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New Orleans. Green Washing Machine
Here, it seems the whole green thing has gotten a little bit out of whack. It is kind of interesting how little I have really thought about green and sustainable stuff on my trip. It was kind of a...
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New Orleans. Rethinking Poverty?
Started, but unfinishedAnd that opportunity after the storm to rethink and tackle poverty in America in a new way? Ummmm. Yes, it is a catastrophic failure on a national level, but on a local level as...
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Mississippi: Katrina Cottages
Cottage Square in Ocean Springs, MSThe original Katrina Cottage designed by Marianne CutsanoMississippi Cottage I went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to learn more about the Katrina Cottage. Developed...
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Mississippi. Temporary vs. Permanent
One of the interesting components about the Katrina Cottages is the questions it raises about temporary vs. permanent housing. Of course, the original FEMA trailer and mobile homes that were provided...
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Mississippi: Long Term Solutions
Diamondhead HFH Cottage DemonstrationInterior showing addition of living roomInstallation of prefabricated tag unit. Katrina Cottages are sold by Lowe's. New homes at Cottage Square. Enterprise...
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Mississippi: Prefabrication?
Two different approaches, manufactured home (front) newly designed/built from GCCDS (back).East Biloxi. New housing in East Biloxi (designed by Marlon Blackwell in partnership with AFH and GCCDS)One of...
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Mississippi: Future Trends
Look closely, there is a still a Katrina Cottage thereRebuilding a bit differently. A whole new aesthetic is developing.....I also spoke with Ben Brown, who works with Placemakers, an urban...
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Incremental Housing in Haiti
In the midst of all the devastation in Haiti, it is hard to imagine thinking about next steps, when I feel like i haven't even been able to process the initial event. Regardless, in thinking about how...
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Incremental vs. Traditional
Some thoughts related to incremental housing vs. traditional approaches in the case of Haiti. 1) People could get homes built initially much more quickly because they are building less. However, there...
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Haiti: Beyond Building Housing
Seven weeks after the disaster, a number of recent news pieces have highlighted how now is the time to begin shifting people out of the tent camps and into different kinds of housing. This has many...
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Mobile/Manufactured Homes
Manufactured home park in Boone, NC.@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial Narrow"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt;...
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Manufactured Home Alterations
Additions include porches, new roofs, new siding, garages, and additional rooms.@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial Narrow"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {...
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WNC Additions: Mary
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Cairo. Revolutionary Change?
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Design and Social Change in Hale County, Alabama
20k houseLast year, I took a trip to Hale County, Alabama. My goal was to connect with Pam Dorr, the director of HERO (Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization). We arrived one spring day...
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New Incremental Urbanism
Driving down US-19 from Bryson City to Cherokee, NC, there exists a campground that is unique even for Western North Carolina. While it is not uncommon to see RV's with permanent roofs built over...
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Incremental Upgrading in India
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/05/05/incremental-housing-strategy-by-filipe-balestra-and-sara-goransson/An interesting project surfaced on Dezeen that highlighted an incremental upgrading strategy in Pune,...
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Kambimoto: Three Years Later
In the summer of 2011, I was able to return to Nairobi, as a team member of Mathare Valley slum-upgrading program. I stopped by the Kambimoto upgrading project that I had documented in the summer of...
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Check out this fascinating video, highlighting Bolivia's "Indigenous Bourgeoisie", which is growing signficanlty with Evo Morales continued tenure are President and a growing economy. It highlights...
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Beyond Cairo's Painted Buildings
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/world/middleeast/cairo-mural-garbage.html?module=inlineMuch of the informal housing around the identified by an aesthetic that is often seen as unsightly and...
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ELEMENTAL'S Construction Details of Incremental Housing
In 2017, ELEMENTAL, the firm that has helped pioneer incremental housing in a more more modern context has shared their drawings and construction details of the a number of their most prominent...
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Quinta Monroy: A Victim of its Own Success?
My visit to Quinta Monroy in 2008 convinced me that incremental housing was a viable approach to helping solve the problems of housing affordability, quality and availability in many parts of the...
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The Naked House
Designed to be adaptable and ultimately built-out by its inhabitants, the Naked House is another concept in a long line of housing proposals that apply the ideas of adaptability and flexibility in...
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The Tiny Home as a Module
I have a lot to say about the rise and popularity of Tiny Homes, but will go more in depth in a future post. In the meantime, I have come across some innovative applications beyond the standard 200 SF...
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Shipping Containers: Cool, but Unaffordable
https://www.archdaily.com/772414/ga-designs-radical-shipping-container-skyscraper-for-mumbai-slumI have been approached multiple times this year by people who think shipping containers are the best...
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