The Global Housing Crisis

World population is projected to increase from approximately 5 billion in the year 2000 to 8 billion inhabitants by 2050; primarily in developing countries that are shifting from a rural agrarian to urban information society. Literally, millions of persons are homeless, live in inadequate shelter, or as in the US Manufactured Housing market, live in deficient "manufactured" houses that are detrimental to health and life-safety. In this book, we review the evolution of the Manufactured Housing industry in the 20th century; further, we review architects mass housing concepts and their encountered barriers. Additionally, we review how architects and Industrial Designers use technology and design processes in their respective fields in terms of fabrication and mass- customization techniques. Our hope is that emerging design-fabricate processes in architecture can assist with the expanding global housing crisis. This book is addressed to designers, architects, builders, managers, manu-facturers, industrial and real estate entrepreneurs as well as anyone interested in improving human habitation.