automatically open and shut windows as the outside temperature changes, intelligently moving air around the home to make it cooler or warmer (through cross ventilation and convection). This process is also driven by a “solar vent” in the basement. Harvard HouseZero Animation (youtube).

U.S. buildings contribute around 40 percent of the country’s energy consumption, with housing responsible for nearly a quarter of that use, the department reported. Property owners reportedly dish out over $230 billion per year on heating, cooling and powering its 113.6 million homes.

Home Repair involves the diagnosis and resolution of problems in a home, and is related to home maintenance to avoid such problems.

Home Front Program is a community-based, volunteer-driven home repair program that provides FREE repairs to low-income homeowners, thus enabling them to remain in their homes with an improved quality of life. Currently serving Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven Counties in Connecticut; and Westchester County, New York. (800) 887-4673.

Repair is to restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken. The act of putting something in working order again.

Electronics Right to Repair refers to government legislation that is intended to allow consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer electronic devices, where otherwise the manufacturer of such devices require the consumer to use only their offered services or void the product's warranty. Eric Lundgren (wiki) - DIY electric car made recycled parts has 380 mile range.

Repair Café is a meeting in which people repair household electrical and mechanical devices, computers, bicycles, clothing, etc. They are organized by and for local residents. Repair cafés are held at a fixed location where tools are available and where they can fix their broken goods with the help of volunteers. Its objectives are to reduce waste, to maintain repair skills and to strengthen social cohesion.

Owner's Manual is an instructional book or booklet that is supplied with almost all technologically advanced consumer products such as vehicles, home appliances and computer peripherals. DIY Resources.

Factory Service Manuals are the manuals provided by manufacturers which cover the servicing, maintenance, and repair of their products. I Fix it (wiki)

Fix is to restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken. The act of putting something in working order again. To make something ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use or event. Cause to be firmly attached or set or place definitely so as to be stable or stationary. Decide upon definitely. To give a value.

Patch is a repair by adding pieces or mending by putting a patch on something. A small contrasting part of something or a piece of cloth used as decoration or to mend or cover a hole. Sewing that repairs a worn or torn hole in a garment. A piece of soft material that covers and protects an injured part of the body. To join or unite the pieces of.

Disrepair is something that needs to be repaired because it's worn out, broken or old and in poor working condition due to neglect.

Beyond Repair is something that is broken and unsalvageable to such an extent that repair and fixing is not possible and not worth the time and effort. Something that is not worth rescuing. Something that should be discarded and replaced with something newer or replaced with something that is in better condition.

Reconstruction era was the period from 1863 to 1877 in American history that attempted a transformation of the 11 ex-Confederate states from 1863 to 1877. Three visions of Civil War memory appeared during Reconstruction: the reconciliationist vision, which was rooted in coping with the death and devastation the war had brought; the white supremacist vision, which included terror and violence; and the emancipationist vision, which sought full freedom, citizenship, and Constitutional equality for African Americans. Society Collapse.

Part Select appliance parts, lawn equipment parts and consumer electronic parts. We have over 2 million repair parts and carry all major brands.

Home Advisor (find contractors)

Home Inspection - Analyzing Building Performance

Maintenance

Concierge is a caretaker of an apartment complex or a small hotel, typically one living on the premises. A hotel employee whose job is to assist guests by arranging tours, making theater and restaurant reservations, etc. An employee of an apartment building, hotel, or office building. A modern concierge may also serve as a personal lifestyle manager, like a secretary or an adjutant.

Homes make Popping or Pinging Noises and creaking sounds as they adjust to temperature changes which causes materials to expand or contract. Thermal expansion causes strain on the joints and fasteners, producing all sorts of sounds, especially in wood. As the building begins to cool back down, the reverse happens, sometimes causing just as much noise as the long members begin to contract back down to their original size and the joints begin to tighten back up. Same thing happens in metal water pipes. When a material is heated, the kinetic energy of that material increases and its atoms and molecules move about more. This means that each atom will take up more space due to its movement so the material will expand. Some metals expand more than others due to differences in the forces between the atoms or molecules. The inelastic collision (loss of kinetic energy) causes the metal to vibrate. This vibration is transferred into the air, creating a pressure (sound) wave our ears register as sound. Some of the vibration goes into warming up the metal and the air, as the vibration increases the temperature of each. Elastic Collision is an encounter between two bodies in which the total kinetic energy of the two bodies remains the same. In an ideal, perfectly elastic collision, there is no net conversion of kinetic energy into other forms such as heat, noise, or potential energy.

Location (where to build) - Orientation (maximize free energy)

Domicile Law is the status or attribution of being a lawful permanent resident in a particular jurisdiction. A person can remain domiciled in a jurisdiction even after he has left it, if he has maintained sufficient links with that jurisdiction or has not displayed an intention to leave permanently (i.e. if that person has moved to a different state but has not yet formed an intention to remain there indefinitely).Traditionally many common law jurisdictions considered a person's domicile to be a determinative factor in the conflict of laws and would, for example, only recognize a divorce conducted in another jurisdiction if at least one of the parties were domiciled there at the time it was conducted.

Property is something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone. A construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished.

Affordable Housing - Fair Housing

Subsidized Housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. Forms of subsidies include direct housing subsidies, non-profit housing, public housing, rent supplements, and some forms of co-operative and private sector housing. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housing." There is scientific research suggesting that actions to facilitate people's access to housing contribute to lower poverty. Giving Mortgage Assistance mostly benefits landlords like bailouts. Affordable Housing and Free Education is more sustainable and fair. Intelligent Building Design.

Public Housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing affordable housing. Social housing can also be seen as a potential remedy to housing inequality. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty and other criteria for allocation vary within different contexts.

Fair Housing Act is a federal act in the United States intended to protect the buyer or renter of a dwelling from seller or landlord discrimination. Its primary prohibition makes it unlawful to refuse to sell, rent to, or negotiate with any person because of that person's inclusion in a protected class. The goal is a unitary housing market in which a person's background (as opposed to financial resources) does not arbitrarily restrict access. Calls for open housing were issued early in the twentieth century, but it was not until after World War II that concerted efforts to achieve it were undertaken.

Affordable Housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a median household income.

Wealth Barriers - Gentrification

Affordable Housing is undefined. We should have Intelligent Housing. Housing not based on income, but output. It's not where or how you get your money, but more importantly, it's the measurable benefits from the services you provide. Evictions.

500,000 are homeless and live on the streets on any given night in America. There are only three non-gentrifying neighborhoods in New York City. Around 270,000 homes are Torn Down Annually in the U.S.. Nearly 128 million residential housing units existed in the U.S. in 2007. Approximately 7.188 million new housing units were built between 2005 and 2009.

Affordable Housing Alliance
Affordable Housing
Housing Affordability Gap
Elderly Housing Assistance Programs (PDF)
Affordable Housing (PDF)
Affordable Housing (PDF)
Low-Income Housing (PDF)
Affordable Housing and Senior Housing is not the same thing
Information for Senior Citizens
Hud

Federal Programs for Addressing Low-Income Housing Needs 

Public housing developments provide affordable homes to 2.1 million low-income Americans.

The HOPE VI Program serves a vital role in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's efforts to transform Public Housing.

How Singapore Fixed Its Housing Problem (youtube)

The Nation’s State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) created the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA).

Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit in the United States for affordable housing investments. It was created under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) and gives incentives for the utilization of private equity in the development of affordable housing aimed at low-income Americans. LIHTC accounts for the majority (approximately 90%) of all affordable rental housing created in the United States today. As the maximum rent that can be charged is based upon the Area Median Income ("AMI"), LIHTC housing remains unaffordable to many low-income (<30% AMI) renters.
Overview of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC)

Construction Kickback Scheme stole $34 million from 14 tax credit projects, including almost $2 million from Labre Place.

Per Capita Income. Connecticut is the 4th richest state in the United States of America with a per capita income $36,775 (2010). All data is from the 2010 United States Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Community Reinvestment Act is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations. It was enacted by the Congress in 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2901) and is implemented by Regulation BB (12 CFR 228). The regulation was substantially revised in May 1995 and updated again in August 2005.

Residential Cluster Development is the grouping of residential properties on a development site in order to use the extra land as open space, recreation or agriculture. It is increasingly becoming popular in subdivision development because it allows the developer to spend much less on land and obtain much the same price per unit as for detached houses. The shared garden areas can be a source of conflict however. Claimed advantages include more green/public space, closer community, and an optimal storm water management. Cluster development often encounters planning objections.

Terraced House or Townhouse or Row Houses, is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. Terrace housing can be found throughout the world, though it is in abundance in Europe and Latin America, and extensive examples can be found in Australia and North America. The Place des Vosges in Paris (1605–1612) is one of the early examples of the style. Sometimes associated with the working class, historical and reproduction terraces have increasingly become part of the process of gentrification in certain inner-city areas. Back-to-Back House (wiki).

Smart Cities - Factory Built Homes - Energy Efficient Homes

Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, garbage scraping, petty theft, temporary work, or welfare (where available). A person who experiences this condition may be referred to as a vagrant, vagabond, rogue, tramp or drifter.

Cooperative

Cooperative Housing is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure.

Why Condo's Suck?

Commune a large gathering of people sharing a common life; An intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, often having common values and beliefs, as well as shared property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income and assets. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become important core principles for many communes.

Co-operative Living Arrangements occur when three or more biologically unrelated people choose to live together and share a common residential structure. Typically, in these co-ops, several people occupy a single dwelling unit, such as a large house, with each person (or couple) having a private area, including a bedroom and, often, a bathroom. In addition, the common areas of the dwelling usually include a shared kitchen, dining room and living room plus, at times, recreation or outdoor spaces.

National Multifamily Housing Council

Cohousing is an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space. Each attached or single family home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces typically feature a common house, which may include a large kitchen and dining area, laundry, and recreational spaces. Shared outdoor space may include parking, walkways, open space, and gardens. Neighbors also share resources like tools and lawnmowers.

Co-Housing - Specialized Housing: La Casa Permanent Supportive Housing

Communal Apartment is when all the residents of the entire apartment shared the use of the hallways, kitchen (commonly known as the "communal kitchen"), bathroom and telephone (if any). The communal apartment became the predominant form of housing in the USSR for generations, and examples still exist in "the most fashionable central districts of large Russian cities".

Public Housing is to provide affordable housing.

Supportive Housing is a combination of housing and services intended as a cost-effective way to help people live more stable, productive lives, and is an active "community services and funding" stream across the United States.

Boarding House is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "room and board," that is, at least some meals as well as accommodation. A "lodging house," also known in the United States as a "rooming house," may or may not offer meals. Lodgers legally only obtain a license to use their rooms, and not exclusive possession, so the landlord retains the right of access.

Room and Board describes a situation where, in exchange for money, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis.

Sharing Economy - Tulare - Diversity

Dormitory is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students.

Intentional Community is a planned residential community designed from the start to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They typically share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include collective households, cohousing communities, coliving, ecovillages, monasteries, communes, survivalist retreats, kibbutzim, ashrams, and housing cooperatives. New members of an intentional community are generally selected by the community's existing membership, rather than by real-estate agents or land owners (if the land is not owned collectively by the community).

List of Intentional Communities (wiki)

Ecovillage are traditional or intentional communities whose goal is to become more socially, culturally, economically and ecologically sustainable. Ecovillages are consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes to regenerate and restore their social and natural environments. 

Bijlmermeer is one of the neighborhoods that form Amsterdam Zuidoost ('Amsterdam South-East') borough (or "stadsdeel") of Amsterdam, Netherlands. To many people, the Bijlmer designation is used to refer to Amsterdam Zuidoost and Diemen Zuid as a pars pro toto. The other neighbourhoods in Amsterdam Zuidoost are Gaasperdam, Bullewijk, Venserpolder and Driemond. The Bijlmermeer neighbourhood, which today houses almost 50,000 people of over 150 nationalities, was designed as a single project. The original neighbourhood was designed as a series of nearly identical high-rise buildings laid out in a hexagonal grid. The apartments were meant to attract a suburban set, rather like condominium housing. The buildings have several features that distinguish them from traditional Dutch high-rise flats, such as tubular walkways connecting the flats and garages. The blocks are separated by large green areas planted with grass and trees. Each flat has its own garages where cars can be parked. The Bijlmer was designed with two levels of traffic. Cars drive on the top level, the decks of which fly over the lower level's pedestrian avenues and bicycle paths. This separation of fast and slow moving traffic is conducive to traffic safety. However, in recent years, the roads are once again being flattened, so pedestrians, cycles and cars travel alongside each other. This is a move to lessen the effects of the 'inhuman' scale of some of the Bijlmer's designs. It is felt a direct line of sight will also improve safety from muggers. Because of the Bijlmer's peripheral position relative to the city centre, it was decided that metro lines would be built connecting the Bijlmer with other neighbourhoods. The Oostlijn (east line, comprising two lines, numbered 53 and 54) links the Bijlmer to the Central Station of Amsterdam, while the Ringlijn links it with the port area at Sloterdijk.

Department of Housing and Community Development (HUD)

Moshe Safdie: How to Reinvent the Apartment Building (video)
Sustainable and Affordable: New Options in Factory-Built Housing (video)
Theaster Gates: How to Revive a Neighborhood with imagination Beauty and Art (video) 

Homeless - Renting (sharing) - Big 5 Needs

Resident Ownership Network
Environmental and Energy Study Institute
U.S. Department of Housing (HUD)

Splitting the Rent Accurately - Splid Dit
Sperner's Lemma (wiki) - Maths

Eliminating Social Barriers - Food Co-Ops

Habitat 67 is a model community and housing complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. It was originally conceived as his master's thesis in architecture at McGill University and then built as a pavilion for Expo 67, the World's Fair held from April to October 1967. It is located at 2600 Avenue Pierre-Dupuy on the Marc-Drouin Quay next to the Saint Lawrence River. Habitat 67 is widely considered an architectural landmark and one of the most recognizable buildings in both Montreal and Canada. Habitat 67 comprises 354 identical, prefabricated concrete forms arranged in various combinations, reaching up to 12 stories in height. Together these units create 146 residences of varying sizes and configurations, each formed from one to eight linked concrete units. The complex originally contained 158 apartments, but several apartments have since been joined to create larger units, reducing the total number. Each unit is connected to at least one private terrace, which can range from approximately 20 to 90 square metres (225 to 1,000 sq ft) in size.

Emergency Shelters

51.2 million people around the world live as refugees and are living under forced displacement. "internally displaced"

U.N. -  Refugees

Homeless Info - Social Issues

I love the Young Shelter Box idea, especially if you also put a Laptop in the box. I would call it the Shelter Box with Hope, with Hope standing for ' Home Organized Personalized Education '. You have to give people the necessary information and knowledge that is needed to recover and rebuild after a Natural Disaster, or from any man made disaster, like War.

Emergency Preparedness

Shelter Box - Exo Shelter - Eco Pods

Solar Powered Flat Pack Refugee Shelters, Easily Deployable Emergency Housing

Shigeru Ban: Emergency Shelters Made From Paper (youtube)
Shigeru Ban Architects
Engineering Knowledge and Tools

Port A Bach - Mod Space - Upcycle

QuiteLite Shelters - Syrian Refugee Wearable Dwelling
 
Cardboard Origami

Wikkelhouse: pick your modular segments & click them together (youtube) - Prefab tiny house, using cardboard as the main structural element.

Tent is a temporary shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs. First used as portable homes by nomadic peoples, tents are now more often used for recreational camping and temporary shelters. Karten is a camping tent that is made entirely of cardboard.

Camping

Severe Weather Pods for Underground Emergency Shelter and Food Storage

Relief Shelters - Shelter Systems

Floors for Shelters to help people stay off ground that is prone to getting wet

Building Blocks

Foreclosures - Refugees - Immigration

Micro- Home Solutions
mHS City Lab - 100 SHELTERS Tent (youtube)
Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board

Indo-Global Social Service Society

Emergency Shelters - Emergency Shelter Types - Shelters

Building an Emergency Shelter with  Whatever You Have

Survivor Shelter

How To Build An A-Frame Shelter (youtube) 
How to Build an Emergency Shelter (youtube)

Terra Vivos High End Advanced Underground Shelters
Atlas Survival Shelters

Bunker is a defensive fortification designed to protect people or valued materials from falling bombs or other attacks. Bunkers are mostly underground, compared to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. Bunkers can also be used as protection from tornadoes, or used as command and control centers, or storage facilities.

Albania
Primitive Technology
Survival Tips - Information for Emergencies
De-Markies Expandable Camper

Building a Tiled Roof Hut (youtube)

Learn how to transition from a temporary Tent City or Refugee Camp to a sustainable Settlement. City Management.

Shipping Containers

The average Container is 8 x 8 x 40 feet, weighs around 8,600 lbs. and Holds 3 to 10 people. (17 Million Worldwide). Around 11 million available. The inside of a used container should be stripped and sandblasted to remove all contaminates. Indie Dwell.
 
High Cube shipping containers are 9 feet 6 inches tall on the exterior. They are 1 foot taller than standard height containers. They are also 8 feet 6 inches wide, making them 6 inches wider than standard containers as well. Earthquake Safety.

An average Container Ship or Cargo Ship can deliver 10,000 Twenty-foot Containers.

Top 15 Pros and Cons of Building a Shipping Container House in 2017 (youtube)

Container Home That Quickly Expands (youtube) - Bigfoot Tiny House on Wheels is made from a 20ft High Cube shipping
container. It has floors, walls, and roofs that fold out from both sides of the container to triple the size of the home from the size it travels down the road at. All of those components are made from Light-weight R-13 rated structural insulated panels or (SIP's). It has a 7.5 x 8ft fold-out front deck with a roof and railings over the tongue of the trailer.

Boat Builder's Incredible 20ft Shipping Container Home (youtube)

Made with Weathering Steel or COR-TEN Steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years.

We can also use the same Shelter Box idea using Shipping Containers. Instant Homes that are up and running with almost everything that you need to live and work.

Shipping Containers filled with food, water and Water Filters, medicine, educational material, How to Books, Laptop Computers, Solar and Wind generators, Efficient Cooking Stoves, seeds, tools, supplies, tents and building material. And then the same Shipping Containers can be used as a home or put together to build classrooms and Doctors offices.

Apartment complex built out of recycled shipping containers, houses some of the 40,000 homeless vets.

The Roof could also be a Garden. Shipping Container can also be used for Indoor Hydroponic Farming.

Containerization - Prefab

Private Sleeping Quarters

Here are some people who have ideas on how Shipping Container Homes can look.

Shipping Container Homes
Shipping Container Homes
Container Home Plans
Containers 2 Clinics
Container Schools
Reaction Housing System Exo Shelter
Port a Bach

Mobile home - EBS block-expandable building system block (youtube)
3-IN-1 Foldable Shelter Deployment (youtube)

Tempo Housing
In Habitat
Hybrid Arc
Cargo Tecture
Micro Compact Home
Boxouse
Sanitation

N Architects
Seabox Containerized Shelters
Shipping Container Cabin
Sustainable Architecture Builders 

Refugee First Response Center  (RFRC)

Shipping Container Homes Beautiful Luxury constructed entirely from 6 recycled shipping containers, the two-story, 2,192-square-foot structure includes three bedrooms, an open-plan living/kitchen/dining area, office with built-in desk, plus a steel spiral staircase that leads to a rooftop deck with panoramic views. Location: Denver, Colorado Price: $749,000

Everyone should have Mobile Storage Pods, just incase you need to move in a hurry.

Mobile Cities

Being able to move homes can get people closer to jobs, especially seasonal jobs. Mobile homes can also move people during emergencies and catastrophes. We could have self-driving truck fleets that will automatically move homes and people from harms way like during floods. People who are migrant farm workers also need to be mobile.

Nomadic is having no fixed home; changing location regularly as required for work or food.

Nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation which regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), and tinkers or trader nomads. In the twentieth century, population of nomadic pastoral tribes slowly decreased, reaching to an estimated 30–40 million nomads in the world as of 1995. Nomadic hunting and gathering—following seasonally available wild plants and game—is by far the oldest human subsistence method. Pastoralists raise herds, driving or accompanying in patterns that normally avoid depleting pastures beyond their ability to recover. Nomadism is also a lifestyle adapted to infertile regions such as steppe, tundra, or ice and sand, where mobility is the most efficient strategy for exploiting scarce resources. For example, many groups living in the tundra are reindeer herders and are semi-nomadic, following forage for their animals. Sometimes also described as "nomadic" are the various itinerant populations who move among densely populated areas to offer specialized services (crafts or trades) to their residents—external consultants, for example. These groups are known as "peripatetic nomads". Emergency Shelters.

Small Houses - Tiny Homes

Small House Movement is a description for the architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes.

Singles, Couples, Small Family.

Benefits - You may need a personal loan and special insurance. And you have to be careful of permits, regulations and zoning rules. There are no tax breaks with owning a tiny house.

Tiny Living Festivals
Tiny House Dates
Innovative Housing Showcase

American Tiny House Association
Tiny Home Builders
Tiny House Build
The Tiny Home Company
How to Build a Small House (youtube)
Tiny House Blog
Alternative Living Spaces
Coodo 
Le Pod
Eco-Capsule
Cornerstone Tiny Homes
Boxed Haus
Four Lights Houses
Tiny Heirloom
Tiny Homes with a Big Impact
Mobile Loaves & Fishe
Occupy Madison
Quick Cheap Cube House (youtube)
Worlds First Tiny House Hotel
Cabin Spacey - Home Anywhere! Smart Urban Pioneers
Tiny House Design
Alpha Tiny Homes
Covo Mio Tiny House
Tiny Heirloom
The Alpha Tiny House Has It All (youtube)

Secondary Suite is a self-contained apartment in an owner occupied single-family home / lot that is either attached to the principal dwelling or in a separate structure on the same property. In British English the term "annexe" is used instead, or accessory dwelling units or granny flat.

Housing Development (over development)


My Favorite Tiny House on a Trailer >
344 sq/ft. (35' including hitch) x 8.5'W x 13'5"H. - 11,000-13,000 lbs. Traveler XL Tiny House, maybe add a Fold Out Extension Room with glass sides, or a fold down deck?
Second Choice: The Vintage XL 35L' x 8.5'W x 13'6"H, up to 355 Sq.ft. Introductory Price: $73,400.
Third Choice: The Fontana (8’x24′) by Cornerstone Tiny Homes. Or some combination of all three using Smart-Home Technology and Sustainable Products.

Roof Types (image)

Building Air and Moisture Barriers - Insulation

Volstrukt - Steel Frame Systems Premade that are Lighter and more Durable then Wood Frames. Frame Cad strong, durable Steel Framed buildings anywhere in the world, onsite and offsite construction

Structural Steel is a category of steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile of a specific cross section. Structural steel shapes, sizes, chemical composition, mechanical properties such as strengths, storage practices, etc., are regulated by standards in most industrialized countries. Most structural steel shapes, such as I-beams, have high second moments of area, which means they are very stiff in respect to their cross-sectional area and thus can support a high load without excessive sagging. Structural Studs (Steel C-Studs - Metal Studs). Using screws instead of nails is better for mobile homes because driving down the road 60mph is like being in a hurricane and and an earthquake combined. Building Codes - SIPS.

Trailer Dimensions - Rules and Regulations - Trailer (wiki)

Custom Built Trailers

Dropped Axle is the axle of a vehicle that is bent upwards towards the ends, i.e. the center is 'dropped'. This gives two advantages: the center of gravity of the bodywork is lowered, relative to the wheels, which improves stability; secondly the wheels may be of larger diameter, giving a smoother ride over a rough surface.

Beautiful Tiny House With 1st Floor Bedroom + Full Kitchen (youtube)

Benefits of Living in a Smaller Home

Small can be Big when something Small can give you Big Benefits. I would not call a minimalist lifestyle, I would call it a less cluttered life and an easy to manage life. It's not about being anti-materialism, it's about being less wasteful and being more thoughtful. This is not to say that big houses are bad, because big homes can be very useful and enjoyable. This is about choices and needs. The only thing I should be sacrificing is ignorance and greed. It's not that I want less, I just don't want more than I need. It's not because of financial insecurity, it mostly about being emotionally secure and not having the need to impress anyone. Besides that, tiny house living is a much better quality of life than the one billion people who are living in poverty. So until we can build more efficient living spaces, tiny home living is it.

Minimizing - Harmonizing - Simplicity - Less Chaos - Isolation

A Smaller Home is Less Maintenance, Less Energy, Less Furniture to purchase, Less opportunity to accumulate stuff that you don't Need, Less Clutter, Easier to Organize, Less Cleaning Time, Less Indoor Pollution, Less Environmental Impact, Less Financial Risk, Easier to Move, Relocate and Travel. You will also have More Freedom, More Flexibility and More time for being Outside. But you will still have responsibilities and a slightly different set of priorities. And you will still need to have good problem solving skills and you still need to have lots of patience and tolerance. You need to collect knowledge and information, not things. If you're matter, then having space is absolutely necessary. But wasted space is not necessary. But if you need more space for a particular purpose, then you should have more space. But if more space is not needed, then why would you need more space? The mind has no boundaries, except when you're ignorant.

Having a little is having little to lose. So if a catastrophe happens, it will be a lot easier to escape, a lot easier to leave things behind, and a lot easier to start over. Having a lot means that you have a lot to lose, and you also having a lot that someone can take from you or steal from you. So the risk is greater, the responsibility is greater, and the time needed is greater. Having too much can mean more problems. Your Strength and Intelligence is not measured by how many things that you have, it's measured by how many things that you have under your control. And not just having more control over the material world, but also having more control over the immaterial world. Having less means that you leave less stuff for other people to deal with when you die. "Here is all the stuff that I can't take with me". If you leave an organized life, its easier for people to clean up after you. It's also easier to assimilate and distribute a persons belongings when they are fully aware of the fact that they will eventually die.

When People Find a Better Way to Live, People Live Better. Tiny home living proves that people really don't need a lot to live comfortably, it's more about the quality than quantity. Just because you perceive something to be better, this does not make it better. Reduced consumption includes actions like repairing instead of replacing older items, and avoiding impulse purchases and not buying unnecessary items. Instead purchase products designed to limit environmental impacts, such as goods made from recycled materials.

Reducing Waste - Water Saving Technologies - Green Building

It's not really Downsizing, it's more about Realizing that you had too much unneeded space.

Immaterial is without material form or substance. Not consisting of matter.

Downsizing the McMansion: Study gauges a sustainable size for future homes. U.N. estimates households consume 29% of global energy and consequently contribute to 21% of resultant CO2 emissions, which will only rise as global population increases.

Tiny Houses Benefits Info-Graphic (image) - Internet Connections (telephone)

Where ever your Life may be, and what ever lifestyle you choose, you will still have moments in your life that will be challenging and difficult. And there will always be advantages and disadvantages with almost everything that you do. This means that you will have to learn some valuable skills and accumulate some valuable knowledge, especially if you want to be resourceful and resilient. You have to be a problem solver and know that every process can be improved. You have to be organized. You will need to know how to plan things and manage things. You have to be able to focus and be able to handle distractions. You have to be able to make sacrifices and be flexible. You have to be able to manage time. You have to be able to handle stress and control anxieties and fears. You have to be able to adapt and be prepared for changes and setbacks. You have to be able to adjust to new experiences and new places. You have to be able to adjust to different comfort levels and handle being uncomfortable. You will have to like exploring and discovering. Freedom is a responsibility, so you will need to spend your time well. You have to be able to know how to stay safe and not let your guard down. You have to understand your responsibilities. You have to understand your responsibility when it comes to learning. You have to be a Learner, Educating yourself is extremely important. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from your experiences. You have to learn how to learn well. Live, Learn, Love and Progress. Remember, with every experiment, you need to do your research. You have to be able to measure almost everything. You need to have goals and have purpose. You need short term goals, long term goals, physical goals and mental goals. You have to be able to see the good things in life and see the good in people. You have to be able to embrace those special moments as well as handle the moments that are extremely difficult and challenging, and not get upset when the going gets tough. If you want to escape, just make sure you know where you are escaping to. You have to be able to know where you're going, physically and mentally. You have to be able to be alone. You have to be able to love yourself. You have to be able to be in a relationship. You have to be able to get along with people and be a good communicator. You have to understand how to maintain things, and not just physical things but mental things as well. You have to be aware of your lows and highs. You have to be aware of your energy levels. It's not all fun and games, a good quality life takes work. You have to be aware of your water needs. You have to be aware of your of your food needs. You have to be aware of your of your exercise needs. You have to be aware of your of your sleep needs. You have to be aware of your of your meditation needs and when you need to relax. You have to be aware of your of your hygiene needs and staying clean. You have to be aware of your of your privacy needs. You have to be aware of your surroundings. You have to be aware of possible risks and dangers. You have to be aware of your responsibilities and be aware of your priorities, especially when your priorities change. If you need time to think, or if you need time to figure things out, or to discover who you are, you will still need to read, you will need to have a note book and a laptop computer, and you will need to have access to the internet from time to time.

The 2017 film "Mother" is a great Air B&B warning video and a good argument for why Tiny Homes makes perfect sense. New guests or new friends can sometimes spiral out of control and turn your life into complete chaos, or perceived chaos. This is one of the reasons why living in a tiny house can be so beneficial. When you have very little space to offer, people will seldom impose. When you have a lot of space that you're not using, then you sometimes fill that space with things that you don't need. And you sometimes just want to share what you have because you have more than what you need. But most people never consider the reasons why they have so much to begin with. Inviting people into your home is sometimes the same thing as inviting people into your life. Having more is only beneficial when you use everything effectively and efficiently, otherwise it becomes wasted space and a sign of ignorant consumption. The movie of course was much more than this. It was mostly about the fears that some women have. It was filled with too many contradictions, just like peoples fears are, which most fears make no sense at all. So if you remove the fabric of time, the entire movie is all about a women's fears that were dramatically portrayed and condensed into a 2 hour movie. Horror movies can be dangerous.

My $500 house in Detroit — and the neighbors who helped me rebuild it: Drew Philp (video and text)

Make sure that all materials used in home building are safe for the people who make the products as well as safe for the people who will live with the products.

Space Saving Furniture ideas

Furniture for Small Spaces - Amazon - Dual Purpose Space Saving Furniture
Space Transformation Modular Robotics
Eight Rooms from 350 Square Feet Apartment(vimeo)
Utilizing Small Spaces (youtube)
Gary Chang
Multifunctional Spaces
Open Concept Modern Tiny House with Elevator Bed (youtube)
Kent Larson: Brilliant Designs to Fit more People in every City (youtube)
Sliding Wall - Murphy Bed (wiki) - Folding Wall Bed Designs
Expand Furniture

Inside Photos a Small Apartment around 360 Square Feet of Space (Image)

Videos of People Building Tiny Houses

We The Tiny House People (Documentary): Small Homes, Tiny Flats & Wee Shelters (youtube)
What Not To Do On A Tiny House Build (the good and bad of a small home on wheels) (youtube)
Community and Access to Tools on Sustainable Culture 
Fair Companies Videos with Great Ideas for Small Homes and Apartments
Tiny home packs storage stairs, 2 lofts, tub in 136 sq ft (youtube)
Couple Builds Own Tiny House on Wheels in 4 Months for $22,744.06- "hOMe" (youtube)
MiniHome Walk-Through with David Suzuki (youtube) 
Graham Hill Living with Less Stuff (video) 
The Caravan Tube House (youtube)
A Spaghetti Western on Lean Urbanism 1:56:07 Documentary featuring Paolo Soleri (Arcosanti), Brad “Darby” Kittel (Tiny Texas Houses), Patrick Kennedy (CITYSPACES microapartments, Panoramic Interests), John Wells (Field Lab), Luke Iseman (Boxouse), Tom Duke (EarthshipsBiotecture), Stephanie Schull (shelter program, Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture), Ben Berto (principal planner, Marin County), Johnny Sanphillippo (granolashotgun.com, mortgage-free home), Begin Tollas family (Arcosanti), Rawaf al Rawaf (Arcosanti), Mimi Webb Miller (Terlingua Ghost Town).
Exploring Alternatives (youtube channel)

How Airplanes Are Designed To Feel Bigger On The Inside (youtube)
The Monocle Is A Lucky Couple's Dream Tiny House (youtube)

Tiny House Listings
Cabin Super Center
Tiny House Direct
Tiny Home Supercenter
Titan Tiny Homes (Illinois Chicago - $55,000)
Factory Built
Build your Own

Sustainable Knowledge

Tiny House Hot Water Heaters- options, pros and cons w/Joe Coover (youtube) 
Homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, Tankless Water Heaters can be 24% to 34% more energy-efficient than storage tank heaters.

On Demand Hot Water
Atmor Heaters 120v Electric Point of Use Tankless Water Heater
Marey Water Heaters
Precision Temp Propane Water Heater

Vented Propane Fireplace
Wood Stoves

Tiny Homes Competition Winner Announced!
Chicago Tiny Home Summit

Electric Vehicles (cars)

City Planning - Foreclosures

Can also use the same idea on Prefab Modular Homes made from recycled material. Ambiente Homes.

How to Build a 12 x 20 Cabin
Zeta Communities

Plastic Soda Bottles become Light Source (youtube) 

Architecture for Humanity has great ideas using a global network of building professionals.

Factor e Farm

Wind Storm OSB
Open Architecture Network
World Changing

Ideas - Funding

Bungalow in a Box
Sustainable Landscapes
Facade

HabitaFlex

Housing - Homeless Info

Mobile Shelters

Eco-Friendly Mobile Homes for Trailer Parks
EnviraPod
Green Homes for Trailer Parks
Trailer Park (wiki)

Off Grid

Off-The-Grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical grid, but can also include other utilities like water, gas, and sewer systems, and can scale from residential homes to small communities. Off-the-grid living allows for buildings and people to be self-sufficient, which is advantageous in isolated locations where normal utilities cannot reach and is attractive to those who want to reduce environmental impact and cost of living. Generally, an off-grid building must be able to supply energy and potable water for itself, as well as manage food, waste and wastewater.

Off the Grid | Families escaping the rat race and saving money on electricity | Sunday Night (youtube)

50 Years Off-Grid: Architect-maker paradise amid NorCal redwoods. In 1968, Charles Bello and his wife, Vanna Rae, moved onto 240 acres of redwood forest looking to live a simpler life off the land. They had spent their savings to purchase the land so they got to work building their home themselves. Their first structure was a panelized A-frame that they erected in 5 days (with help from a couple family members). Total cost was $2,800.

Factory-Built Housing - Offsite Construction - Prebuilt

Prefab Homes are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. Some current prefab home designs include architectural details inspired by postmodernism or futurist architecture. Containers.

Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located.

Panelized construction or panelization, is the process of building a modular wall, roof and floor sections in an environmentally controlled manufacturing facility and delivering them to the construction site for installation. Due to being constructed in a highly controlled environment, you can expect the following from panelized construction: Lower job site waste from rejected low grades of lumber. More consistent quality and construction. A lower chance of theft from a job site.

Structural Insulated Panels or SIPs are a high performance building system for residential and light commercial construction. The panels consist of an insulating foam core sandwiched between two structural facings, typically oriented strand board (OSB). SIPs are manufactured under factory controlled conditions and can be fabricated to fit nearly any building design. The result is a building system that is extremely strong, energy efficient and cost effective. Building with SIPs will save you time, money and labor.

Modular Building are sectional prefabricated buildings, or houses, that consist of multiple sections called modules. "Modular" is a method of construction differing from other methods of building. The module sections are constructed at an off site (sometimes, remote) facility, then delivered to the intended site of use. Complete construction of the prefabricated sections are completed on site. The prefabricated sections are sometimes lifted and placed on basement walls using a crane, the module prefabricated sections are set onto the building's foundation and joined together to make a single building. The modules can be placed side-by-side, end-to-end, or stacked, allowing a wide variety of configurations and styles in the building layout. Building Blocks.

Why we need to rethink how we build homes | Ged Finch | TEDxWellington (youtube) - Gerard Finch

Off-Site Construction refers to the planning, design, fabrication, and assembly of building elements at a location other than their final installed location to support the rapid and efficient construction of a permanent structure. Such building elements may be prefabricated in a different location and transported to the site or prefabricated on the construction site and then transported to their final location. Offsite construction is characterized by an integrated planning and supply chain optimization strategy. Offsite manufacturing (OSM), offsite production (OSP) and offsite fabrication (OSF) are used when referring primarily to the factory work proper.

Structural Building Components are specialized structural building products designed, engineered and manufactured under controlled conditions for a specific application. They are incorporated into the overall building structural system by a building designer. Examples are wood or steel roof trusses, floor trusses, floor panels, I-joists, or engineered beams and headers. A structural building component manufacturer or truss manufacturer is an individual or organization regularly engaged in the manufacturing of components.

Volumetric Construction or modular construction, involves the production of three-dimensional units in controlled factory conditions, prior to transportation to site. 3D-Printing.

Popup House delivers pre-cut materials on site.

Boxabl is a building system that can build almost any style of home. Different modules stack and connect to build anything. New Box sizes will likely be 20x20, 20x30, 20x40, 20x60 We will announce those new room modules with different floorpans ASAP. Boxabl mass produced systemized building unit built efficiently in a factory and ship affordably to the building site. This makes them, fast, high quality, affordable and customizable. Boxabl buildings also boast an amazing range of advanced features and safety ratings not available in traditional construction.

The Bunkie. No building permits required and a complete set of pre-assembled components. The Bunkie offers an ideal personal sense of place that can be assembled with ease.

M.A.Di. Flatpack Tiny House construction system is an unfoldable modular living unit that can be setup in a couple of days.

Ten Fold self-deploying folding systems and re-locatable buildings.

Hex House is a low cost, sustainable, rapidly deployable, long stay and dignified house which is shipped in pieces and assembled by the end users. The basic building components are galvanized tube steel for the base, structural insulated metal panel for walls, floor and roof and can be customizes with conventional interior and exterior finishes.

Eco-capsule is a self-sustainable smart house powered solely by solar and wind energy. It allows you to live off-the-grid, with the luxury of a hotel room. Eco-kit.

Nomad Microhomes are eco-conscious and proudly manufactured in British Columbia, Canada for easy DIY assembly.

Forta Modular Residential Building Construction - Forta Medical modular construction technique which allows us to build ecologically clean and sustainable buildings, while saving energy and time

Factory Built Home - Manufactured Housing

Custom Backyard Homes (cover)

Advanced Prefabricated Architecture - Avrame
Heijmans One - Som-Shelter - Konbuild - Hivehaus
Berts Boxes - Koda - Dom.ai - Dubldom - Honomobo
Hickory Building Systems - Saltbox - Ark Shelter

Alpod is mobile, durable and practical with an aluminum exterior and a minimalistic interior. (37.8' X 10.8' X 10.8').

Pod Idladla Prefabrication maximizes efficiency, speed and sustainability.

Small Modular Buildings (designed, built, delivered and assembled)

Vipp Shelter Tiny Prefab as Precise Industrial-era Appliance prefab tiny home by Morten Bo Jensen. Modules are transported by truck to the site.

Kasita are pre-built micro home designs, 300 square-feet and 10.5-foot ceilings, giant floor-to-ceiling windows, and optimized storage that makes the home feels twice as big. Smart Home

Prefabricated Panels - Pre Built Tiny House on Trailer

Lindal Total Area: 470 sq. ft. Size: 44'x17'

How 16 containers became 8 market-rate Phoenix Apartments (youtube)

Small Homes can be Prebuilt and Delivered

Tiny House Kits that comes with everything you need for assembling your tiny house, including every screw and window. You put your house together like a puzzle. You’ll get walls, roofing, flooring, windows and doors, all in place, delivered to your site. You’re left with just the interior finishing and decorating.

China can build a 18 story building in around 2 weeks by using premade materials. Creating apartments for 1,100 people.

Home Building

We need Houses that can be Assembled and Disassembled. This way homes can be easily transported, and people can move when needed. Just think, a City of Modular Homes that is Fully Mobile.

Earthling Survival Pods or Yurt - Nomads

Great for places that have major Flooding, Storms, Drought and Fires. Because now you can move away from danger and then return when the area is safe again. And of course RV's can be used to help mobilize people when needed.

Insulation Types

Tiny House Plans for Families

Shelter Kit designs and produces homes, cabins, barns and garages that are specifically designed for assembly by amateur owner-builders. We will work with you to turn your ideas into a building that meets your specific requirements. A team of two people can assemble one of our cabins in about four days.

Zip Kit Homes - Arched Cabins

Artisan Tiny House Plans with Step by Step Process that Makes Building Your Project Easy, Fast and Affordable.

Jamaica Cottage Shop highly customizable post and beam timber frame storage sheds, garden sheds, storage-shed kitsand prefab cottages.

Amish Cabin Company log cabin kits feature open floor plans and do not include interior walls, insulation, kitchen, bathroom, electric and dormers. Most of these items are available for purchase with your kit as options, please contact us for a quote.

Tiny House Family - How to Build a Shelter

How to Build and Frame Tiny House Walls: Ana White Tiny House Build [Episode 3] (youtube)
Build Your Own House - (VPRO Documentary - 2013) (youtube)

Brick Houses - Building Blocks - Domes

Natural Building Material

Metal Working - Wood Working

Amphibian Houses for Rising Water - Water Studio

Engineering - Building Tools

Sketch Up 3D Drawing Software 

Pronto House Disassembly (youtube)

Assemble and Disassemble Container House
Nomad Micro Home easily Assembled under 30k
Wiki House Open Source Home Building Kit

Building Guidelines

First: Use the most advanced building design knowledge available that would make the home energy efficient, healthy, easy to maintain, comfortable, functional and suited for the environment. Some house designs are inefficient in a particular area.
Second: Use the best building materials that are available that are sustainable, state-of-the art, healthy and long lasting. The building should also be easy to repurpose, be customizable, be reusable and easy to recycle.
Third: Add Artistic Value and style that would beautify the inside and out without wasting materials, or without adding any instability to the structure, or make any of the buildings functions less practical.

Form Follows Function

Patterns are only one approach to providing guidance in design. Properties of good design (The Nature of Order) are supportive of life and growth.

Building Codes
Architectural Model Building Kits
Green Building Ideas - Development
Location - Orientation

Fifteen Properties:
1. Levels of scale.
2. Strong centers.
3. Boundaries.
4. Alternating repetition.
5. Positive space.
6. Good shape.
7. Local symmetries.
8. Deep interlock and ambiguity.
9. Contrast.
10. Gradients.
11. Roughness.
12. Echoes.
13. The Void.
14. Simplicity and Inner Calm.
15. Not-separateness.

More Requirements

Futuristic Building Designs (images) - Thinking Outside the Box

Advanced Architecture Designers

Windows

Window is an opening in a wall, door, roof or vehicle that allows the passage of light, sound, and air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material, a sash set in a frame in the opening; the sash and frame are also referred to as a window. Many glazed windows may be opened, to allow ventilation, or closed, to exclude inclement weather. Windows often have a latch or similar mechanism to lock the window shut or to hold it open by various amounts. Types include the eyebrow window, fixed windows, single-hung and double-hung sash windows, horizontal sliding sash windows, casement windows, awning windows, hopper windows, tilt and slide windows (often door-sized), tilt and turn windows, transom windows, sidelight windows, jalousie or louvered windows, clerestory windows, skylights, roof windows, roof lanterns, bay windows, oriel windows, thermal, or Diocletian, windows, picture windows, emergency exit windows, stained glass windows, French windows, panel windows, and double - and triple paned windows.

Glazing is a part of a wall or window, made of glass. Glazing also describes the work done by a professional "glazier". Glazing is also less commonly used to describe the insertion of ophthalmic lenses into an eyeglass frame. Common types of glazing that are used in architectural applications include clear and tinted float glass, tempered glass, and laminated glass as well as a variety of coated glasses, all of which can be glazed singly or as double, or even triple, glazing units. Ordinary clear glass has a slight green tinge but special colorless glasses are offered by several manufacturers. Glazing can be mounted on the surface of a window sash or door stile, usually made of wood, aluminium or PVC. The glass is fixed into a rabbet (rebate) in the frame in a number of ways including triangular glazing points, putty, etc. Toughened and laminated glass can be glazed by bolting panes directly to a metal framework by bolts passing through drilled holes. Glazing is commonly used in low temperature solar thermal collectors because it helps retain the collected heat.

Insulated Glazing double glazing (or double-pane, and increasingly triple glazing/pane), consists of two or three glass window panes separated by a vacuum or gas filled space to reduce heat transfer across a part of the building envelope. Insulating glass units (IGUs) are manufactured with glass in range of thickness from 3 to 10 mm (1/8" to 3/8") or more in special applications. Laminated or tempered glass may also be used as part of the construction. Most units are produced with the same thickness of glass used on both panes but special applications such as acoustic attenuation or security may require wide ranges of thicknesses to be incorporated in the same unit.

Passive House: Triple vs Double Pane Windows (youtube)

Thermal Break Windows. Insulation within a window is referred to as a “thermal break”. The thermal break is a continuous barrier between the inside and outside window frames that prevent conductive thermal energy loss. This thermal break creates thermal energy loss resistance and combined with gas-filled triple pane glazing, keeps the interior space of your window at a more comfortable temperature.

The National Fenestration Rating Council

Egress Windows provide emergency exits in case of fire.

Energy Efficient Windows - Efficient Windows - Custom Windows Systems Inc.

Windows - Photochromism (wiki) - Sashlite

Caulking

Low-Temp Production Could Mean Cheaper, Flexible Smart Windows will have the ability to control both heat and light from the sun.

Smart Glass is a glass or glazing whose light transmission properties are altered when voltage, light or heat is applied. Generally, the glass changes from translucent to transparent, changing from blocking some (or all) wavelengths of light to letting light pass through. Smart glass technologies include electrochromic, photochromic, thermochromic, suspended particle, micro-blind and polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices. When installed in the envelope of buildings, smart glass creates climate adaptive building shells, with the ability to save costs for heating, air-conditioning and lighting and avoid the cost of installing and maintaining motorized light screens or blinds or curtains. Blackout smart glass blocks 99.4% of ultraviolet light, reducing fabric fading; for SPD-type smart glass, this is achieved in conjunction with low emissivity coatings. Critical aspects of smart glass include material costs, installation costs, electricity costs and durability, as well as functional features such as the speed of control, possibilities for dimming, and the degree of transparency. Smart Windows for controlled shading and solar thermal energy harvesting. Liquids in windows and façades can be loaded with the nanoscale magnetic iron particles. Smart Glass Technology Engineers develop eco-friendly panels that switch from transparent to opaque. Someday we won’t need curtains or blinds on our windows, and we will be able to block out light—or let it in—with just the press of a button. Chemists could make 'smart glass' smarter by manipulating it at the nanoscale.

U-factor: Measures how well a product prevents heat from escaping. The lower the U-factor, the better a product is at keeping heat inside the building. The rate at which a window, door, or skylight conducts non-solar heat flow. It's usually expressed in units of Btu/hr-ft2-oF. For windows, skylights, and glass doors, a U-factor may refer to just the glass or glazing alone. R-value measures the resistance to heat loss. R-value is a measure of conductance and resistance. NFRC U-factor ratings, however, represent the entire window performance, including frame and spacer material. The lower the U-factor, the more energy-efficient the window, door, or skylight.

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC): Measures how much heat from the sun is blocked. The fraction of solar radiation admitted through a window, door, or skylight -- either transmitted directly and/or absorbed, and subsequently released as heat inside a home. The lower the SHGC, the less solar heat it transmits and the greater its shading ability. A product with a high SHGC rating is more effective at collecting solar heat during the winter. A product with a low SHGC rating is more effective at reducing cooling loads during the summer by blocking heat gain from the sun. Your home’s climate, orientation, and external shading will determine the optimal SHGC for a particular window, door, or skylight. For more information about SHGC and windows, see passive solar window design.

Air Leakage: Measures how much outside air comes into a home or building through a product. The rate of air movement around a window, door, or skylight in the presence of a specific pressure difference across it. It's expressed in units of cubic feet per minute per square foot of frame area (cfm/ft2). A product with a low air leakage rating is tighter than one with a high air leakage rating.

Water infiltration: Measures the amount of water and pressure that a window can resist to keep the water from leaking through it. The higher the water infiltration rating, the better the window is at resisting water leakage

Condensation Resistance: Measures how well a product resists the formation of condensation. Condensation resistance is expressed as a number between 1 and 100. The higher the number, the better a product is able to resist condensation.

Sunlight Transmittance: The ability of glazing in a window, door, or skylight to transmit sunlight into a home can be measured and rated according to the following energy performance characteristics:

Visible Transmittance (VT): The fraction of the visible spectrum of sunlight (380 to 720 nanometers), weighted by the sensitivity of the human eye, that is transmitted through the glazing of a window, door, or skylight. A product with a higher VT transmits more visible light. VT is expressed as a number between 0 and 1. The VT you need for a window, door, or skylight should be determined by your home's day lighting requirements and/or whether you need to reduce interior glare in a space.

Light-to-Solar Gain (LSG): The ratio between the SHGC and VT. It provides a gauge of the relative efficiency of different glass or glazing types in transmitting daylight while blocking heat gains. The higher the number, the more light transmitted without adding excessive amounts of heat. This energy performance rating isn't always provided.

Low-E4 Glass Windows: This advanced glass design features an innovative exterior coating that, when activated by sunlight, reduces water spots by up to 99 percent. It comes standard on Andersen 400 Series products. Depending on the home's location, Low-E4 glass can reduce energy bills by up to 25 percent when compared to ordinary dual-pane glass. Not all Low-E coatings are created equal, nor is the Low-E coating on glass units manufactured today the same as it was as recently as two or three years ago. Advances in glass coatings technology and stronger regional energy code requirements have helped to create a new generation and more sophisticated array of Low-E glass options. Solar Heat Gain can also be controlled by the use of Low-E coatings combined with the use of tints, and can even be influenced by which glass surface the Low-E coating is placed upon. Additionally, since less than ½ of the total solar energy spectrum is visible to the human eye, solar performance of glass can be visually deceptive. Low emissivity (low e or low thermal emissivity) refers to a surface condition that emits low levels of radiant thermal (heat) energy. All materials absorb, reflect and emit radiant energy, but here, the primary concern is a special wavelength interval of radiant energy, namely thermal radiation of materials with temperatures approximately between 40 to 60 degrees Celsius.

UV Protection that blocks 95 percent of ultraviolet rays that can damage furniture, carpets, and wall coverings.

Structural Performance Rating: Measures the amount of air pressure (wind load) a window can resist before failing. The amount of structural pressure ratings required for windows in your area is often determined by local code requirements. The higher the structural performance ratings, the more wind load a window can resist.

Acoustical Performance Rating: Measures the amount of sound transmission through a window. The higher the sound transmission rating, the better the product is at blocking noise from coming through the window.

Security Performance Rating: Measures the ability of a window to resist different types of forces. For example, there are burglar-resistant windows, fire-resistant windows, bullet-resistant windows, wind-borne debris-resistant windows, and many others. Many of these products have special uses for different building types and may be covered by local building code requirements.

What are the other options to consider when shopping for windows? In addition to the NFRC Label, ratings comparisons, and ENERGY STAR, buyers may consider a number of other factors when choosing windows. These include: air infiltration, water infiltration, structural performance, acoustical performance, security performance, product cost, and warranty. Product cost and warranties are issues to be considered when making any major purchase, and this information is available from the window distributor or manufacturer.

Window Inserts - Indow Windows - Acoustical Window Inserts

Transparent wood Windows are Cooler than Glass
Scientists create TRANSPARENT wood (youtube)

Window Blind is a type of window covering. There are many different kinds of window blinds which use a variety of control systems. A typical window blind is made up of several long horizontal or vertical slats of various types of hard material, including wood, plastic or metal which are held together by cords that run through the blind slats. Window blinds can be maneuvered with either a manual or remote control by rotating them from an open position, with slats spaced out, to a closed position where slats overlap and block out most of the light. There are also several types of window coverings, called shades, that use a single piece of soft material instead of slats. The term window blinds can also be used to describe window coverings generically—in this context window blinds include almost every type of window covering, i.e. shutters, roller blinds, cellular shades (also called honeycomb shades), wood blinds (also called 2 inch horizontals), Roman blinds and standard vertical and horizontal blinds (also called Venetians). In the United Kingdom, awnings are sometimes called blinds or shades. Smart Blinds.

Curtain is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or water in the case of a shower curtain. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theater that separates the stage from the auditorium or that serves as a backdrop.

Location - Where to Build? Where to Live?

Location, Location, Location - Knowing where to build and where not to build. You have to carefully plan where you should build a home because the location of a house is extremely important. Knowing your options and your choices can make all the difference. Mobility - Home Inspections.

Things to consider when choosing land to build a Home or a City...Rivers, Lakes and Water Sheds: What is upstream and down stream. Is your home close to clean water? How much rain fall in a year? What types of storms happen? Expected Weather? Climate change predictions? Wind Patterns?

Flood is an overflow of water that submerges land which is usually dry. A covering by water of land not normally covered by water. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Flooding may occur as an overflow of water from water bodies, such as a river, lake, or ocean, in which the water overtops or breaks levees, resulting in some of that water escaping its usual boundaries, or it may occur due to an accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground in an areal flood. While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, these changes in size are unlikely to be considered significant unless they flood property or drown domestic animals. Floods can also occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river channel, particularly at bends or meanders in the waterway. Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if they are in the natural flood plains of rivers. While riverine flood damage can be eliminated by moving away from rivers and other bodies of water, people have traditionally lived and worked by rivers because the land is usually flat and fertile and because rivers provide easy travel and access to commerce and industry. Some floods develop slowly, while others such as flash floods, can develop in just a few minutes and without visible signs of rain. Additionally, floods can be local, impacting a neighborhood or community, or very large, affecting entire river basins. Weather.

Flood Zone is a Flood Hazard Area that is lower than the Base Flood Elevation. V zones are the most hazardous of the Special Flood Hazard Areas.

Floodplain is an area of land adjacent to a stream or river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge or rain. The soils usually consist of clays, silts, and sands deposited during floods.

Flood Maps (fema) - Flood Maps - Flood Smart

Flood Protection - River Partners

River Protection and Preservation

Living Breakwaters reduces the risk of a shorelines vulnerability to wave damage, flooding and erosion. Rather than create a wall between people and water.

Sand Engine is an experiment in the management of dynamic coastline. It is run off South Holland in the Netherlands. A sandbar-shaped peninsula was created by humans; the surface is about 1 km². It is expected that this sand is then moved over the years by the action of waves, wind and currents along the coast. To protect the West of the Netherlands against the sea, the beaches along the coast are artificially replenished every five years, and it is expected that the sand engine will make replenishment along the Delfland Coast unnecessary for the next 20 years. This method is expected to be more cost effective and also helps nature by reducing the repeated disruption caused by replenishment.

Amphibious Architecture refers to an alternative flood mitigation strategy that allows an otherwise-ordinary structure to float on the surface of rising floodwater rather than succumb to inundation.

Floating Cities - Oceanix

Why not build houseboats in flood zones. This way when the floods come your house floats instead of gets water damaged or destroyed. You can cover the bottom part of the houseboat with a deck and have the houseboat anchored.

Floating Homes Resources
Waternest-100 - Floating Seahorse
Blue Frontiers floating homes and ecosystems.
Urban Rigger
Buoyant Foundation (amphibious foundations)
Floating Villas, Zeewolde
Barcode Architects - Sluishuis-2
Dutch Docklands - Amillarah
Floating Seahorse Bentley Edition
Nautilus House Boat
Bluefield Floating House
Waya Floating Pyramids
Moat m.2 Floating House
Net Zero Floating House
modul go floating house.
water loft floating house.

Sea Level Rise since at least the start of the 20th century, the average global sea level has been rising. Between 1900 and 2016, the sea level rose by 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in). More precise data gathered from satellite radar measurements reveal an accelerating rise of 7.5 cm (3.0 in) from 1993 to 2017,:1554 which is a trend of roughly 30 cm (12 in) per century. This
acceleration is due mostly to human-caused global warming, which is driving thermal expansion of seawater and the melting of land-based ice sheets and glaciers. Between 1993 and 2018, thermal expansion of the oceans contributed 42% to sea level rise; the melting of temperate glaciers, 21%; Greenland, 15%; and Antarctica, 8%. Climate scientists expect the rate to further accelerate during the 21st century. Sea Level Institute - Our shorelines are moving inland, slowly and inevitably.

Inundated is to fill quickly beyond capacity, as with a liquid. To Fill or cover completely, usually with water. Inundation is the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land. Tsunami Zones.

Subsidence is the sudden sinking or gradual downward settling of the ground's surface with little or no horizontal motion. The definition of subsidence is not restricted by the rate, magnitude, or area involved in the downward movement. It may be caused by natural processes or by human activities. The former include various karst phenomena, thawing of permafrost, consolidation, oxidation of organic soils, slow crustal warping (isostatic adjustment), normal faulting, caldera subsidence, or withdrawal of fluid lava from beneath a solid crust. The human activities include sub-surface mining or extraction of underground fluids, e. g. petroleum, natural gas, or groundwater. Ground subsidence is of global concern to geologists, geotechnical engineers, surveyors, engineers, urban planners, landowners, and the public in general.

Subduction Zones - Earthquake Protection - Sink Holes.

Storms (hurricanes - tsunamis) - Thermal Expansion - Will New York Be Underwater by 2050? (youtube)

King Tide are the highest Tides. They are naturally occurring, predictable events. Tides are the movement of water across Earth's surface caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon, Sun, and the rotation of Earth which manifest in the local rise and fall of sea levels.

40,000 records for flood-prone homes that have been purchased by local governments with the help of the Federal Emergency Management Agency since the late 1980s. Federally funded home buyouts have disproportionately gone to whiter communities. FEMA generally pays for 75% of the cost of a home, so local and state governments must find the remaining money elsewhere.

Uncharted Rapid Raft - World's Lightest Pack Raft. Less than 3 pounds, inflates in seconds and holds 400 pounds. Perfect for camping and/or survival.

Managed Retreat allows an area that was not previously exposed to flooding by the sea to become flooded by removing coastal protection. This process is usually in low-lying estuarine areas and almost always involves flooding of land that has at some point in the past been claimed from the sea. In the UK, managed retreat is often a response to sea level rise exacerbated by local subsidence of the land surface due to post-glacial isostatic rebound in the north.

Floods linked to increased skin infections in humans. Skin and soft tissue infections can develop when injured skin is exposed to floodwaters containing sewage, chemicals and other pollutants. In particular, natural disasters like tsunamis and hurricanes can cause major soil disruption that leads to the release of unusual infectious organisms. Stagnant floodwaters provide breeding areas for mosquitoes, which can lead to outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases like Zika or malaria.

Growing Season is the part of the year during which local weather conditions (i.e. rainfall and temperature) permit normal plant growth. What crops can be grown? The quality of the land for growing food? 

Climate Classification divides climates into five main climate groups: A (tropical), B (dry), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar). The second letter indicates the seasonal precipitation type, while the third letter indicates the level of heat.

Global Warming Risk for 327 toxic Superfund sites. Nearly 2 million people in the U.S. who live within a mile of 327 Superfund sites in areas prone to flooding or vulnerable to sea-level rise caused by climate change. Mostly in low-income, heavily minority neighborhoods. Risk Assessment.

Eco System? Plants? Animals? Insects? 

City Development Plans? - Zoning Laws? - Local laws and regulations?

Environmental Impact Assessment is the assessment of the environmental consequences (positive and negative) of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action.

Ecology Disturbance is a temporary change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. Disturbances often act quickly and with great effect, to alter the physical structure or arrangement of biotic and abiotic elements. Disturbance can also occur over a long period of time and can impact the biodiversity within an ecosystem. Major ecological disturbances may include fires, flooding, windstorms, insect outbreaks and trampling. Earthquakes, various types of volcanic eruptions, tsunami, firestorms, impact events, climate change, and the devastating effects of human impact on the environment (anthropogenic disturbances) such as clearcutting, forest clearing and the introduction of invasive species can be considered major disturbances. Disturbance forces can have profound immediate effects on ecosystems and can, accordingly, greatly alter the natural community. Because of these and the impacts on populations, disturbance determines the future shifts in dominance, various species successively becoming dominant as their life history characteristics, and associated life-forms, are exhibited over time.

Heavy Jet Plane Traffic? - Air Travel Pollution? - What is upwind and downwind?

Windward is the direction upwind (toward where the wind is coming from) from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind (or downward) from the point of reference.

Large trees that could fall on your house?

History of the Land - Mudslides, Landslides, Earthquakes, Wildfires, Geologic Hazards, Landfills, Gas Pipelines, Oil Pipelines, Factories, Superfund Clean Up Sites, Large Pesticide Use, Nuclear Power Plants, Coal Power Plants, Gas Power Plants, Mining, Pharmaceutical Companies, Draughts, Natural Disasters, National Laboratories or Companies that Polluted the Area?

Landslide refers to several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. However, influential narrower definitions restrict landslides to slumps and translational slides in rock and regolith, not involving fluidisation. This excludes falls, topples, lateral spreads, and mass flows from the definition. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, characterized by either steep or gentle slope gradients, from mountain ranges to coastal cliffs or even underwater, in which case they are called submarine landslides. Gravity is the primary driving force for a landslide to occur, but there are other factors affecting slope stability that produce specific conditions that make a slope prone to failure. In many cases, the landslide is triggered by a specific event (such as a heavy rainfall, an earthquake, a slope cut to build a road, and many others), although this is not always identifiable. Natural causes of landslides include: saturation by rain water infiltration, snow melting, or glaciers melting; rising of groundwater or increase of pore water pressure (e.g. due to aquifer recharge in rainy seasons, or by rain water infiltration); increase of hydrostatic pressure in cracks and fractures; loss or absence of vertical vegetative structure, soil nutrients, and soil structure (e.g. after a wildfire – a fire in forests lasting for 3–4 days); erosion of the toe of a slope by rivers or ocean waves; physical and chemical weathering (e.g. by repeated freezing and thawing, heating and cooling, salt leaking in the groundwater or mineral dissolution); ground shaking caused by earthquakes, which can destabilize the slope directly (e.g., by inducing soil liquefaction) or weaken the material and cause cracks that will eventually produce a landslide; volcanic eruptions. Landslides are aggravated by human activities, such as: deforestation, cultivation and construction; vibrations from machinery or traffic; blasting and mining; earthwork (e.g. by altering the shape of a slope, or imposing new loads); in shallow soils, the removal of deep-rooted vegetation that binds colluvium to bedrock; agricultural or forestry activities (logging), and urbanization, which change the amount of water infiltrating the soil. temporal variation in land use and land cover (LULC): it includes the human abandonment of farming areas, e.g. due to the economic and social transformations which occurred in Europe after the Second World War. Land degradation and extreme rainfall can increase the frequency of erosion and landslide phenomena. Simple actions can help people survive landslides. Simple actions can dramatically improve a person's chances of surviving a landslide, according to records from 38 landslides in the US and around the world. People who survived landslides tended to show key behaviors such as being aware of the risk, moving to higher ground, and making noise if buried.

Fracking? - Noise Pollution? - Radio Waves?

Sinkholes: Engineering Methods for Detecting Sinkholes.

Soil borings or other direct testing - Borings can be reduced by reconnaissance scanning's using the following methods: Electromagnetics (EM) and DC Resistivity: detect variations in subsurface electrical properties related to anomalously thick or wet soils (electrical conductivity highs similar to our use of moisture meters in homes), or voids in the electrically conductive clay soil mantle (electrical conductivity lows). Home Inspections.

Sinkholes (wiki) - Sinkholes - How Do Sinkholes Form? (youtube)

Spontaneous Potential (SP): detects naturally-occurring minute electrical currents or potentials commonly associated with concentrated vertical water infiltration (Streaming potentials).

Micro-gravity: detects minute variation in gravity (subsurface voids create missing mass and lower gravity). Seismic Refraction: profiles the top-of-rock which may display conical depressions of a type associated with subsidence sinks or deep gouges or cutters which represent sinkhole-prone lineaments.

Ground-Penetrating Radar is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. This nondestructive method uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band (UHF/VHF frequencies) of the radio spectrum, and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures. GPR can have applications in a variety of media, including rock, soil, ice, fresh water, pavements and structures. In the right conditions, practitioners can use GPR to detect subsurface objects, changes in material properties, and voids and cracks.

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery is a radar technique used in geodesy and remote sensing. This geodetic method uses two or more synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images to generate maps of surface deformation or digital elevation, using differences in the phase of the waves returning to the satellite or aircraft. The technique can potentially measure millimetre-scale changes in deformation over spans of days to years. It has applications for geophysical monitoring of natural hazards, for example earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides, and in structural engineering, in particular monitoring of subsidence and structural stability. (InSAR)

Uninhabited Airborne Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR)

Internal Erosion of soil particles from within a dam by water that seeps through the dam is one of the most common causes of failure of levees and earth dams. Internal erosion is especially dangerous because there may be no external evidence, or only subtle evidence, that it is taking place. Usually a sand boil can be found, but the boil might be hidden under water. A dam may breach within a few hours after evidence of internal erosion becomes obvious. Internal erosion manifests by the migration of soil particles by suffusion or piping. Piping is induced by regressive erosion of particles from downstream and along the upstream line towards an outside environment until a continuous pipe is formed. Suffusion is the migration of soil particles through the soil matrix. Soil Erosion.

Solid Ground that may not be so Solid. Expansive soils cause more property damage per year than earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes combined.

Expansive Clay is a clay or soil that is prone to large volume changes (swelling and shrinking) that are directly related to changes in water content. Soils with a high content of expansive minerals can form deep cracks in drier seasons or years; such soils are called vertisols. Soils with smectite clay minerals, including montmorillonite and bentonite, have the most dramatic shrink-swell capacity. This type of clay that is known as a lightweight aggregate with a rounded structure, with a porous inner, and a resistant and hard outer layer. What is the Swell Pressure of Expansive Soil?

Vertisol is a soil in which there is a high content of expansive clay known as montmorillonite that forms deep cracks in drier seasons or years. Alternate shrinking and swelling causes self-mulching, where the soil material consistently mixes itself, causing vertisols to have an extremely deep A horizon and no B horizon. (A soil with no B horizon is called an A/C soil). This heaving of the underlying material to the surface often creates a microrelief known as gilgai.

How Soil Destroys Buildings (youtube)

Differential Settlement, or uneven settlement, occurs when the soil beneath a structure can not bear the weights imposed. The settlement of a structure is the amount that the structure will “sink” during and after construction. Differential settlements become a big problem when the foundation settles unevenly.

Piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids (liquids and gases) from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid.

Do you live next to an as*hole?

This is Kiruna: How to Move a City (youtube)

Hidden, Abandoned, Dangerous: Old Gas And Oil Wells In Neighborhoods

Water Testing - Soil Testing - Air Testing - Pollution - Invasive Species

(Local Arial Topo Maps - 500 Mile Radius Arial Map) - Aerial Photos showing how the Land Changes over time.

Other Factors to Consider when looking for a home to settle down: Services, Infrastructure, Schools, Roads, Airports, Culture, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Recreational Opportunities.

How many people can the land sustain without help from other states or countries?

Sustainable - Self-Reliant - 1 Acre of Land - Flat Usable Area

Predictions for population growth? What resources are available that are renewable? Where will your energy come from?

Owner Finance a Home (wikihow) - Title Company - No Liens - Verified Owner - Title Insurance.

Orientation - Which Direction should my Home Face?

The relative physical position or the direction of your home should be well planned. Design your house for the whole year.

Southern Exposure - Solar Gain - Architectural Lighting Design

Building Orientation for Optimum Energy from the Sun
Designing Your Home for Maximum Natural Lighting (PDF)

Passive Solar Building Design is when windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unlike active solar heating systems, it does not involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices. The key to design a passive solar building is to best take advantage of the local climate performing an accurate site analysis. Elements to be considered include window placement and size, and glazing type, thermal insulation, thermal mass, and shading. Passive solar design techniques can be applied most easily to new buildings, but existing buildings can be adapted or "retrofitted".

Home Inspection

1. Roof inspection: You'll need to call in a roof specialist if your inspector isn't qualified to inspect the roof. Also, keep in mind that the roof may be difficult to access and examine if it's covered with snow. In this case, it may be possible to include a special provision that allows you to extend the inspection contingency specifically to accommodate the roof, in the hope that the weather improves. Building Codes - Home Inspection (wiki) - Building Performance (wiki)

2. Chimney inspection: If you or your home inspector suspect instability or hints of structural damage, it's important to hire a chimney specialist. The specialist will be able to use a "chimney cam" (a small video camera used to inspect the chimney from the inside) to uncover hidden damage. Energy Assessment.

3. Geological inspection: A property on a cliff or hillside, or one that is located in a flood zone, can benefit from a geological inspection. The inspector could unearth a severe drainage or ground-shifting problem -- and save you thousands in repair costs down the line. Location.

4. Sewer inspection: Your inspector may be able to tell whether things are, um, "flowing," but a sewer expert can get a better sense of the integrity of your sewer line with a sewer camera to discover cracks or breaks from the house to the street. A sewer inspection is critical for properties that are heavily landscaped, where root growth can crack and clog the pipeline. Don't overestimate the importance of this inspection; a sewer line replacement can be an enormous expense.

5. Termite inspection: The seller commonly pays for this inspection, because many mortgage companies and banks will need one before approving a loan on the house. Regardless of who pays, make sure you review the finished report and that all the recommended work has been completed.

6. Moisture, mold, and toxin inspection: It's important to check for moisture in any crawlspace, basement, or below-ground-level areas. Moisture indicates a potential mold problem -- if there isn't one already. Be sure your house has a clean bill of mold health, especially in wet areas close to oceans or lakes. Sinkholes - Knowing the History of the Land

7. Asbestos inspection: If the house was built prior to 1975, you will need an asbestos inspection. Asbestos can be present on insulation around ducting, water heaters, and pipes. If it is accessible and can be removed by an asbestos specialist, consider asking the seller to foot the bill.

8. Nonconforming-use inspection: The issue of nonconforming use does not require a specific additional inspector. It is usually a joint effort between your inspector and your real estate agent to determine if all additions and major changes have been properly permitted. Converted garages, sun porches, or add-on bedrooms can increase square footage, but when completed improperly, they can add headaches when it's time to make them legal.

Buildings - Large Multi Use Structures

Facility is a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry. Something designed and created to serve a particular function and to afford a particular convenience or service. A service that an organization or a piece of equipment offers you. Skillful performance or ability without difficulty. A natural effortlessness.

Building is a structure that has a roof and walls made by combining materials and parts.

Building Types (PDF)
Building Codes - Engineering
Honest Buildings
Sustainable Building
High-Performance Buildings Caucus
Green Building - Maintenance
No Shadow Tower (video)
Location - Design Guides

"Building using old outdated materials and methods is wasteful, negligent and criminal."

The Government estimates there may be 77,000 Empty or Underutilized Buildings across the country. Taxpayers own them and are costing taxpayers billions a year to maintain. Approximately 3.5 million people in the U.S. are Homeless, many of them veterans, and there are 18.5 Million Vacant Homes in the country. 85% of all empty homes are privately owned. There are 635,127 empty homes in England in 2013. Philadelphia has an estimated 40,000 vacant, derelict or underused buildings and lots, both publicly and privately owned.

Waste Law - Problem Transference

Urban Decay is the process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. It may feature deindustrialization, depopulation or deurbanization, restructuring, abandoned buildings and infrastructure, high local unemployment, fragmented families, political disenfranchisement, crime, and a desolate cityscape, known as greyfield or urban prairie.

Philly Land Bank

Absentee Business Owner is one who does not personally manage the business he owns, or who does not live in the community in which the business operates.

Absentee Landlord is an economic term for a person who owns and rents out a profit-earning property, but does not live within the property's local economic region.

Why are we allowing ignorant criminals to over-develop precious valuable land? 

Home Deconstruction

Deconstruction of Buildings is the selective dismantlement of building components, specifically for re-use, repurposing, recycling, and waste management. It differs from demolition where a site is cleared of its building by the most expedient means. Deconstruction has also been defined as “construction in reverse”. The process of dismantling structures is an ancient activity that has been revived by the growing field of sustainable, green method of building. Buildings, like everything, have a life-cycle. Deconstruction focuses on giving the materials within a building a new life once the building as a whole can no longer continue.

Rescue Archaeology is state-sanctioned, for-profit archaeological survey and excavation carried out in advance of construction or other land development. These conditions could include, but are not limited to, highway projects, major construction, the flood plain of a proposed dam, or even before the onset of war. Unlike traditional survey and excavation, rescue archaeology must be undertaken at speed. Rescue archaeology is included in the broader categories that are cultural resource management (CRM) and cultural heritage management (CHM).

Recycle - Reuse - Repurpose - History

Nearly 44,000 Commercial Buildings are Demolished. (1995) implosion. Nearly 4.9 million office buildings existed in 2003 in the U.S. Every year, approximately 170,000 commercial buildings are constructed.

Study predicts millions of unsellable homes could upend market. The study predicts that the change in home-buying behaviors by younger generations may result in a glut of homes that could grow as high as 15 million by 2040, with homeowners selling for far below what they paid -- if they can sell them at all.

When Government and Corporations Steal your Property

Eminent Domain is the power of a state, provincial, or national government to take private property for public use. However, this power can be legislatively delegated by the state to municipalities, government subdivisions, or even to private persons or corporations, when they are authorized by the legislature to exercise the functions of public character. (which is lie that is never debated because of corruption in our government).

Stop Eminent Domain Abuse - Gentrification - Evictions - Marginalize - Colonization

Annexation is the political transition of land from the control of one entity to another. It is also the incorporation of unclaimed land into a state's sovereignty, which is in most cases legitimate. In international law it is the forcible transition of one state's territory by another state or the legal process by which a city acquires land.

Zoning describes how a section of land can be used within a set of rules that helps protect the land, and also protects other people living nearby from land being misused. Fracking - Oil Pipe Lines.

Land Use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. It also has been defined as "the total of arrangements, activities, and inputs that people undertake in a certain land cover type.

Building Lot - Buying Land - Location

Land-Use Planning regulates land use in an efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land-use conflicts.

Urban Development - Design Guides - City Planning - Farm Land - Choosing Land - Sustainability

Everyone should have the right to live in a home that is free from Disturbances and Hazards.