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.



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. 10 most popular American house styles, including Cape Cod, French Country, Colonial, Victorian, Tudor, Craftsman, Cottage, Mediterranean, ranch-style, and Contemporary.

Sanctuary is a shelter from danger or hardship or any place of safety. A sanctuary is also a consecrated place where sacred objects are kept.

Refuge is a safe place. A shelter from danger or hardship. Someone turned to for assistance or security.

Safe Haven is a place of refuge or security, or temporary refuge given to a persecuted person or group.

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.

Affordable Housing - Housing Failures - Homeless - Foreclosures - Castle Doctrine - Amenities - Creature Comforts - Big 5 Needs - More is Not Always Better - Empty Buildings

House types (wiki) - Mobile Home Types

Sustainable Building - Sustainable Habitat - Smart Homes - Windows - Renovate

Location (safe places to build) - Orientation - Floods - Fires - Development (land-city) - Building a Home - DIY - Factory Built

Brick Houses - Domes - Prefab Homes - Mobility - Emergency Shelters - Shipping Containers - Tiny Homes - Small Homes - Off Grid - Benefits - Futuristic Building Designs - Architecture

Household is a social unit living together. A household consists of one or several persons who live in the same dwelling and share meals. It may also consist of a single family or another group of people. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is important to economics and inheritance. Household models include families, blended families, shared housing, group homes, boarding houses, houses of multiple occupancy, and single room occupancy.

Affordable Housing - Green Building - Multi-Family - House Keeping Chores

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.

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

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

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

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 sometimes 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.

There are some important differences between a $50.00 dollar a night hotel and a $100.00 dollar a night hotel. A quality hotel can add to the quality of your sleep, which is extremely important. But better quality can also add to the quality of your well being. Nice things can be inviting and soothing, creating a feeling of safety and calm. But those feelings can be subjective. How each person experiences and perceives these details will vary from person to person, because good things can be relative.

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. 39 Million Renters in America.

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.

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

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

Great House is a large, multi-storied Ancestral Puebloan structure; they were built between 850 and 1150. Whereas the term "great house" typically refers to structures in Chaco Canyon, they are also found in more northerly locations in the San Juan Basin, including the Mesa Verde region. The purpose of the structures is unclear, but may have been to house large numbers of people, religious leaders, or royalty. They were designed and constructed to provide shelter to inhabitants in an arid climate and had protective walls and small windows. Great House is also a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff.

It takes wisdom to build a house ... By wisdom a house is built, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation; It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with precious and pleasant riches.

Wise people are builders — they build families, businesses, communities. And through intelligence and insight their enterprises are established and endure. Because of their skilled leadership, the hearts of people are filled with the treasures of wisdom and the pleasures of spiritual wealth.

Home Defense

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 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.

Territoriality is the concept of claiming and protecting a space or territory, and can be applied to both individuals and groups. Territoriality is the process of establishing ownership and control over a space, whether it's a physical location or a broader neighborhood. It can involve the use of physical barriers, symbolic indicators, visual cues, and physiological factors. Territoriality can also be seen in humans, such as when people establish boundaries and defend them in their home. In urban settings, a lack of territoriality can lead to a lack of ownership and responsibility for shared space. Territoriality can create a sense of belonging and security for inhabitants, while also affecting factors like anonymity, criminal activity, and social interaction.

Trespassing - Security - Evictions - Taxes

Curtilage is any land, area, or building with immediate proximity to the main residence. For an area or building to be considered curtilage, it also needs to have activities that relate to the domestic operations of the home. The 4th Amendment in the Constitution protects people from illegal searches and seizures of their private property, including rights that extend to all property considered curtilage. This means that a police officer must have a search warrant and probable cause to enter someone's property.

The Fourth Amendment applies to both owners and renters. Landlords cannot consent to a search of any part of an occupied rental property if the police do not have a warrant. However, the officer may ask anyone for consent they meet at the door of the residence, whether it’s a roommate, guest, family member, or landlord.

Consent - False Evidence - Toxic Ego's - Trick Questions

Knock and Talk is an investigative technique where one or more police officers approaches a private residence, knocks on the door, and requests consent from the owner to search the residence. This strategy is often utilized when criminal activity is suspected, but there is not sufficient evidence to obtain a search warrant.

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.

Bastion is an institution, place, or person strongly defending or upholding particular principles, attitudes, or activities. A group that defends a principle. A stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a battle. Projecting part of a rampart or other fortification.

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.

The Fourth Amendment reads: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.”

Home Rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been decentralized to it by the central government. Home Rule is granted by state constitution or state statute and allocates some autonomy to a local government, if the local government accepts certain conditions. Home Rule implies that each level of government has a separate realm of authority. Home rule transfers authority over municipal matters from state laws to a local charter that’s drafted, adopted, and amended by voters in the municipality. A home rule charter is essentially a local constitution: it sets up the government structure and outlines its authority and its limitations. Once you've decided on where to put your town, the first step toward You-ville is to get a petition signed by some of the people who live there. Towns can be started on private property by your state legislature. Self Management.

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.

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.

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

Home is where the Heart is

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.

Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (youtube) - Home is wherever I'm with you.

Wherever I Lay My Hat, That's My Home - Marvin Gaye (youtube) - For I'm the type of boy who is always on the roam, Wherever I lay my hat, that's my home.

Home - Phillip Phillips (youtube) - Just know you're not alone, Cause I'm gonna make this place your home.

There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays - Perry Como (youtube) - Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays, 'Cause no matter how far away you roam, When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze, For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home.

Home is sometimes not a place, home is a way of living. Where ever you are, any place can be a home as long as you make it a home.

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 - Maintenance - Capitol Projects - Modernization

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 Conservation - Environment Restoration - Adaptation

Home Improvement is upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems or 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 - Smart Home - Develop - Sustainable - City - Simplicity - Progressive - Mature Modernization - Replacement

Upgrade is to improve what was old or outdated to a higher quality.

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.

Deep Energy Retrofit can be broadly categorized as an energy conservation measure in an existing building also leading to an overall improvement in the building performance. While there is no exact definition for a deep energy retrofit, it can be defined as a whole-building analysis and construction process that aims at achieving on-site energy use minimization in a building by 50% or more compared to the baseline energy use (calculated using utility bills analysis) making use of existing technologies, materials and construction practices. Such a retrofit reaps multifold (energy and non-energy) benefits beyond energy cost savings, unlike conventional energy retrofit. It may also involve remodeling the building to achieve a harmony in energy, indoor air quality, durability, and thermal comfort. An integrated project delivery method is recommended for a deep energy retrofit project. An over-time approach in a deep energy retrofitting project provides a solution to the large upfront costs problem in all-at-once execution of the project. Green Building.

Green Retrofit is any refurbishment of an existing building that aims to reduce the carbon emissions and environmental impact of that building. This includes, but is not limited to improving the energy efficiency of the heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and other mechanical systems, increasing the quality of insulation in the building envelope, and aiming to improve occupant comfort and health. Green retrofits have come to prominence recently with their inclusion in a number of popular building rating systems, such as the USGBC’s LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, Passive House EnerPHit, and Green Globes for Existing Buildings. Numerous government agencies, chiefly the EU, emphasize and help fund green retrofits in both residential and commercial buildings, as existing buildings have been identified as a large and growing area of consideration in the fight against climate change. Passive House.

Shallow Retrofits mean carrying out minimal upgrades such as draught proofing, cavity wall insulation, efficient lighting and upgraded heating controls.

Europhit - With the EnerPHit Standard as the goal and Passive House principles as the basis, EuroPHit applied knowledge on deep energy retrofits to the oft-overlooked yet critical area of step-by-step refurbishments.

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.

Fair Use - Eric Lundgren (wiki) - DIY electric car made recycled parts has 380 mile range - Cars - Planned Obsolescence - Black Box

Repair Café is a place 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. Repair Café helps you fix your broken items. Join our community of skilled volunteers and get your belongings repaired in a sustainable way.

Hacker Space - DIY Resources - DYI Science - Time Banking

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.

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.

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, which is considered to be primary homelessness. Moving between temporary shelters, including houses of friends, family and emergency accommodation, which is considered to be secondary homelessness. Living in private boarding houses without a private bathroom and/or security of tenure, which is considered to be tertiary homelessness.

Evictions - Predatory Lending - Affordable Housing - Social Services - Volunteering - Cooperatives

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

Hidden Homeless - Poverty in America

More than 1.5 million American college students are homeless. Nearly half of college students who responded to a survey said they struggle with paying utilities or rent. Many are also managing medical, grocery and transportation bills, and thousands succumb to these challenges every semester. Student Housing Security Initiative - Student Loan Fraud.

More than 770,000 people were living in shelters or outside in January in 2024, according to an annual federal report on homelessness by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The number is up 18% from last year's count — which had also jumped from the year before — and is the largest number since HUD started doing this report in 2007.

Seniors, the number of homeless people age 65 and up in the U.S. would triple between 2019 and 2030. In 2022, there were about 250,000 people over 55 that were unhoused. About half of this population were becoming homeless for the first time. National Healthcare for the Homeless Council.

Housing Costs are increasing Homelessness.

In 2024, states and cities making it a crime to sleep outside in public spaces. The Supreme Court decision this year allowed cities to enforce them even if people have nowhere else to go.

Young folks are moving in with their parents in record numbers. The trend is growing fastest among those between ages 25 and 34. Families with lower incomes, nonwhite families, and folks without high school degrees are more likely to live in multigenerational households. Almost a quarter of people 25 to 34 living in multigenerational households say that caregiving is a major reason.

Most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, which means being homeless is a possibility for almost everyone in America, so homelessness is everyone's problem.

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.

A movement to measurably and equitably end homelessness.

Transitional Housing is temporary housing with the goal to facilitate the movement of individuals and families experiencing homelessness to permanent housing within 24 months or a longer period. Transitional Housing Program supports programs that provide 6-24 months of transitional housing with support services for victims who are homeless or in need of transitional housing as a result of a situation of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, and for whom emergency shelter services or other crisis intervention services are unavailable or insufficient.

Affordable Housing - Fair Housing

Housing is now unaffordable for a record half of all U.S. renters in 2024, study finds. 22.4 million renter households spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities. And while rental markets are finally cooling, evictions have risen, the country is seeing the highest homelessness counts on record, and the need for rental assistance is greater than ever. 1 in 3 Americans also have more credit card debt than savings.

Workforce Housing is any form of affordable housing that is needed for low income people who are working low income jobs, but don't have good housing in reasonable proximity to their workplace. If society needs services, than society must pay for needed workers who provide these services. You can't force people to live stressful unhealthy lives just because certain people with money need their lattes. We have essential public service jobs that need workers, and not just jobs that service privileged people.

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.

"If you want low wage workers, then you need affordable housing. You can't force people into poverty because businesses want to exploit low wage workers, or because people want low prices, that is just ignorant, selfish and crazy."

Why The U.S. Can’t Build Homes Fast Enough (youtube) - Colluding corporate monopoly scumbags who choose greed over people. Theses scumbags are more interested in building large expensive homes that waste energy and resources, while creating dependency and debt slaves so that big banks and energy providers can profit from this insane greedy behavior.

Subsidizing oil companies, subsidizing processed food and subsidizing war profiteers is ignorant and corrupt when you compare it to subsidizing people who actually need help. We should not be subsidizing greedy corporations who pollute for profits, or help processed food companies feed people low qulity food that actually causes health problems, or help war profiteers who profit from unwarranted death and destruction. This is insane reasoning.

There is more spaces for parked cars than there is space for housing humans. Research shows that by square footage, there is more housing for each car in this country than there is housing for each person. In 2016, Bloomberg reported that there were more three-car garages being built than one-bedroom apartments. America Is Building More Three-Car Garages Than One-Bedroom Apartments.

Section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes, since 1989, the “Connecticut Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Procedure,” has promoted the development of low-cost housing with long-term affordability protections. 8-30g includes an appeals procedure to override local zoning denials of affordable housing proposals without just cause: 8-30g ensures that municipalities cannot deny an affordable housing proposal unless there is a specific significant health or safety concern. The burden of proof for this concern is placed on the municipality. If the State Department of Housing has designated at least 10% of a community’s housing stock is as “affordable,” that community is exempt from the appeals requirement.

Fair Rent Commission was established to control and eliminate excessive rental charges on residential housing within a city.

CT residents’ struggle to use affordable housing vouchers, in some cases waiting years and often finding themselves mired in government red-tape and restrictions, which causes thousands of government-subsidized affordable housing vouchers to go unused, as many have to endure poor living conditions.

Voters in cities and counties in California, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Texas and other states will provide new funding for affordable housing in 2022.

Millions of seniors struggle to afford housing — and it's about to get a lot worse.

Cost-Burden means that a person spends 50 percent of gross household income or their paychecks on rent. Gross housing costs range from 30 to 50 percent of gross household income.

Empty Homes Tax would tax homes that are not occupied for at least 120 days throughout the year to raise money for new affordable housing projects.

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 - Evictions

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.

Right to Housing is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right in the International human rights law which was clearly in the 1991 General Comment on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The aspect of the right to housing under ICESCR include: availability of services, infrastructure, material and facilities; legal security of tenure; habitability; accessibility; affordability; location and cultural adequacy.

Humans have a natural need for shelter. Just like birds who routinely build nests of twigs, mud and fur, and insects who often burrow, and small mammals who often build dens, and so on.

House Poor Person is anyone whose housing expenses account for an exorbitant percentage of their monthly budget. Individuals in this situation are short of cash for discretionary items and tend to have trouble meeting other financial obligations, such as vehicle payments. More Than 1 in 4 American Homeowners Is 'House Poor'.

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 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. The government should build high quality affordable housing, instead of building low quality housing that is doomed to fail. Planned Obsolescence.

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 involves the joint activity of two or more people or working with others for a common purpose or benefit. Willing to adjust to differences in order to obtain agreement. An association formed and operated for the benefit of those using it.

Cooperation - Collaboration - Sharing

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.

Neighbor - Roommates - Elderly 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"

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.

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. 

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.

National Multifamily Housing Council

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.

Condo's can be bad sometimes.

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

Public Housing is to provide affordable housing.

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.

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".

Emergency Shelters - Homeless - Social Issues - Foreclosures - Refugees - U.N.

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.

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.

Severe Weather Pods for Underground Emergency Shelter and Food Storage.

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

Micro- Home Solutions - Building Blocks

Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board

Indo-Global Social Service Society

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 - Refugees - Immigration

Primitive Technology

Survival Tips - Emergency Information

De-Markies Expandable Camper

Building a Tiled Roof Hut (youtube)

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.

Tipi is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. Historically, the tipi has been used by some Indigenous peoples of the Plains in the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies of North America, notably the seven tribes of the Sioux, as well as among the Iowa people, the Otoe and Pawnee, and among the Blackfeet, Crow, Assiniboines, Arapaho, and Plains Cree. They are also used west of the Rocky Mountains by Indigenous peoples of the Plateau such as the Yakama and the Cayuse. They are still in use in many of these communities, though now primarily for ceremonial purposes rather than daily living. Modern tipis usually have a canvas covering. Non-Native people have often stereotypically and incorrectly assumed all Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada live in tipis, which is incorrect, as many Native American cultures and civilizations and First Nations from other regions have used other types of dwellings such as pueblos, wigwams, hogans, chickees, and longhouses. Most earth ships are Pueblo-style homes that are sometimes made of traditional adobe or sun-dried mud, but can also be built with concrete, stucco or mortar.

Yurt is a portable, round tent covered with skins or felt and used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure consists of an angled assembly or latticework of wood or bamboo for walls, a door frame, ribs (poles, rafters), and a wheel (crown, compression ring) possibly steam-bent. The roof structure is often self-supporting, but large yurts may have interior posts supporting the crown. The top of the wall of self-supporting yurts is prevented from spreading by means of a tension band which opposes the force of the roof ribs. Modern yurts may be permanently built on a wooden platform; they may use modern materials such as steam-bent wooden framing or metal framing, canvas or tarpaulin, plexiglass dome, wire rope, or radiant

Tent City is a temporary housing facility made using tents or other temporary structures. State governments or military organizations set up tent cities to house evacuees, refugees, or soldiers. UNICEF's Supply Division supplies expandable tents for millions of displaced people. Informal tent cities may be set up without authorization by homeless people or protesters. Tent cities set up by homeless people may be similar to shanty towns, which are informal settlements in which the buildings are made from scrap building materials. Camping - mHS City Lab - 100 SHELTERS Tent (youtube).

Learn how to transition from a temporary tent city or refugee camp to a sustainable settlement.

Mobile Homes - Tiny Homes - Nomads

Refugee Camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced people. Usually, refugees seek asylum after they have escaped war in their home countries, but some camps also house environmental and economic migrants. Camps with over a hundred thousand people are common, but as of 2012, the average-sized camp housed around 11,400. They are usually built and run by a government, the United Nations, international organizations (such as the International Committee of the Red Cross), or non-governmental organization. Unofficial refugee camps, such as Idomeni in Greece or the Calais jungle in France, are where refugees are largely left without support of governments or international organizations.

Sedentism is the practice of living in one place for a long time. As of 2021, the majority of people belong to sedentary cultures. In evolutionary anthropology and archaeology, sedentism takes on a slightly different sub-meaning, often applying to the transition from nomadic society to a lifestyle that involves remaining in one place permanently. Essentially, sedentism means living in groups permanently in one place. The invention of agriculture is to blame for this phenomenon. City Management.

Shipping Containers

Intermodal Container or shipping container or a freight container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship to rail to truck – without unloading and reloading their cargo. Intermodal containers are primarily used to store and transport materials and products efficiently and securely in the global containerized intermodal freight transport system, but smaller numbers are in regional use as well. These containers are known under a number of names. Based on size alone, up to 95% of intermodal containers comply with ISO standards, and can officially be called ISO containers. Many other names are simply: container, cargo or freight container, shipping, sea or ocean container, container van or sea van, sea can or C can, or MILVAN, SEAVAN, or RO/RO. The also used term CONEX (Box) is technically incorrect carry-over usage of the name of an important predecessor of the international ISO containers, namely the much smaller prior steel CONEX boxes used by the U.S. Army.

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.

Shipping containers are made with weathering steel or COR-TEN Steel, which is a group of steel alloys that were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years.

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)

Shipping Containers can be 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. 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.

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

Custom Container Living - Bunk-Houses

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

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

Cargo Tecture - Micro Compact Home - Boxouse

Sanitation

N Architects - Seabox Containerized Shelters

Shipping Container Cabin - Sustainable Architecture Builders 

Momoco is a leading exporter of modified containers in Thailand.

Refugee First Response Center (RFRC)

Everyone should have mobile storage pods, just incase you need to move in a hurry.

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.

Mobile People - Nomads

Nomadic is someone having no fixed home and who changes location regularly as required for work or food.

Refugees - Remote Work - Digital Nomads - Work Travel - Simple Living - Gig Economy

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".

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.

Gypsy is a a nomadic or free-spirited person, or a member of a race of people who travel from place to place, usually in caravans, rather than living in one place. Romani people are widely known as gypsies or gipsies, are a member of a people originating in South Asia and traditionally having an itinerant way of life, living widely dispersed across Europe and North and South America and speaking a language (Romani) that is related to Hindi; a Romani person.

Every human born is a nomad. Everyone travels through life on a journey of discovery. But there's a big difference between forced displacement and traveling. And there's a big difference between work and adventure. It's good to be mobile and flexible, but it's bad when freedom and security is obstructed and denied by ignorance and corruption. Walking Adventures.

Emergency Shelters - Mobile Homes

Belongings is a persons movable possessions. Any tangible or intangible possession or material possession that is owned by someone. Property.

Nomadland is a 2020 American drama film that stars Frances McDormand as a woman who leaves her hometown of Empire, Nevada, after her husband dies and the sole industry closes down, to be "houseless" and travel around the United States. In 2011, Fern loses her job after the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada, shuts down; she worked there for years along with her husband, who has recently died. Fern decides to sell most of her belongings and purchase a van to live in and travel the country searching for work. She takes a seasonal job at an Amazon fulfillment center through the winter. Linda, a friend and co-worker, invites Fern to visit a desert rendezvous in Arizona organized by Bob Wells, which provides a support system and community for fellow nomads. Fern initially declines but changes her mind as the weather turns cold, and she struggles to find work in the area. At the rendezvous, Fern meets fellow nomads and learns basic survival and self-sufficiency skills for the road. When Fern's van blows a tire, she visits the van of a nearby nomad named Swankie to ask for a ride into town to buy a spare. Swankie chastises Fern for not being prepared and invites her to learn more road survival skills; they become good friends. Swankie tells Fern about her cancer diagnosis and shortened life expectancy and her plan to make good memories on the road rather than waste away in a hospital. They eventually part ways. Fern later takes a job as a camp host at the Cedar Pass Campground in Badlands National Park, where she runs into David, another nomad she met and danced with back at the desert community. David is working temporarily at Badlands National Park, but when he falls ill, Fern visits him at the hospital where he has had emergency surgery. The two of them later take restaurant jobs at Wall Drug in South Dakota. One night David's son visits the restaurant looking for him, informing David that his wife is pregnant and asking him to meet his grandchild. David is hesitant, but Fern encourages him to go. David suggests that she come with him, but she declines. Fern takes a new job at a sugar beet processing plant, but her van breaks down, and she cannot afford the repairs. Unable to borrow money, she visits her sister's family at their home in California. Her sister lends her the money. She questions why Fern was never around in their lives and why Fern stayed in Empire after her husband died, but she tells Fern she is brave to be so independent. Fern later visits David and his son's family; she learns that David has decided to stay with them long-term. He admits feelings for her and invites her to stay with him permanently in a guest house, but she decides to leave after only a few days and heads to the ocean. Fern returns to her seasonal Amazon job and later revisits the Arizona rendezvous. There she learns that Swankie has died, and she and the other nomads pay tribute to her life. Fern opens up with Bob about her loving relationship with her late husband, and Bob shares the story of his son's recent suicide. Bob espouses the view that goodbyes are not final in the nomad community as its members always promise to see each other again "down the road." Sometime later, Fern returns to the nearly abandoned town of Empire to dispose of the belongings she has been keeping in a storage unit. She visits the factory and the home she shared with her husband before returning to the road again. WATCH: The real world of 'Nomadland' (youtube) - NOMADLAND | See You Down The Road | Half Hour Broadcast Special (youtube).

The 2017 film "Mother" is a great Air B&B warning video and a good argument for why tiny homes can make 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.

Small Homes that can be Moved

Mobile Home is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site, either by being towed or moved on a trailer. Used as permanent homes, or for holiday or temporary accommodation, they are often left permanently or semi-permanently in one place, but can be moved, and may be required to move from time to time for legal reasons. Mobile homes share the same historic origins as travel trailers, but today the two are very different and furnishings, with travel trailers being used primarily as temporary or vacation homes. Behind the cosmetic work fitted at installation to hide the base, there are strong trailer frames, axles, wheels, and tow-hitches. A mobile home is also known as a park home, trailer, trailer home, house trailer, static caravan, RV, residential caravan, motorhome or simply caravan. Mobile Home Park Corruption and Evictions.

Nomads - Work Travel - Tiny House on Wheels - Tents - Emergency Shelters - Shipping Containers

Manufactured Housing is a type of prefabricated housing that is largely assembled in factories and then transported to sites of use. Manufactured homes are built as dwelling units of around 320 square feet or 30 m2 in size with a permanent chassis to assure the initial and continued transportability of the home. The requirement to have a wheeled chassis permanently attached differentiates manufactured housing from other types of prefabricated homes, such as modular homes. Manufactured housing is commonly known as mobile homes in the United States. Every Manufactured Home, when driven or moved upon a highway, is subject to the Registration and Certificate of Title provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code. For this reason, it is necessary to Register your Manufactured Home and secure a Registration Plate which must constantly be displayed. A manufactured home, when it is bought from a dealer, should be titled and registered as a vehicle before it is moved on the highways.

Manufactured Home Action is working to ensure all families have a safe and affordable place to call home. We need to 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.

Eco-Friendly Mobile Homes for Trailer Parks.

Green Homes for Trailer Parks.

Trailer Park is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and easy moving to a new area, for example when taking a job in a distant place while keeping the same home. Trailer parks, especially in American culture, are stereotypically viewed as lower income housing for occupants living at or below the poverty line who have low social status. Tornadoes and hurricanes often inflict serious damage on trailer parks, usually because the structures are not secured to the ground and their construction is significantly less able to withstand high wind forces than regular houses. However, most modern manufactured homes are built to withstand high winds, using hurricane straps and proper foundations.

Park Model is a home built on a chassis and mounted on wheels. The wheels are often hidden by skirting, and sometimes wheels are removed entirely. In the past, park models were primarily used as seasonal homes or recreational getaways. Park Models usually require a special permit to be moved and usually need specialized towing equipment. Like house trailers, they usually don’t have holding tanks and so need direct water and sewer hookups for their plumbing. And like house trailers, once they’ve been set up they’re usually there to stay, wheels and axles removed and the undercarriages surrounded by skirting. More than 400 square feet and the wheeled house is defined as a dwelling, subject to Housing and Urban Development regulations. Less than 400 square feet and the wheeled house is defined as “a trailer-type RV that is designed to provide temporary accommodations for recreation, camping or seasonal use,” removing it from under HUD’s regulatory umbrella and putting it under the arguably less stringent manufacturing standards of something called ANSI A-119.5. That standard dates back to 1982, when the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), the trade group representing RV manufacturers, sought to draw a bright line between “vehicles” and “dwellings” to forestall greater regulatory oversight of the RVs it was building. Over time, however, RVIA has steadily enlarged the scope of ANSI permissibility. In 1997, for example, it persuaded HUD to exempt “small lofts” from the square-foot calculation—and in the years since, the small lofts have grown bigger and taller, and now range up to five feet high. More recently, the industry also won the right to exempt porches built on the chassis from the same square footage limitation, opening the door for even bigger chassis footprints. RV Code.

Recreational Vehicle is a motor vehicle or trailer which includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans, and also known as travel trailers and camper trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, and truck campers.

Motorhome or motor coach is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle or RV which offers mobile living accommodation.

CamperForce is a program to find seasonal work camping jobs with the Amazon.

Workamper - Jobs for RVers.

Campervan is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term describes vans that have been fitted out, whereas a motorhome is one with a coachbuilt body. Conversion Van is a full-sized cargo van that is sent to third-party companies to be outfitted with various luxuries for road trips and camping. It can also mean a full-size passenger van in which the rear seating have been rearranged for taxis, school buses, shuttle buses, and limo purposes in place of a family van. Other conversions include bespoke fitting services to be undertaken to make the load area of light commercial vehicles suitable for industrial work. This includes various things such as racking systems for the storage of tools and goods so they can be kept safe and utilize the full storage capability of the vehicle.

Caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent, although there are fold-down trailer tents.It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places where none is available. However, in some countries campers are restricted to designated sites for which fees are payable. Caravans vary from basic models which may be little more than a tent on wheels to those containing several rooms with all the furniture and furnishings and equipment of a home. Construction of the solid-wall trailers can be made of metal or fiberglass. Travel trailers are used principally in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. A caravan, travel trailer, camper, tourer or camper trailer.

Popup Camper is a type of towed recreational vehicle that can be collapsed for easy storage and transport. When set up, this type of trailer provides a large amount of interior space when compared to its size when collapsed. Its relatively affordable price makes it a popular choice for some RVers and its small size contributes to easier towing than many other types of RVs.

Tents - Shipping Containers - Affordable Housing

Boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.

Boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats. Other boats such as punts or small motor boats may also be stored.

Liveaboard is a boat designed for people to live aboard it, or a boat used for recreational diving expeditions or cruises where the divers live on the boat for the duration of the cruise and use it as a diving support vessel. Liveaboard is someone who makes a boat, typically a small yacht in a marina, their primary residence. Powerboats and cruising sailboats are commonly used for living aboard, as well as houseboats which are designed primarily as a residence. The liveaboard lifestyle has attractions and downsides. Most boats are much smaller than equivalent cost shoreside residences, they are more exposed to bad weather, and require special maintenance skills. However, they are mobile, provide water access, and allow for integrated recreational, transportation, and housing costs. Where the cost of housing is high, a liveaboard lifestyle may have cost advantages. Although it is sometimes regarded as being a cheaper way to live this is not always the case. Liveaboard boats can be luxury vessels moored in expensive marinas or small vessels in need of restoration. One attraction of the lifestyle is there is something to suit everyone. Because of this, liveaboards are very diverse people coming from many different backgrounds.

Mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An anchor mooring fixes a vessel's position relative to a point on the bottom of a waterway without connecting the vessel to shore. As a verb, mooring refers to the act of attaching a vessel to a mooring.

Anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. Anchors can either be temporary or permanent. Permanent anchors are used in the creation of a mooring, and are rarely moved; a specialist service is normally needed to move or maintain them. Vessels carry one or more temporary anchors, which may be of different designs and weights. A sea anchor is a drag device, not in contact with the seabed, used to minimise drift of a vessel relative to the water. A drogue is a drag device used to slow or help steer a vessel running before a storm in a following or overtaking sea, or when crossing a bar in a breaking sea.

Living Rent-Free Next to Millionaires. For decades, the “anchor-outs” have enjoyed living in rent-free boat homes in the Bay Area. Their boats, anchored just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, float illegally in the sightline of one of the country’s wealthiest zip codes. But now, as enforcement ramps up, their way of life could be coming to an end. The harbor master will enforce the 72 hour rule that states no vessel may anchor within the designated anchorages for more than 72 hours without the prior approval. In some places there is no law stating how long a boat can be anchored for. Although, anchoring is meant for short periods of time when left unattended. But with the proper size equipment, your vessel can survive being anchored for long period of time. Other factors may influence how long you anchor your boat. Can I moor & anchor my boat anywhere? The short answer is no, you can not anchor or moor anywhere. Most cities and towns have restrictions on permanent mooring locations, and some restrict anchoring. And not every spot is safe or ideal to leave your boat unattended for long.

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 or connected to city water or city sewer pipe lines, 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. Being off grid doesn't mean that you're not totally disconnected from the rest of the world. And being off grid does not mean being unproductive in your community. Off grid is about being self sustaining, self reliant, independent, but not dependent. Off grid is about resilience, it's not about being isolated, selfish or narrow-minded. Off grid is about understanding your responsibilities and your potential. Off grid should not be about working just to stay alive. Off grid is about creating a low maintenance life but not a low quality life. If you can't live healthy, or if your life style puts your health at risk, then maybe that lifestyle is not for you. When going off grid there is a lot of work in the beginning and you have to do a lot of things first before you are sustainable and healthy. Eventually after a couple of years you can have more free time and an easier time maintaining a sustainable lifestyle. When off grid is done right, you will become a strong link in the chain of life, or a strong branch on the tree of life. Not just a source of strength and energy, but a source of knowledge. Off grid. On life.

Energy Sources - Green Building Ideas - Off Sets - Internet - Wi-Fi - Cellular Wi-Fi Signal Boosters - Internet Connection using Cellphone Towers

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

Boondocking is camping off-the-grid and far from the services and amenities that can be found at RV parks or at developed campgrounds. It can be quieter than a campground.

Boonies is a remote and undeveloped area. The backcountry or a sparsely inhabited rural areas; wilderness. Boon is a desirable state. Fond of the pleasures of good company.

Backcountry Camping means that you're not near a road or close to a developed area. The number one rule of backcountry camping is always to plan. Let someone know where you're going and be prepared for the worst. Start Small. For your first backcountry camping adventure, plan to be away for only a night or two. Camping in remote, isolated areas where groups must be self-sufficient.

Humanure Handbook - Toilets

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.

Small Houses - Tiny Homes

Small House Movement is a description for the architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes. Nice for singles, couples, or even a small family, especially when the siblings can build their own tiny house next door.

Mobile Homes - Autonomy - Personal Space - Privacy - Benefits - My Tiny Home

Size Does Matter. A tiny house does not have to be big, it only needs to be smart. The benefits of simplicity are many. But there are some trade offs, and there is always two sides to a story, so tiny is relative. Just remember, there will always be more room on the outside than on the inside. And amenities and creature comforts are not related to the size of the home, but more related to the quality and functionality of the home. One of the best things about a tiny home is that you never have to go far to get something or to find something. A lot of things are within an arms reach, which can be beneficial to certain people with disabilities.

It's a Small World, It's a world of laughter, A world of tears, It's a world of hopes, And a world of fears, There's so much that we share, That it's time we're aware, It's a small world after all. (This song was made for an amusement park boat ride through the cultures of the world. The ride premiered at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York before being installed permanently at Disneyland.)

Tiny homes are nothing new. Humans have been living in small homes for thousands of years, and still are. But now, the tiny home life style has been repackaged and sold as something new, which it's not. For people like myself, the tiny home is just being reimagined and repurposed. The main thing is, space is important, especially to certain families and certain businesses. But space is not always the most important thing. Most people want security, safety, and prosperity. And most people want priorities that are more aligned with reality instead of being obsessed with a materialistic competition that's based on a fantasy. Its like saying, what would humans do if we were really really stupid, the answer would be, to live a narrow minded indulgent life style, like something a child would do. This is not to say that the pleasures of life are not to be enjoyed, but enjoying the pleasures of life should not be at the expense of life itself, especially when the pursuit of pleasure doesn't have to kill us. We can still have it all without having to throw it all away. We just have to work a little harder at our responsibilities so that we have the rewards from our hard work without having to pass on an enormous debt to our children, a debt that comes from our selfishness and from the lack of awareness of how ignorant we we still are.

Chicago to launch $3M Tiny Homes pilot on city lots with up to eight units on each.

American Tiny House Association has volunteers across the country that are helping craft the tiny friendly ordinances that your community needs. Instead of reinventing the wheel, please help support their work.

Housing Development (over development)

What is Driving Reductions in Residential Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U.S.? A study finds smarter home construction and decarbonization of electric supply are contributing to lower emissions from individual households, but troubling trends show other factors could begin to cancel out this progress. In 2005, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from residential energy use hit an all-time high in the United States. Each year since, emissions have dropped at an average annual rate of 2 percent.

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.

Grandma Pod or granny flat or in-law unit, is a type of accessory dwelling designed to accommodate an aging relative. These dwellings live on permanent foundations or on wheels on the same residential lot as the main house.

Disability Rights - Cooperatives

"A tiny house on wheels is like aging in place except in different places. Because different places have different faces, and with every new face it brings you to a different place, internally."

Accessory Dwelling Unit or ADU is a smaller, independent residential dwelling unit located on the same lot as a stand-alone or detached single-family home. ADUs go by many different names throughout the U.S., including accessory apartments, secondary suites, and granny flats. ADUs can be converted portions of existing homes to be an internal ADU, or additions to new or existing homes to be an attached ADU, or new stand-alone accessory structures or converted portions of existing stand-alone accessory structures or detached ADUs. Internal, attached, and detached ADUs all have the potential to increase housing affordability for both for homeowners and tenants, and create a wider range of housing options within the community, enable seniors to stay near family as they age, and facilitate better use of the existing housing fabric in established neighborhoods. Consequently, many cities and counties have signaled support for ADUs in their plans and adopted zoning regulations that permit ADUs in low-density residential areas. Coops.

Efficiency Apartment is a one room space that includes the bedroom, dining room, living room, and a kitchen or a kitchenette. An efficiency apartment can be smaller than a studio apartment, and sometimes don't come with many of the features that you'll find in a studio. Efficiency units can be defined as a person's total living space containing one multi purpose room with a fully equipped kitchen and a separate bathroom. Examples of multi purpose are using a bookshelf as a room divider, turning your bed into a daybed, designate an accent wall, building a Loft, create your own closet space, be creative with shelving, build spaces for your bike and other tools.

Micro-Apartments are space-saving units that are usually around 300-500 square footage, and are smaller than most studio apartments.

Studio Apartment is an apartment with a single room, also known as single-room dwelling places or studio flats.

Hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hides, fabric, or mud using techniques passed down through the generations. The construction of a hut is generally less complex than that of a house (durable, well-built dwelling) but more so than that of a shelter (place of refuge or safety) such as a tent and is used as temporary or seasonal shelter or as a permanent dwelling in some indigenous societies. Huts exist in practically all nomadic cultures. Some huts are transportable and can stand most conditions of weather. Mountain Hut (wiki

Earth House - Adobe - Cob

Bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof with dormer windows, and may be surrounded by wide verandas.

Cottage is a small dwelling of traditional build or a small house with enough garden to feed a family.

Shed is typically a simple, single-story roofed structure that is used for hobbies, or as a workshop in a back garden or on an allotment.

Lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing lean-to structures are generally used as shelters. One traditional type of lean-to is known by its Finnish name laavu.

Cabin is a small free-standing structures that serve as individual lodging spaces of a motel,  which is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby.

Log Cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers.

Chalet is a type of building or house made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house.

Personal Space is important. Individuals need time to think in peace and quiet, and time to be alone to ourselves, whether to pray, or to ask god questions, or to just sense reality in an non-subjective way.

Man Cave is a male retreat or a sanctuary in a home, such as a specially equipped garage, spare bedroom, media room, den, basement, or tree house. Man cave is also known as manspace or a manland or mantuary. Cave Dweller or troglodyte is a human being who inhabits a cave or the area beneath the overhanging rocks of a cliff. Caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic.

Tiny Home Concerns: 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. If you register your tiny house on wheels as an RV and plan to travel with it, then you don't have to deal with zoning or building code concerns— but you do need to find a place to park it. And you will need a water source from a town water line or a well or any other potable water source.

My Tiny House Design

My Tiny House that was built in 2022. (image) - My Tiny House Name - Video of My Tiny House (youtube)

Specs - Tiny House Specifications: Outside Length is 30 Feet Long not including Tongue Length which is 4 feet 5 inches - The tiny house outside width is 8.5 Feet - Outside Height is 13.5 Feet High measured from the ground to top of roof on the high side. Triple axel trailer has a 21,000 lb capacity. The trailer is double insulated for 30R value. Trailer is 24 inches on off the ground, which is good for storing things under the house. trailer has two layers of R-15 ROXUL (R-30 total) with vapor barrier and subfloor with Luxury vinyl flooring. The outside has Smart panel composite siding. Inside is 240 sq feet on first floor interior with a 40 sq foot loft above bathroom that is 39 inches high on the high side and 24 inches high on the low side. Ceiling height inside is 10 foot High on average. Inside Width wall to wall is 7 Feet 3 inches - Bathroom is 88 inches wide and 58 inches long with a 7 Foot High Ceiling. Stand up shower is 29 inches wide and 58 inches long with a water saving shower wand that can be adjusted. Metal framing was used instead of a wood framed house. Metal frame weighs less and also doesn't rot, mold, warp or have an insect problem. The tiny house has Double Pane Gas filled windows with Low-E coating that are energy efficient and also helps reduce outside noises. There is 1” R3.6 – Zipwall sheathing and Roxul insulation. Shiplap interior walls are painted semi gloss white that are easy to clean. The walls of the tiny house are around 5.5" thick. Solid Front Door that swings out or opens outward. Front door has Key pad and key lock entry combo.
Split Standing Seam Metal Shed Roof (white with a 2 percent grade) 50 year life span.
Pine Wood T&G ceiling - Shiplap on interior walls.
PEX tubing for plumbing.
12K BTU single zone mini-split from Mitsubishi.
Air Exchanger Ventilation, LUNOS e2.
Refrigerator by Frigidaire 13.9 cu. ft., 10.0 cu. ft. of fresh food capacity - Top Freezer. 3.9 cu. ft. freezer capacity, Brushed Steel outside finish. Height 59-7/8", Width 27-5/8", Depth 25-1/4".
Tankless Hot Water Heater by Rinnai - uses propane (Dual stage regulator for two tanks).
Gas cook top (2 burner).
Induction cook top (2 burner).
Delta Kitchen Sink and Faucet.
Washer/Dryer Combo by Equador.
Adjustable Bed (queen size with 8 inch foam mattress).
55" large screen TV (doubles as 2nd computer screen).
JBL Sound Bar - 9.1 True Wireless Surround with Dolby Atmos.
Standing Desk by Uplift.
Office Chair Multiple Adjusting FlexiSpot.
Face Mount Self Closing Kitchen Cabinet Hinges.

Design / Tiny House Design Methodology: I designed my tiny home to be multi-functioning, adaptable and sustainable. My tiny home is designed to live, to work, to play, to think, to explore, to rest, and to love. I also designed my tiny house to be peaceful, quiet, comfortable, relaxing, and gratifying to the senses. When designing my tiny home I knew that some of the things in the tiny home needed to be dual purpose. Things should have more than one function and serve as dual-use or double duty items. This is why I also designed my tiny home to be a professional home office so that I can work remotely at home over the internet, and so I can sleep at the office. Other dual purpose things in my home include, my computer work desk, which is also a standing desk, and my work desk is also my dining table and a work bench, and my desk is also a place to put groceries down when entering my home. My high quality office desk chair is also a recliner. My TV is also a second computer monitor. My kitchen sink is also a cutting board and a dish dryer. My clothes washer is also a clothes dryer. My air conditioner is also a heater. My loft step ladder can also be expanded to be a regular ladder to reach the roof. My couch is also my bed. My bed also has storage space underneath. I have ottomans that can store things inside, and the ottomans can also act as seats or foot stool. When the ottomans are stacked, they can be also be used as steps or as a high stool. Other things that are duel purpose are my tools, including appliances and furniture that can be used in more than one way. I like to repurpose, reuse, recycle, restore and remember. Simplicity. When building my tiny home I kept it simple. I chose quality over quantity. I focused on efficiency and productivity without sacrificing comfort. I have a high quality sound system with two wireless speakers that can be place anywhere depending where I am. My bathroom ceiling is 7 feet high, and being 6'2", I don't feel squished. My shower walls are not tiled, so it hardly never needs cleaning. I have a shower wand with 4 spray settings which I use 3 settings for different effects. I have a regular toilet that can also be switched with a compost toilet, which I could then use all the grey waste water for the garden. I have a quartz counter tops that are easy to clean and maintain. I have good cabinets and good hinges that are soft closing. I have luxury vinyl flooring that's easy to clean and maintain. I have good insulation and gas filled double pane windows. So my home is quiet inside, and I don't hear any noises outside when I'm sleeping. My refrigerator is quiet too, but I still added some sound insulation padding to make it even quieter. The Mini-split air compressor is on opposite end of my house where my bed is. My on-demand hot water heater is outside near the air compressor and two propane tanks. The inside mini split outlet is also up high and away from the sleeping area, keeping the sleeping area nice and quiet. I have lots of plugs that are place where they're needed. I have a normal size refrigerator and freezer, a 2 burner gas top and a 2 burner induction cook top, a multipurpose toaster oven that does six things, a microwave oven with a vent that vents outside, a toaster and a coffeemaker. I have an air circulator so the inside air is never stale. I have a ceiling fan that can be controlled using an Smartphone app. I have smart plugs that can be used to put things on a schedule so things can turn on or turn off when needed. I have a weather station outside that gives me local temperatures indoors and outdoors, as well as wind direction and humidity. And all the weather station information is transmitted inside to my indoor monitoring screen. Knowing the temps and humidity helps me to make improvements or adjustments when needed. Outdoors I also have an automated watering system for the garden that also adapts to the weather and soil conditions. A also setup a rain harvesting system. And eventually I will also have solar power system.

Indoor Environment / Tiny Home Inside Living Conditions: I have windows on all four sides of my tiny home so I can see in all four directions. Having nice windows helps to keep me connected to the outside world, as well as feel grounded. I never feel boxed in when I'm inside. The inside environment is always bright and pleasant because of nine the windows. And because I have a high 10 foot ceiling, I have high windows that act as skylights for star viewing at night. I have seen more shooting stars here in New Mexico in 2022 and 2023 then I did in my entire life living in Connecticut. The high windows are also good for watching birds fly by in formation, for cloud viewing, for watching planes fly by, and for seeing rainbows. With lots a plants inside my home, the indoor environment feels like a green house. It brings the outdoors inside, which keeps me connected. It's like apartment therapy. I feel like I'm outside even when I'm inside. Using smart home features, my home can breathe and adapt as the weather changes. I learned that the orientation of your house is really important. Luckily with a house on wheels, you can find your homes sweet spot, that's if its available where you are. My front picture window faces east, which is nice. When I sit or stand at my work desk in front of a large picture window, it's very pleasant. I see a verity of birds at the bird feeders that hang from the large tree in front of my window. I also see different insects. I also see feral cats running around, and they sometimes eat the birds, just like a peregrine falcon did right in front of me one day. I have a first floor adjustable bed that is TV watching friendly and video game playing friendly. The tiny home can also be modified to be senior friendly or disabled person friendly if needed. The bed on first floor avoids climbing into a loft. The loft can be hot in the summer, and not so fun when going to the bathroom at night. With my tiny home, almost everything is within an arms reach. And things are much easier to find and easier to organize. I would rather have something and not need it, than need something and not have it. But even if I don't have something, I know that I'll find a way, because tiny home living is also about problem solving. And you have to be creative sometimes too. There are no problems, only solutions.

Tiny Home Philosophy: A rational investigation of questions about tiny home existence and the knowledge and ethics built into its structure. Space is relative. With a tiny house, you have to think outside the box. Not feeling boxed in is extremely important. Your mind can be a box if we close our mind and refuse to listen and learn. But if we open our mind and keep our minds open, we can have the freedom to travel and the freedom to explore other possibilities. Our potential is limitless. When building my tiny house, I knew that I wanted to live a measured life. I also wanted to live a deliberate life, a mindful life, and a life of balance. Living in a tiny house is living a more focused life. Once you remove all the unused space, and remove all the clutter, you end up having more room to breathe, more room to think, more room to learn, more room to move, more room to be, more room to explore, and more room to be open. Everything in a tiny house is right in front of you. This makes tiny house living more manageable and more connected. A tiny house is a great reminder that you can't have everything, but you can have the things that you need, and also have things in the right amounts. The less things you have, the more time you have to enjoy the things you do have. We know in life that a person can't do everything, but a person can do the things that matter most. We also know in life that we can't control everything, but we can focus on the things that we do have some control over. Having your own personal space is extremely important. But how much space you need is relative. Families need more space, single people need less space. Living in a tiny house makes it easy to take inventory and make a detailed list of all the items in stock. You should know the current value of your assets including supplies, tools and have an itemized list of all things that are included with the tiny house. I want to be aware of my outputs as well as my inputs. And I want to be an active participant in life, someone who makes a difference, just like our ancestors did for us for thousands of years. Everyone stands on the shoulders of giants. So living in a tiny house is just the beginning. Instead of being house poor, I'm house rich. I have a wealth of potential and possibilities that comes from living simply and efficiently. I don't have a lot of space for stuff, but I have plenty of room for living, loving, learning, listening and leisure. And with information being digital, I have more room for, photos, music, media and knowledge. The name of my tiny house is called "Advanced Basics", using the symbol for advanced before the word basic. I wanted to go back to the basics with just the essentials, except this time, with a more advanced basics using technology to create an automated smart-home that maximizes efficiency and adaptability, as well as maintaining comfort and tranquility. And when it comes to screen time, not only do I have lots of windows, but I also have lots of screens. Computer screens are an excellent tool. I read a lot more now, all because of computers. I read on my smartphone, my laptop and my TV. Multitasking is just normal, especially when you're a knowledge worker. Having access to the internet connects you to the biggest library in the world. I have an enormous amount of valuable knowledge and information at my fingertips. Small home, big brain. I also have a HD screen dedicated to photos. Instead of trying to hang lots of pictures in my tiny house, I have a smart TV dedicated to photos. Anytime I want to see a family photo or see any photos I have, or any photos available on the internet, its there. So I multitask my inputs and utilize technology to the fullest. But with screen time, you need balance, just like with life. And a tiny house is a great way to be balanced. I try to ride my seesaw in the middle, like a surfboard riding the waves of life. But even after all that, having a tiny house does not mean that your problems will also be tiny. Tiny home living is a learning process. There will still be challenges with maintaining your home and your property, as well as, challenges maintaining a vibrant community. So your responsibilities are pretty much the same, even though the benefits of having a tiny home have increased. To live a fulfilling life, I have finally learned you don't need to have a lot of material things to be happy. Instead of filling your life with stuff, you should fill your mind with valuable knowledge and information, because that is something that you can always carry with you no matter where you go. Like my house, I like to keep my knowledge and information clean and organized. The tiny house movement is also about educating future generations. People should learn how to avoid the consumer trap, and learn how to live a more fulfilling life and a better life. You no longer have to compare yourself to the Jones's, or compete against the stupidity of showing off. No more insecurities. A tiny house helps to reduce an inflated ego, which means there will be plenty of room for more important things in life. My tiny home is not so much an RV, it's more of a living vehicle or LV. My tiny home is not an earth-ship, but it's more of a spaceship, because my home can travel through space and time. When you're living in a Tiny House, there's no need to manifest abundance, because you have no room for abundance, all you have room for is everything you need, which is plenty of room. You should have just enough space to stay balanced in reality and to be healthy in life. Having more could be having less.

Manifest is to reveal the presence of something or make something appear. To provide evidence for something or to stand as proof of something.

Abundance is having more than adequate quantity or supply. To have great quantity.

Death / Dying in a Tiny House: When it comes to end of life planning, I can get my house in order a lot easier with a tiny house. So when I die, I leave an organized uncluttered life that can be easily passed on to the next lucky person or persons. My time capsule is ready to be transferred. When my father passed away in 2021, everything he owned was in one bedroom. My father’s downsizing started with his first divorce from my mother and then again with his second divorce from his second wife. Leaving an organized life that's uncluttered is a great way to honor the survivors and your loved ones. You should leave a parting gift that is more spiritual than material, is a great way to say goodbye. Another benefit of tiny house living is that I can avoid being a burden on friends and family and caregivers in my final years. I designed my house to maximize living, but I'm also designing my timy house for end of life living. A smart home will allow me to take care of myself. And I can also be monitored by doctors using several types of body sensors over wi-fi. This way I can avoid surprises, mistakes or accidents.

Downsizing / Balancing / Minimizing / Maximization: After my father passed away in 2021, I decided to sell my condo and build a tiny house on wheels. So I spent the next 2 months downsizing 30 years of my life. Downsizing was an amazing experience. It was totally mind blowing. Downsizing was like a cleansing and a liberation all rolled into one. 30 years of memories and experiences. It was like my life was flashing before my eyes. My downstairs storage unit was like a time capsule. It showed me all the things that were once important to me, with some still important. Going through 30 years of stuff also showed me that I have gone through a lot of technology changes in the last 30 years. I found old VHS tapes of movies I recorded from cable TV, and old cassette tapes of music recorded from the radio and from friends. I found old phones and cell phones, old computers and gadgets. I came across old books and old documents, and many other old things that I haven't used in years. Almost everything I owned was either donated, given away, sold or just discarded. I'm more of a minimalist now that I got rid of most of my stuff. But I'm not a minimalist when it comes to knowledge and information. So I have a lot more knowledge now, and it's all digital, so it takes up very little space and it's also lightweight, unlike all the books that I gave away. So now I have less stuff and fewer distractions. I got rid of a lot of mental baggage too, and not just physical baggage. I travel light, like my ancestors did for thousands of years. Back to our roots, back to being strong, and still looking forward all day long. Being real, being in the moment. The tiny house living is not a Shangri-la just yet, but it's getting close. I believe that tiny homes have the potential to give everyone a home. And tiny home communities can be more adaptable and more resilient and more compassionate if designed and planned correctly. It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a strong community to care for its members.

Places to Park: One idea was to buy around a 1/4 acre of land and turn the area into a food forest and provide the community with a needed service. Maybe build a guest house next to my tiny home using adobe mud bricks. 2) Rent a spot on private property and offer to help with grounds maintenance and provide the community with a needed service. 3) Live off the grid in a remote area to do some environmental monitoring and research. 4) Live in a tiny home community. Be a good neighbor. Be a benefit to the community. Build connections within the community.

Tiny House Monthly Expenses:
Water: My Average water bill is around $12.00 a month. I started off using around 200 to 300 gallons of water a month. In the warmer months I used over 500 gallons a month because of the food garden and outdoor plants. In 2024, I'm using over 1,200 gallons a month (that's what the water meter says). I can reduce my water consumption with rain harvesting, and by using a compost toilet which would allow for a grey water system.
Electric: My electric bill is around $30.00 to  $40.00 a month in the 8 warmer months (average 6.03 kWh per day) - In the 4 colder months my electric bill is around $80.00 a month (average 20.60 kWh per day) (I can reduce my electric bill when solar power is installed. Also, heating and cooling needs to be automated and be intelligently controlled and monitored by a smart system that is adaptable to the weather. This is also extremely important for a good quality sleep, because a good sleep relies on a particular body temperature at particular times during the sleeping cycle.)
Propane Gas: I use around one 15lb propane tank of gas every six months, which costs less than $4.00 a month, which is for my gas stove and for my on demand hot water heater. The two propane tanks are connected together and will automatically switch over when one tank runs out. (I will try using biogas created from composting in the future).
Taxes and Insurance: around $60.00 a month.
Rent: $400.00 a month.
Food Supplies: $700.00 a month.
Car operation cost for transportation: Including gas, maintenance and insurance - $100.00 a month.
Total - $1,300.00 a month on average (Back in Connecticut, rent alone is $1,300.00 a month on average for a one bedroom). Note: Your monthly expenses can vary depending where you live, and also based on your particular needs.

My tiny home was voted the #1 tiny house in the world three years in a row by Tinyhouse Magazine. "This award winning tiny home is a technological marvel, and it's the most comfortable house that you will ever live in. It's paradise compacted into a convenient package. It's ready to rock, ready to roll, and ready for rest, it's simply the best." - This fake news article was generated by ChatGPT, a technological wonder. So I wonder? What's next?

TV Show Idea: The lives of the unrich and unfamous. Tiny House People.

Tiny House Motto: "Our houses may be small, but our hearts are big. We stand tall, for our lives are not measured by the amount of things we have, our lives are measured by our actions and our values. We are fare, and we share because we care. We reciprocate and we do not hate. We have more class than we do stash. We have more style than we do pile. We know how to accurately measure reality, so tiny house people keep it real. We can have fun without being dumb. We can live a good life and not just dream of a good life. Tiny house people are good people. We may not have a lot, but we will always have enough, enough love, enough respect, enough truth. Less House, More Home.

Tiny House Rules. Always respect thy neighbor. Always have more love than material things. And always be true, true to yourself and true to others.

Benefits of Living in a Smaller Home

Small can be Big when something small can give you big benefits. I would not call tiny house living a minimalist lifestyle, but 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, and even relative. This is about choices and needs. The only thing I should be sacrificing is ignorance and greed. It's not that I want less, it's that 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.

A tiny house makes you realize just how much dust and dirt a person creates from just living. But indoor pollution is easier to manage in a tiny house.

A tiny house can have big problems. So never under estimate the importance of a good quality build and the maintenance that is needed to preserve your home in good working order.

Small Community with Big Possibilities. Less Crime, Less Traffic, Less Pollution, Less Stress, Less Mental Health concerns, Independent Businesses and a Slower Pace.

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)

The inside of my tiny home it feels like a green house and the outside looks like a bird house. And together it makes you feel more connected and more grounded to yourself and to the world around you. The high ceiling with high windows acts like skylights for viewing the stars and the constellations at night, while during the day, you see birds and planes flying by with all kinds of fluffy clouds floating in the air. The big picture window in front acts like a window to the world, you see everything, including your soul.

My tiny home is a high quality smart home that is sufficient in size. It has a professional home office with a modern entertainment center. It has all the comforts of a dream home, but without all the hassle that comes from owning a big house. It's perfect for remote workers and do it your self scientists, as well as perfect for single people, couples, small families, and retirees who want their independence but not the high cost of living. People want to live, people don't want to live just to survive, people want to thrive. Human potential is an untapped resource. If we tap human potential, we will solve every human problem, except for the problems related to our environment. Our environment is busy reminding us that we have many responsibilities, and not just possibilities. Mother nature provides us with a beautiful planet, but its up to us deal with realities of our environment. Our environment is not perfect, but if we don't make it livable, it will never be livable for us, which means extinction and death to all humans. I'm not going down without a fight. If the fight is against our own ignorance, then I'm on the front line. I would rather die trying to save the world then waiting for the world to end. That's our human nature. That is why we are still here.

To have a home that is easy to manage, it takes a lot of prep work to get there. Everyone person on earth benefits from the labor other people. And some of the labor is from millions of generations of people working for thousands of years. Millions of people have provided a lot of prep-work, and now its up to us to build on it and learn from it.

Building a house is one thing, making your home ready for life's challenges is another thing. Build your home to be resilient and adaptable, and build your life in the same way.

Hassle is something that is an irritating inconvenience or something that pressures you to do something. A continually disorderly disturbance that is annoying, such as harassment. Hassel's could mean trouble, or be a bother, and have unwanted annoyances or problems.

Scale is the ratio between the size of something and a representation of it. A measuring instrument or an indicator to some rate of ordered reference standard.

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.

My Tiny Home Idea. Named, The Ai Discovery Smart Mobile Home - A Model Home of the Future - This addition has incredible features that can be personally customized to fit your needs. This tiny home on wheels is an artificial intelligent augmented living space designed for independent living with the freedom to explore. Made for the interactive lifestyle. The home will have the ability to monitor indoor life and outdoor life and will have a tablet computer mobile device that displays relevant information and has an easy to understand touchscreen format and will also have voice recognition. You will be connected to your environment and also be aware of any unusual changes that happen indoors or outdoors. And since your home and research station is mobile, when things change, you can adapt and relocate. So whether you're an elderly person looking to stay active and independent, or, if you're a do it yourself scientist who wants to be more involved with life and more connected to the environment, than this is your home. But it's more than a house on wheels, this is your dream machine, your spaceship, your granny space pod and mobile research lab. You'll have security, safety, sustainability and peace of mind, as well as the potential to maintain those qualities for as long as you wish. I want to create a brand or a tiny house model that is made for people who are interested in environmental monitoring and doing some beneficial research. A mobile home for people who like to learn about the environment and be interactive with the environment and capable of acting on or influencing each other. The tiny smart home will also be perfect for elderly people who want to be independent and active, as well as, be involved with their surroundings. They can also receive income for the data and information they collect and share or provide.

My other tiny house name choices were, "The Free Bird", or "The Love Shack", or "The School of Life". I also thought that "Ramble On" is a nice name for my tiny house. But I finally choose the name "Advanced Basics".

The Discovery Smart Home is for people who like learning and enjoy learning new things. For people who are interested in life and who like discovering how things work. For people who feel connected to their environment. For people who like being mindful and understanding. For people who like being productive. For people who like being valuable. For people who like living responsibly. For people who like people and who are appreciative of others and grateful for the world we live in.


Diogenes was the first tiny home advocate in 390 BC. Diogenes chose a path less traveled, a path that led him to embrace simplicity, self-sufficiency and a rejection of material possessions. Diogenes believed that true happiness could not be found in the pursuit of wealth and power, but rather in a life stripped down to its bare essentials. He sought to free himself from the chains of society to live in harmony with nature and to find contentment in the present moment. To convey his message, Diogenes resorted to unconventional means he chose to live in a large ceramic jar forsaking the Comforts of a conventional home. This peculiar choice of Abode was not just a whim, it was a powerful symbol of his rejection of societal expectations. The jar represented his freedom from the trappings of wealth and luxury. Diogenes was also known for his unabashed disregard for social hierarchies and conventions. He would often engage in conversations with people from all walks of life, regardless of their status or reputation. He believed that true knowledge could be found in the wisdom of Everyday People, rather than in the privileged Elite. By mingling with the common folk, and challenging the notion of intellectual superiority, Diogenes emphasized the importance of equality and the power of shared human experiences. The first lesson Diogenes teaches us is the importance of simplicity and self-sufficiency. In a society consumed by materialism, we often equate happiness with the accumulation of wealth and possessions. Diogenes challenges this notion. He shows us that true contentment lies not in the abundance of material goods, but in embracing a simple uncluttered existence by focusing on our basic needs and detaching ourselves from the constant pursuit of more. We can free ourselves from the burden of excess. Diogenes encourages us to appreciate the beauty of a modest Life, unencumbered by the weight of unnecessary possession. In his words, the wise man wants for nothing, the fool is always wanting. Diogenes eccentricities were not limited to his living arrangements and unorthodox behaviors he also challenged societal Norms through his unique approach to education in a time when formal education was highly valued, diogenes took a different stance, he believed that true education went beyond memorizing facts and regurgitating information, instead he advocated for a philosophy of experiential learning. Diogenes would often engage in philosophical conversations with anyone willing to listen, using everyday situations and encounters as opportunities for deep reflection and introspection. Through these dialogues he encouraged individuals to think critically, question their own assumptions, and arrive at their own conclusions. One particular instance exemplifies Diogenes approach to education. On a busy Marketplace day he came across a young man who was eagerly showing off his newly acquired possessions a fine cloak, a beautiful pair of sandals and an expensive goblet. Instead of dismissing the young man's excitement, Diogenes engaged him in conversation, he asked the young man, do you know how to use these possessions wisely? The young man looked perplexed and admitted that he had not given it much thought. Diogenes then proceeded to explain that true wisdom lies not in the possession of material Goods, but in the understanding of their value, and the moderation in their use. By challenging the young man's focus on external trappings, Diogenes encouraged him to explore the deeper meaning behind his possessions. Through this encounter, he instilled in the young man a newfound awareness of the importance of mindful consumption and the dangers of becoming overly attached to material Goods. Diogenes teachings go beyond philosophical discussions and eccentric behaviors, they touch on the very essence of what it means to lead a meaningful life. He challenges us to redefine our values and priorities, urging us to question the societal expectations that often lead us astray. In a world driven by materialism, conformity and the relentless pursuit of success.

Tiny Home Resources

Tiny Home Builders - Tiny House Build - Tiny House Design

How to Build a Small House (youtube)

Tiny House Blog - Alternative Living Spaces

Coodo - Le Pod - Eco-Capsule

Cornerstone Tiny Homes - Tiny Homes with a Big Impact

Boxed Haus - Four Lights Houses - Tiny Heirloom

Mobile Loaves & Fishe - Occupy Madison

Quick Cheap Cube House (youtube)

Worlds First Tiny House Hotel

Tiny Living Festivals - Tiny House Dates

Innovative Housing Showcase - Hud User

Cabin Spacey - Home Anywhere! Smart Urban Pioneers

Covo Mio Tiny House - Tiny Heirloom

The Alpha Tiny House Has It All (youtube) - Alpha Tiny Homes.

Other Tiny House Build Ideas

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. Adding a front deck would be better than a fold out extension room with glass sides. Garden.

Second Choice: The Vintage XL 35L' x 8.5'W x 13'6"H, up to 355 Sq.ft. Introductory Price in 2020 is around $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.

Shed Roofs: A 2/12 roof slope means your roof has 2 inches of vertical drop for every 12 inches of horizontal distance. 16 inches higher on one end. Roof Pitch is the steepness of a roof quantified as a ratio or as the number of angular degrees that one 'exposure' surface deviates from horizontal level. A roof surface may be either 'functionally flat' or pitched.

Roof Types (image) - Green Roofs

Building Air and Moisture Barriers - Insulation

Volstrukt makes steel frame kits and systems that are premade and are lighter and more durable than wood frames. Trailer Made.

Frame Cad is automated engineering and detailing software to design strong, durable steel framed buildings anywhere in the world, with 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  - Trailer Made

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.

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)

Beautiful Tiny House With 1st Floor Bedroom + Full Kitchen (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 - Quarter Acre Farm (image)

Wind Storm OSB - Open Architecture Network - World Changing

Ideas - Funding - Function (facade)

Bungalow in a Box

Sustainable Landscapes

HabitaFlex - Housing - Homeless Info - Mobile Shelters - EnviraPod

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)

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.

Prefabricated Modules with flexible and customizable living layout.

Manufactured Housing is a national trade organization representing all segments of the factory-built housing industry. MHI members include home builders, retailers, community operators, lenders, suppliers and affiliated state organization. Green Building Codes.

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.

PODX GO homes are constructed in the factory and fold up for moving and then unfold on site.

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 - Architect Roderick James Tiny Houses.

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 - Shades

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.

Windows that outsmart the elements. New research introduces adaptable smart window design that can heat or cool a house. New research takes energy efficient windows a step further by proposing a new "smart window" design that would harvest the sun's energy in the winter to warm the house and reflect it in the summer to keep it cool.

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.

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.

Window Inserts - Indow Windows - Acoustical Window Inserts

Transparent wood Windows are Cooler than Glass.

Scientists create TRANSPARENT wood (youtube)

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.

Smart Glass Window Films

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.

Cooling Glass blasts building heat into space. New coating can be applied to exterior surfaces to reduce AC use, fight climate change. Researchers aiming to combat rising global temperatures have developed a new 'cooling glass' that can turn down the heat indoors without electricity by drawing on the cold depths of space. The new technology, a microporous glass coating, can lower the temperature of the material beneath it by 3.5 degrees Celsius at noon, and has the potential to reduce a mid-rise apartment building's yearly carbon emissions by 10 percent.

Scientists invent ‘smart’ window material that blocks rays without blocking views. An international research team has invented a 'smart' window material that controls heat transmission without blocking views, which could help cut the energy required to cool and heat buildings. The new material has a specifically designed nanostructure and comprises advanced materials like titanium dioxide (TiO2), tungsten trioxide (WO3), neodymium-Niobium (Nd-Nb), and tin (IV) oxide (SnO2). The composite material is intended to be coated onto glass window panels, and when activated by electricity, users would be able to 'switch on and off' the infrared radiation transmission through the window. Commercially available electrochromic windows usually have a layer of tungsten trioxide (WO3) coated on one side of the glass panel, and the other, without. When the window is switched on, an electric current moves lithium ions to the side containing WO3, and the window darkens or turns opaque. Once switched off, the ions migrate away from the coated glass, and the window becomes clear again.

Sunglasses for your windows using electrochromic films. Advances in electrochromic coatings may bring us closer to environmentally friendly ways to keep inside spaces cool. Like eyeglasses that darken to provide sun protection, the optical properties of these transparent films can be tuned with electricity to block out solar heat and light. Now, researchers report demonstrating a new electrochromic film design based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that quickly and reliably switch from transparent to glare-diminishing green to thermal-insulating red.

Transitional & Photochromic Window Film. During the daylight or when exposed to sunlight, photochromic window film renders a darker shade that offers the same ultraviolet (UV) protection as most sun blocking films. However at night, photochromic film transitions to a clear, transparent appearance, as if the film is not even there. Switchable Privacy Film.

Smart Automated Window Shades

Blackout Roller Shades for rooms that require total darkness and no glare (pair with light blockers to cover light gaps on the sides of the shade). Completely blocks light and damaging UV rays, protecting your home and furnishings. Select Blinds

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 Build 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? Eco System? Invasive Species? Plants? Animals? Insects? City Development Plans? Predictions for population growth? How many people can the land sustain without help from other states or countries? Is the house to close to the road or to close to a dense city that creates lots of noise? Zoning Laws? Local laws and regulations? Be aware of regulations and building codes and HOA rules. Is there more or less than 1 Acre of Land? Is the house on a Flat Usable Area or does it face an east facing sloop? What resources are available that are renewable? Where will your energy come from? Can you be Self-Reliant?

Other Factors to Consider when looking for a home to settle down: Services, Infrastructure, Schools, Roads, Airports, Culture, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Recreational Opportunities. Do you live next to an as*hole?

Other Buying Land Tips:  Survey - What is the cost to drill a water well - Electric (cost to connect to grid) - Taxes - Permits (cost) - Easements - Codes / Regulations / Zoning - Covenants - Mineral Rights - Register of Deeds - Title Search - Soil Quality - Phone Coverage - Road Access - Flooding - HOA.

Knowing the 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, Water Testing? Soil Testing? Draughts, Natural Disasters, National Laboratories or Companies that polluted the Area? Fracking? Noise Pollution? Radio Waves? Heavy Jet Plane Traffic? Air Travel Pollution? Is there any large trees that could fall on your house? Air Testing? Wind Patterns? What is upwind and downwind from your home?

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.

Toxic Dust. The Great Salt Lake in Utah the Water levels in October fell to the lowest levels on record, exposing much of the lakebed and creating conditions for storms of dust — laden with toxic metals — that now threaten the 2 million people living nearby. The lake’s volume is down at least 67% since pioneers once settled in the valley. The lake has long been a catchment for industrial pollution. About 9% of the lakebed was a dust source as of 2018, that could increase to 24% to 25% of the lakebed. Traces of arsenic, lead and other toxic metals were discovered across the sites, according to the findings, which were published in the journal GeoHealth in late October. In California, ratepayers have spent about $2.5 billion controlling dust emissions on Owens Lake, which was drained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power only to become the biggest human-made source of dust in the U.S.

Flooding - Rising Water Levels

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 - Emergency Preparedness - Crop Failure - Fires

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. Erosion.

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

New super-fast flood model has potentially life-saving benefits. Researchers have developed a new simulation model, which can predict flooding during an ongoing disaster more quickly and accurately than currently possible.

New Report calls for different approaches to predict and understand urban flooding.

Flood Net brings together innovative sources of information on street flooding impacts in neighborhoods that are vulnerable to high tides, storm surge, and storm water runoff.

Flood Protection - River Partners - River Protection and Preservation - Eyes in the Sky

Using Satellites for faster flood information. Researchers have used satellites with radar imaging sensors to see through clouds and map flooding and say the technique could provide faster, more detailed information to keep communities safe.

Avulsion is the rapid abandonment of a river channel and the formation of a new river channel. Avulsions occur as a result of channel slopes that are much less steep than the slope that the river could travel if it took a new course

Breakthrough study predicts catastrophic river shifts that threaten millions worldwide.

Traditional infrastructure design often makes extreme flooding events worse. Massive 2014 flooding event in southeast Michigan showed why systems thinking beats local thinking in flood protection. Much of the nation's stormwater infrastructure, designed decades to a century ago to prevent floods, can exacerbate flooding during the severe weather events that are increasing around the globe. The problem lies in traditional planning's failure to recognize flood connectivity: how surface runoff from driveways, lawns and streets -- and the flows in river channels and pipes -- are all interlinked. The result is interactions, often unanticipated, between different stormwater systems that can make flooding worse.

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood is a type of outburst flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake. An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a jökulhlaup. The dam can consist of glacier ice or a terminal moraine. Failure can happen due to erosion, a buildup of water pressure, an avalanche of rock or heavy snow, an earthquake or cryoseism, volcanic eruptions under the ice, or massive displacement of water in a glacial lake when a large portion of an adjacent glacier collapses into it.

Estimating undisclosed flood risk in real estate transactions. Since the government established the National Flood Insurance Program in 1968, most of the flood insurance coverage in the US has been administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA. When the agency isn’t busy cleaning up after tornados, fires, and floods they dabble in flood insurance. And they don’t do such a great job. Private Flood Insurance - White-Label Flood Insurance - Health Insurance.

Sinking Land increases risk for thousands of coastal residents by 2050. A new study provides a new comprehensive look at the potential for flooding in a combined 32 cities along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts. It predicts as many as 500,000 people will be affected by flooding alongside 1 in 35 privately owned properties within the next three decades, and it highlights the racial and socioeconomic demographics of those potentially affected.

Scientists uncover hidden forces causing continents to rise. How and why 'stable' parts of continents gradually rise to form some of the planet's greatest topographic features. They have found that when tectonic plates break apart, powerful waves are triggered deep within the Earth that can cause continental surfaces to rise by over a kilometer.

Genetic sequencing uncovers unexpected source of pathogens in floodwaters. Researchers report that local rivers and streams were the source of the Salmonella enterica contamination along coastal North Carolina after Hurricane Florence in 2018 -- not the previously suspected high number of pig farms in the region. Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens are responsible for approximately 2.8 million human illnesses and 36,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone. Clean Water.

Coastal Erosion is the process by which local sea level rise, strong wave action, and coastal flooding wear down or carry away rocks, soils, and/or sands along the coast. All coastlines are affected by storms and other natural events that cause erosion; the combination of storm surge at high tide with additional effects from strong waves—conditions commonly associated with landfalling tropical storms—creates the most damaging conditions. The extent and severity of the problem is worsening with global sea level rise, but it differs in different parts of the country, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution. In the United States, coastal erosion is responsible for roughly $500 million per year in coastal property loss, including damage to structures and loss of land. In the past, protecting the coast often meant "hardening" the shoreline with structures such as seawalls, groins, rip-rap, and levees. As understanding of natural shoreline function improves, there is a growing acceptance that structural solutions may cause more problems than they solve.

Living Shorelines are a relatively new approach for addressing shoreline erosion and protecting marsh areas. Unlike traditional structures such as bulkheads or seawalls that worsen erosion, living shorelines incorporate as many natural elements as possible which create more effective buffers in absorbing wave energy and protecting against shoreline erosion.

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

Soft Engineering is a shoreline management practice that uses sustainable ecological principles to restore shoreline stabilization and protect riparian habitats.

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.

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.

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.

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

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)

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.

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.

Landslide refers to several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rock falls, deep-seated slope failures, mud flows, 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.

Mega-landslide caused Earth to vibrate for nine days. A landslide in a remote part of Greenland caused a 200 meter (650 foot) mega-tsunami that sloshed back and forth across a fjord for nine days, generating vibrations throughout Earth, according to a new study. The study concluded that this movement of water was the cause of a mysterious, global seismic signal that lasted for nine days and puzzled seismologists in September 2023.

Sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. Most are caused by karst processes – the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes. Sinkholes vary in size from 1 to 600 m (3.3 to 2,000 ft) both in diameter and depth, and vary in form from soil-lined bowls to bedrock-edged chasms. Sinkholes may form gradually or suddenly, and are found worldwide.

Sinkholes - How Do Sinkholes Form? (youtube) - Home Inspections

Karst is a type of landscape where the dissolving of the bedrock has created sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, springs, and other characteristic features. Karst is associated with soluble rock types such as limestone, marble, and gypsum.

Engineering Methods for Detecting Sinkholes. Soil Borings can be reduced by reconnaissance scanning's using the following methods: Electromagnetics and DC Resistivity detects 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 or electrical conductivity lows. Spontaneous Potential detects naturally-occurring minute electrical currents or potentials commonly associated with concentrated vertical water infiltration or streaming potentials. Micro-Gravity detects minute variation in gravity or 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.

Why No-One Will Save Covehithe, The Village That Will Soon Crumble Into The Sea (youtube) - On the south-east coast of England sits Covehithe: a little Suffolk village going back at least a thousand years. By the end of the century, it'll likely have fallen into the sea. Here's why no-one's planning to save it.

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.

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

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

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

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 - Location - Design Guides

Honest Buildings - Sustainable Building - High-Performance Buildings Caucus

Green Building - Maintenance

No Shadow Tower (video)

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

Empty Buildings

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.

Multi Purpose Buildings - Green Building

Turning Office Buildings into Apartments. Office-to-apartment conversion projects. Converting an office building into a residential space. Rezoning a property for residential. San Francisco officials are making efforts to adjust current building codes and get rid of extra fees for office-to-residential projects. In Washington, D.C., the mayor wants to put more money into a tax relief program for office conversions. Office vacancy in Manhattan was 15% in May, according to real estate investment firm CBRE.

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.

Nearly 20% of office space across the U.S. is sitting empty. It's worse in downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco, where 28% and 29% of spaces were registered vacant in the first quarter of 2023. Analysts worry that this trend could set off a domino effect. If companies continue to give up their office leases, their landlords may not be able to keep up with mortgage payments, increasing the risk of defaults and foreclosures. Office owner Columbia Property Trust defaulted on $1.7 billion in debt tied to seven buildings in San Francisco, New York City, Boston and Jersey City, N.J., in February. That same month in Los Angeles, Brookfield, the city's largest office owner, defaulted on loans for two buildings downtown. In fact, if you were to take the 40 largest office spaces in downtown LA, landlords for roughly a quarter of them are said to be in talks with lenders about their own financing troubles, according to sources familiar with those discussions. This distress in the office market is a troubling development for banks. The bulk of these debts — estimated to be worth $1.2 trillion — is owed to smaller regional banks. They're already facing turmoil following a series of collapses and takeovers this year. The stress that these vacancies are placing on small-business owners operating in the shadows of high-rise buildings, without foot traffic, small businesses have shortened hours and locked doors.

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.