Draft:Universal basic housing/New construction

This page is for ideas on how to create an abundance of basic housing and good walkable neighborhoods.

Medium-cost ideas

Mid-rise buildings that don't suck

• Buildings should have some common spaces designed for people to actually spend time in. Maybe a lounge or a shared kitchen, for example. It won't add too much to the cost per capita, if it's like 2% of the total square footage of the building. We need to make it easy for neighbors get to know neighbors without standing around awkwardly in the hallway. People shouldn't feel isolated.
• Buildings should have some actual character, not all look the same (which btw doesn't have make it cost more).
• Diverse standards: Different buildings for different people:
  • People who like parties & loud music can live in different buildings than people who like to live quietly. Or buildings could even be designated as "for night owls" vs "for early birds".
  • People who are extremely clean can live in different buildings than people who don't mind dirt or bugs. Note that some people are unable(...)( such as due to ADHD ) to maintain a level of cleanliness that others deem "normal", but these people don't deserve to be on the street. Neither do "hoarders" (some of whom are actually helping preserve history in some ways). 💬 discussion i'm not talking about the most extreme hoarders, but the moderate ones do good in the world, especially if they're rescuing items that would otherwise go to waste. I'll make another page about that
  • Most buildings should allow pets, but maybe have a few that don't, for people who really don't want to live around anyone's pets.

Low-cost ideas

• Shipping container homes 💬 discussion i don't have a lot of first-hand experience but i might research it and think of a lowest-cost design kinda, to start with. For now, there are tons of blogs out there
• Homes made from old buses?
• Tiny homes made from old dumpster bins? (Would be washed first, of course!)
• Build homes from scratch using scrap or recycled materials? (Of which there is lots, left over from people's renovations etc.)
• ↑ For each of these, we should try to estimate the costs per person housed (can also divide by the expected lifespan of the home, to estimate a monthly cost, and then add the expected heating/cooling costs on top of that)

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We need to flesh out these ideas more. Join the discussion.

See also

• Housing (back to main page)
• Make suburbs walkable (for existing neighborhoods)