A housing revolution?

[zemo]

Whatcha think about nano houses?

http://asiancorrespondent.com/60194/tata-to-build-700-nano-houses-cheaper-than-an-ipad/

A bit of a downside is the lifespan of 20 years, but at that price you might as well just get a new house every five years. And sure, it is small, but not everybody has as much space as, say, the US Midwest. You could build those houses on literal specks of land. And if coconut fibre or jute are main materials, then this would actually even be an eco-friendly house.

So, I guess tha question is two-fold: Is the future smaller, throwaway houses? And do we want that?

Sidenote: I realize that this is mainly thought for poor people in India at the moment, so some accomodations that we are used to in the Western world, like running hot and cold water, central heating, etc. would have to be added in. So, considering the size, you might end up paying as much for that house as for a used car. Still pretty cheap, I think. Especially the solar panel version is interesting and could help making the money back in savings for energy.

[jhota]

i think smaller is better. 215 sq feet is too small, though. where would i keep my books?

i hope this succeeds, though. mostly because i'm a Jaguar enthusiast.

[AthenAltena]

I actually work in the housing field, and there's a definite trend away from McManshions in the wake of the recession.

We have a guy up here in Mass who's trying to get a development of Northwest-style 1 bedroom cottages going, but he's running into resistance, of course, since he wants to build them in a rich community and there are a lot of NIMBYs around. I can't imagine what the zoning fights would be like over these things.

[Hugin]

My perfect house is a 3-room appt. Smaller is better IMO.

[zemo]

I actually work in the housing field, and there's a definite trend away from McManshions in the wake of the recession.

We have a guy up here in Mass who's trying to get a development of Northwest-style 1 bedroom cottages going, but he's running into resistance, of course, since he wants to build them in a rich community and there are a lot of NIMBYs around. I can't imagine what the zoning fights would be like over these things.

I'd say the biggest problem in this is people turning up their nose. Because God forbid someone isn't working their ass off in order to get something they already have and still be happy.