Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: The power of pre-fab

This is heartening in some respects, and it speaks to a lot of the current debates about housing trends and their effects on the economy. It seems that we're moving more and more towards a paradigm of modularity and interchangeability that allows us to customize our lives as we see fit. Everything from designing downloadable playlists to customized health plans for individual needs, so why should housing be any different?

Now, the tech geek in me thinks this is fabulously cool, but I wonder...if we create a world of apartments and houses that can be assembled on factory lines, plugged into developments or buildings, and removed (or replaced) when it's time to move on, what are we losing? Are we giving up a sense of community, of place, of respect for architecture, beauty of craftsmanship, and tradition? Are we becoming a nation of prefabrication and modularity, not connected to anything, to be plugged and unplugged as the need requires?

But at the same time, looking at what orgs like Habitat for Humanity are doing gives me tremendous hope that everyone can enjoy the American Dream of home ownership, even after incredible tragedy. If that can spur innovation and charitable goodwill, I'll take that as good a form of "community" as we can get.

Oh, really, that's brilliant. Instead of utilizing the HUD-backed vouchers for the FEMA trailers, FEMA is paying for them directly at a cost of $6,000 more. And who foots that bill? You and I.

It would appear that removing Mike "Arabian Stallion" Brown from the top spot has not changed what is a watershed of poor organization, poor planning, and political cronyism at its worst.

Even many Republicans wonder why the government would want to build trailer parks when many evacuees are now living in communities with plenty of vacant, privately owned apartments.

"The idea that — in a community where we could place people in the private housing market to reintegrate them into society — we would put them in [trailer] ghettos with no jobs, no community, no future, strikes me as extraordinarily bad public policy, and violates every conservative principle that I'm aware of," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican.

You know that when Mr. "Contract With America" thinks your plan is bad, it's time to call it a day.

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The Globe and Mail had a fascinating article on Friday about the new swell in demand for prefab housing in the wake of Katrina. This is heartening in some respects, and it speaks to a lot of the current debates about housing trends and their effects on the economy. It seems that we're moving more and more towards a paradigm of modularity and interchangeability that allows us to customize our lives as we see fit. Everything from designing downloadable playlists to customized health plans for individual needs, so why should housing be any different? Now, the tech geek in me thinks this is fabulously cool, but I wonder...if we create a world of apartments and houses that can be assembled on factory lines, plugged into developments or buildings, and removed (or replaced) when it's time to move on, what are we losing? Are we giving up a sense of community, of place, of respect for architecture, beauty of craftsmanship, and tradition? Are we becoming a nation of prefabrication and modularity, not connected to anything, to be plugged and unplugged as the need requires? But at the same time, looking at what orgs like Habitat for Humanity are doing gives me tremendous hope that everyone can enjoy the American Dream of home ownership, even after incredible tragedy. If that can spur innovation and charitable goodwill, I'll take that as good a form of "community" as we can get. At least they won't be living in trailers. And speaking of FEMA, today's "ROAD FROM FEMAVILLE" installment finds the Los Angeles Times taking aim at the Bush Administration's undercutting of efforts to aid the hurricane victims. Oh, really, that's brilliant. Instead of utilizing the HUD-backed vouchers for the FEMA trailers, FEMA is paying for them directly at a cost of $6,000 more. And who foots that bill? You and I. It would appear that removing Mike "Arabian Stallion" Brown from the top spot has not changed what is a watershed of poor organization, poor planning, and political cronyism at its worst. Here's a particularly killer line or two from that story: Even many Republicans wonder why the government would want to build trailer parks when many evacuees are now living in communities with plenty of vacant, privately owned apartments. "The idea that — in a community where we could place people in the private housing market to reintegrate them into society — we would put them in [trailer] ghettos with no jobs, no community, no future, strikes me as extraordinarily bad public policy, and violates every conservative principle that I'm aware of," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican. You know that when Mr. "Contract With America" thinks your plan is bad, it's time to call it a day.