Alternative housing is a category of domicile structures that are built or designed outside of the mainstream norm e.g., town homes, single family homes and

apartment complex An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) t ...

es. In modern days, alternative housing commonly takes the form of tiny houses, dome homes,

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

-shaped houses,

earth shelter An earth shelter, also called an earth house, earth-bermed house, earth-sheltered house, earth-covered house, or underground house, is a structure (usually a house) with earth (soil) against the walls and/or on the roof, or that is entirely burie ...

ed homes, residential

tree house A tree house, tree fort or treeshed, is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a ha ...

s, abandoned factories and hospitals and even up-cycled vans or buses. The motivation to create alternative homes can arise from destitution or lack of resources to buy or rent a typical home and therefore include improvised shacks in shantytowns,

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es,

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

s and tent-like structures. While the cost of living in an alternative house can be more economical than a traditional home, the start-up cost can be quite hefty. More commonly in the 21st century than ever before in history, alternative housing offers more functionality to many, as well as an unconventional living arrangement. Some alternative housing can be as small as while others can be as large as depending on the structure. Alternative housing, much like common housing, usually offers an area for cooking, sleeping, bathing, and an overall living space.

Rise in popularity

One of the first popular uses of alternative housing in modern times was during WWI and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. During the Great Depression, many people ended up losing their homes. More than 15 million people were out of work at the time, and desperate for housing. Due to the vast influx of homeless people, the creation of

Hooverville Hoovervilles were shanty towns built during the Great Depression by the homeless in the United States. They were named after Herbert Hoover, who was President of the United States during the onset of the Depression and was widely blamed for it. T ...

s took place. Alternative housing at the time was used as a way of living to save money, and to do that, people built shanty homes. As time went on, people began to take ideas learned from shantytowns and put them to use in other forms of alternative housing. In contemporary society, alternative housing is moving from last resort housing to an option that people choose in the face of a housing market that is getting more and more costly . With the rise of social media, more and more people were exposed to the idea of alternative housing, and its popularity grew. Paired with an increase in spendable income, the choice to live differently grew stronger. Social media can be attributed to playing a major role in the rise in popularity of alternative housing. Sharing pictures, videos, and information about alternative housing spreads knowledge about the concept. During the early days of

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, a young couple became a lifestyle brand with millions of followers all because of their living situation; living in a van. The artistry and mindset of van living drew in Instagram followers, and led to a movement of people following suit under the hashtag #vanlife.

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

is another example of social media influence. A survey conducted in Australia has found that there is an increasing trend in people wanting to own a tiny home, specifically in older women. The trend is argued to stem from growing Facebook pages, as one has more than 50,000 followers. Facebook groups allow people interested in alternative housing to connect with each other to make the process easier.

Around the world

Alternative housing around the world, while on the rise, has not yet reached the heights of popularity as it has in North America. Most of the alternative homes across the world tend to be adaptive/reuse homes. These types of homes/building tend to be derelict or unused buildings (hotels, factories or hospitals) that are converted into low-income housing, green sustainability communities, schools or hotels. The Australian Government's Department of Environment and Heritage published a report that found that reusing a building's material for a new purpose has a 95% savings of "

embodied energy Embodied energy is the sum of all the energy required to produce any goods or services, considered as if that energy were incorporated or 'embodied' in the product itself. The concept can help determine the effectiveness of energy-producing or ...

" that would be otherwise wasted. This "embodied energy" is by the Australian government as "the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a building, from the mining and processing of natural resources to manufacturing, transport, and product delivery." While the savings (monetary, materials and construction hours) can be had with reusing a building and adapting it to modern standards and local building codes, there is more to adapting a building for modern reuse than just focusing on saving money. The benefits of reusing old buildings are increased building life, reduced

resource consumption Resource consumption is about the consumption of non-renewable, or less often, renewable resources. Specifically, it may refer to: * water consumption * energy consumption ** electric energy consumption ** world energy consumption * natural ...

, less material waste and financial incentive. Apart from the cost of reusing a building, other factors can also play a vital role in the candidacy of a building for adaptive reuse. They include the following; social value, potential for reuse, historical importance, and environmental conditions.

Adaptive reuse in Europe

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, adaptive reuse buildings are now on the rise and decisions must be made on preserving historical buildings or demolishing them to make way for modern buildings. With adaptive reuse, most historical buildings can now be salvaged and updated to a more practical, modern use, with many of the modern amenities most homeowners enjoy. This allows for the face of the building to keep its original look, while the interior is updated to local building codes and for comfort. This will help retain the buildings and communities historical look and feel, while meeting new building codes.

Micro homes in Japan

Japan's major cities are facing a housing crisis. They have a dense population with skyrocketing property prices. The rise in prices over the last few years has meant that many people are looking for small plots of land to build on. Some of these microhomes are as small as 182 square feet. Many engineers and architects are now looking to smaller homes in order to maximize the limited space. With Tokyo being one of the most dense cities in Japan, many considering these micro homes so they can live next to where they work.

Low budget

While alternative living can be quite expensive, other options for low budget alternative housing include pallet homes, camping as a lifestyle, or even living in a community such as the Habitat for Humanity Twin Creeks Village located in Everett, WA. Many Americans struggle each year to make ends meet, resulting in the growth of these low budget housing options. For instance, Detroit has a program designed for just this: Cass Community Social Services constructs tiny homes for families rebuilding their lives and credit. These alternative communities forge the way for families or single persons to make small monthly payments and utilities so they can own the tiny home and gain back credit.

Popular living

Pallet houses: Pallet houses, made from wooden shipping pallets, are an inexpensive alternative housing option. Pallets are convenient to find, and building them into houses is not difficult. In most cases, pallet houses are built for people recovering from natural disasters. Pallet Houses became extremely popular when refugees were returning to Kosovo after the war. Shipping Container: Shipping Containers are an alternative style of living for people looking to be eco-friendly. They are very durable for weather, but are expensive. Tiny House Movement: Tiny houses are the most popular alternative housing. Tiny houses average 100–400 square feet and are usually mobile. Tiny houses are an attractive option for those looking to save money on housing and live according to

Minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

. Outbuilding: Considered as a garage, shed, or a barn, many people choose them for living, almost like a cabin. They are only about $10,000, and can serve as a nice livable place to call home. Recreational Vehicle: In many cases, people choose to make an RV their permanent mobile living space. While living out of an RV isn't for everyone, it is a cost-effective way to travel the country while never leaving home. More importantly - especially when being used by those suffering from economic hardships - is not travel, since fuel and upkeep costs can be exorbitant, but rather the self contained nature of even the smallest RV beats out the insecurity of a sleeping bag or tent. Earth House (Earth Berm): Underground earth sheltered homes, are private, can handle extreme weather temperatures, and require less to insure because of the added protection it gives from weather, and against high winds. However Earth Berms can be on the pricey side about 20% more than a regular home, and moisture precautions have to be accounted for during the building process as well. Also applying for a home loan, and the mortgage process becomes more difficult, with more hoops to jump through.

Yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...

: A small, Lightweight, but maximizing way to live, with minimal materials. Nomads from central Asia have used yurts to live for centuries. They have natural strength when built, because of their pyramid design, and are aerodynamic, because of curved walls, which makes the wind flow around it instead of push through.

References

Housing Living arrangements Intentional communities *