Date of Submission
Spring 5-5-2017
Degree Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Mine Hashas-Degertekin
Secondary Advisor
Kathryn Bedette
Abstract
The homelessness is not an dilemma with clear boundaries. It could happen to anybody for any reason. Poverty is the leading cause of being homeless despite the fact that people think otherwise. The homeless people are not people who do not know or too lazy to take care of themselves but they are the people who just got caught in the unfortunate events. Some homeless people even have a job but they are just not making enough money to afford a house but making too much money to get the government assist. There are shelters and supportive housings but in both cases, they are either unfit for the habitation or very limited on the availability of space. We see the homeless people on the street and we can see they are under stress from the condition of street. The current system that the government provides is broken and it harms the homeless people rather than helping them. What if the shelter can move with its owner? Instead of we force homeless people to get to the shelters that are not in favor of their situation, what if a transportable shelter can come to them and they can move with the shelter? These shelters can be on the street at the designated space where they could be monitored or on the private property given permission by the property owner. When the informal settlements are demolished, they becomes a waste that we have to deal with. However if the shelter is transportable, it could be transport with its owner in the moment of need. It is obvious that the system we currently have does not work well with the homeless. The system does not favor neither the schedule of the homeless people if they have a job or the situation of homeless people who require a special treatment. It is rather designed to hide the homeless from the general population. There must be a way architecture could, if not able to solve the dilemma, help with the situation. The architectural solution for this dilemma is not designing more affordable homeless shelter. What if the solution can move with its owner? If a homeless person is hired at the company too far way from his current place, would it not be better for him to take and move with his shelter rather than he has to go through the process of finding a suitable shelter that is near to his new employment? The transportable shelter can solve all the problems that we are facing today. This thesis will provide a transportable solution with an inexpensive design to help with the homeless dilemma and keep them in a safe and working environment until they get back on their feet.
Comments
Architecture changed my life...