5 ms·

Origami-Style Cardboard Tents for Homeless in Brussels

39 points by zonotope 9y ago

icebraining 9y ago
> “Cardboards are light, they keep the heat, and if they don’t get wet, they are pretty resistant,” Yeah, that might be a difficult bit in Brussels, where is rains (or snows) 13 days per month during the winter. Has any of these kinds of projects (giving portable "tents" to homeless people) ever had a lasting impact? I remember quite a few articles about their initial phase, none about their status a year or more afterwards.
- tyingq 9y ago
  It sounds like this is a tactical reaction to: "With material tents forbidden on the streets of Brussels" So it's at least providing a legal option for the short term. Just that cardboard isn't fabric. I suspect snow is less of a problem than rain, so it's timely...since it's the cold season. As you say, probably not the long term solution, but it might be saving some lives in the short term.
- DoreenMichele 9y ago
  The article specifies they hope they will last 2 weeks to a month. I actually consider that to be a feature, not a bug. When I was homeless, I replaced my tent every 1 to 3 months for cleanliness reasons. Most homeless people are not as fastidious as I was in terms of overall cleanliness. My opinion: the lack of cleanliness worsens health issues and makes their problems more intractable.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    That's a very good point, which I hadn't considered, thanks. The dampness might even make it more important that they replace the tent.
    - DoreenMichele 9y ago
      Yes, mold is a very serious health threat and is common in areas where homeless people often sleep, especially in bad weather, like under a bridge near a river. Mold infections are notoriously hard to treat and are probably underdiagnosed.
smoyer 9y ago
People are already building geodesic domes and portable yurts out of plastic corrugate. If you want it to be more permanent and weather-proof, upgrade to something water-proof. The plastic corrugate still has an insulation advantage over even a fabric tent. https://www.homedepot.com/p/48-in-x-96-in-x-157-in-White-Corrugated-Plastic-Cardboard-10-Pack-WC4896-10/202489118 https://www.homedepot.com/p/48-in-x-96-in-x-157-in-White-Cor...
- analog31 9y ago
  I remember reading a book by Buckminster Fuller, and he mentioned designing geodesic domes out of wax coated cardboard. That was decades ago. The assembly instructions, using a large stapler, were printed on the cardboard. The same could easily be done with a more modern material such as that corrugated plastic.
krisroadruck 9y ago
I'm absolutely baffled as to why we still have ANY homeless people in any first world country. The cost to get them all into housing is barely a rounding error against most countries annual tax revenue numbers. The US, for instance, takes in about $2.6T/year, there are about 500K homeless people. Even at a cost of $1000 per month per person to provide each one shelter we are talking $6B, or 0.23% of the annual tax revenue, or just 1% of our annual military spending. And mind you $1000 per person per month is on the high side.
- alphonsegaston 9y ago
  Because the dominant ideology in America (grotesquely) equates Capitalism with justice. The poor and the weak must suffer and die to prove the rightness of Capitalism’s ordering principles. And to stand as an object lesson to anyone who might think about veering to far outside these boundaries. Rationality doesn’t even begin to enter into the equation in the way you describe. It’s about reinforcing a system of human sacrifice as insane and archaic millennia as old pagan traditions for the sake of preserving this order.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Brussels is not in America, though.
    - alphonsegaston 9y ago
      I was referring to the parent’s example and most of Europe adheres to an only moderated form of this ideology anyway. Germany especially.
- vertex-four 9y ago
  The answer is simple - benefits systems. They're almost universally designed to avoid providing help to anybody, and any help they do provide is usually tied to requirements of the person receiving them. There is no system for giving houses to the homeless without forcing them to get off drugs/alcohol, seek employment, etc etc, which many of these people are unable to do (and yet don't qualify for disability benefits because somebody in an office with a mandate to deny a certain amount of people benefits has decided they're fit for work). They also often have extreme difficulty cooperating with social programs, where they still exist (again, they've been receiving heavy cuts over time). So from society's perspective, we've done all we can to help - providing people with a roof over their head in return for nothing is something so far from any system we currently have that it's unthinkable.

39 points by zonotope 9y ago

> “Cardboards are light, they keep the heat, and if they don’t get wet, they are pretty resistant,” Yeah, that might be a difficult bit in Brussels, where is rains (or snows) 13 days per month during the winter. Has any of these kinds of projects (giving portable "tents" to homeless people) ever had a lasting impact? I remember quite a few articles about their initial phase, none about their status a year or more afterwards.

tyingq 9y ago
It sounds like this is a tactical reaction to: "With material tents forbidden on the streets of Brussels" So it's at least providing a legal option for the short term. Just that cardboard isn't fabric. I suspect snow is less of a problem than rain, so it's timely...since it's the cold season. As you say, probably not the long term solution, but it might be saving some lives in the short term.
DoreenMichele 9y ago
The article specifies they hope they will last 2 weeks to a month. I actually consider that to be a feature, not a bug. When I was homeless, I replaced my tent every 1 to 3 months for cleanliness reasons. Most homeless people are not as fastidious as I was in terms of overall cleanliness. My opinion: the lack of cleanliness worsens health issues and makes their problems more intractable.
- icebraining 9y ago
  That's a very good point, which I hadn't considered, thanks. The dampness might even make it more important that they replace the tent.
  - DoreenMichele 9y ago
    Yes, mold is a very serious health threat and is common in areas where homeless people often sleep, especially in bad weather, like under a bridge near a river. Mold infections are notoriously hard to treat and are probably underdiagnosed.

smoyer 9y ago

People are already building geodesic domes and portable yurts out of plastic corrugate. If you want it to be more permanent and weather-proof, upgrade to something water-proof. The plastic corrugate still has an insulation advantage over even a fabric tent. https://www.homedepot.com/p/48-in-x-96-in-x-157-in-White-Corrugated-Plastic-Cardboard-10-Pack-WC4896-10/202489118 https://www.homedepot.com/p/48-in-x-96-in-x-157-in-White-Cor...

analog31 9y ago
I remember reading a book by Buckminster Fuller, and he mentioned designing geodesic domes out of wax coated cardboard. That was decades ago. The assembly instructions, using a large stapler, were printed on the cardboard. The same could easily be done with a more modern material such as that corrugated plastic.

krisroadruck 9y ago

I'm absolutely baffled as to why we still have ANY homeless people in any first world country. The cost to get them all into housing is barely a rounding error against most countries annual tax revenue numbers. The US, for instance, takes in about $2.6T/year, there are about 500K homeless people. Even at a cost of $1000 per month per person to provide each one shelter we are talking $6B, or 0.23% of the annual tax revenue, or just 1% of our annual military spending. And mind you $1000 per person per month is on the high side.

alphonsegaston 9y ago
Because the dominant ideology in America (grotesquely) equates Capitalism with justice. The poor and the weak must suffer and die to prove the rightness of Capitalism’s ordering principles. And to stand as an object lesson to anyone who might think about veering to far outside these boundaries. Rationality doesn’t even begin to enter into the equation in the way you describe. It’s about reinforcing a system of human sacrifice as insane and archaic millennia as old pagan traditions for the sake of preserving this order.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Brussels is not in America, though.
  - alphonsegaston 9y ago
    I was referring to the parent’s example and most of Europe adheres to an only moderated form of this ideology anyway. Germany especially.
vertex-four 9y ago
The answer is simple - benefits systems. They're almost universally designed to avoid providing help to anybody, and any help they do provide is usually tied to requirements of the person receiving them. There is no system for giving houses to the homeless without forcing them to get off drugs/alcohol, seek employment, etc etc, which many of these people are unable to do (and yet don't qualify for disability benefits because somebody in an office with a mandate to deny a certain amount of people benefits has decided they're fit for work). They also often have extreme difficulty cooperating with social programs, where they still exist (again, they've been receiving heavy cuts over time). So from society's perspective, we've done all we can to help - providing people with a roof over their head in return for nothing is something so far from any system we currently have that it's unthinkable.