.png?itok=e498Jk4q){kind=logo}
.png?itok=yhtuTpjq)
Converted shipping containers offer the promise of fast construction and low costs, but face regulatory and accessibility challenges.
A Los Angeles affordable housing project offers a model for using modular shipping containers to build low-cost housing units, but also highlights the challenges faced by builders using unconventional materials and methods.
As Sam Lubell explains in Metropolis Magazine, the project, called Watts Works, features 24 studio housing units and a manager’s apartment. “The complex also includes a community room, laundry room, service provider offices, and bicycle parking, not to mention a tranquil rear patio and a sunny rooftop deck.”
The project’s builder says the unconventional methods cost 10 to 15 percent less than traditional materials. However, bureaucratic hurdles made the project take longer than expected.
Modular building using shipping containers is not a new concept. From temporary shelters to as-yet-unbuilt architectural trophies, the versatile, durable containers offer tempting advantages over conventional building materials. Earlier this year, the city of Phoenix opened a modular shelter unit at the Washington Relief Center equipped with private, air-conditioned rooms that can sleep up to 20 people.
FULL STORY: Are Shipping Containers the Future of Affordable Housing?
Unhoused People Overwhelmingly Want One Thing: Shelter
Two new studies shed light on what people experiencing homelessness actually need by using a shocking new tactic: asking them.
Opinion: Unhoused People Need Housing, Not Law Enforcement
The sharp increase in the unhoused population calls for urgent action, not criminalization.
HUD: Homelessness Up by 12 Percent
The agency’s annual point-in-time count identified over 650,000 Americans living without permanent housing.
New Florida Law Curbs HOA Power
The legislation seeks to cut down on ‘absurd’ citations for low-level violations.
New Tennessee Law Allows No-Cost Incentives for Affordable Housing
Local governments in the Volunteer State can now offer developers incentives like increased density, lower parking requirements, and priority permitting for affordable housing projects.
Planners’ Complicity in Excessive Traffic Deaths
Professor Wes Marshall’s provocatively-titled new book, "Killed by a Traffic Engineer," has stimulated fierce debates. Are his criticisms justified? Let’s examine the degree that traffic engineers contribute to avoidable traffic deaths.
Study: Housing Crisis is About Affordability, not Supply
New research shows that there is no overall shortage of housing units, but all U.S. metropolitan areas face a severe lack of affordable units for low-income renters.
Are Race-Based Lawsuits Affecting Community Lenders?
Shelterforce spoke with community lending leaders and experts about the current mood across the sector. What, if anything, are organizations doing to avoid becoming the next target of conservative activists?
New Park Promotes Community and Connectivity in Lewisville, Texas
The city of Lewisville just celebrated the opening of Glory Park/Parque la Gloria, helping to improve park access and the quality of life for residents.
City of Madera
City of Santa Clarita
Borough of Carlisle
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Colorado Energy Office
Pima County Community College District
City of Piedmont, CA
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
