4 ms·

I honestly don't think that the "physical structure" or actual shelter is the main problem w.r.t. homelessness. The land itself is a lot more expensive. And the

I honestly don't think that the "physical structure" or actual shelter is the main problem w.r.t. homelessness. The land itself is a lot more expensive. And the legal framework. Where I am right now, it's illegal to sleep in a car for instance. And similarly, a lot of alternative housing solutions are highly burocratized, require lots of permits etc. Almost like politicians are protecting their real estate investments. In any case, homelessness at a society level is a political problem. ============== OTOH, since I was planning on building a wood cabin for myself at some point, I do wonder what solution you had in mind for the toilets/sewage.

michaelt 5y ago
This is the case in my country - any land within commuting distance of a middle class job that one can build a house on costs a fortune. And shipping rough sleepers to parts of the country with low housing costs doesn’t seem politically popular.
- drivingmenuts 5y ago
  If you start shipping them around, you’re dehumanizing them, treating them like objects instead of people with agency. Furthermore, what happens when they get there? Low housing costs are a symptom of little to no economic opportunities, so you’re essentially just warehousing them like parts on a shelf. What do you do with the inconvenient people, the mentally ill and those who cannot easily participate in society? Yeah, you’ve shipped them somewhere where they’re not in your way, but will you also provide for treatment or just wait and hope they solve the problem by dying or getting killed? People are not things, despite what economists may say. You can’t just ship them around and utter thoughts and prayers at them. I guess you could but you’d be joining a select group of history’s biggest assholes.
- dogma1138 5y ago
  That’s very much a UK problem, self build is pretty much non existent due to some of the worst zoning regulations imaginable. Even buying a lot in a residential area with a condemned building would require you to jump through so many hoops that would make it near impossible to build for anything below 7 figures…
somid3 5y ago
Then disrupt that. Those laws can be executed and people are on sidewalks in tents. That’s the problem that has to be solved. If they want to break the law with their $5k tiny home on wheels, then so be it until the laws open space for them. The state should provide property tax breaks for people who allow temporary homes.
- imtringued 5y ago
  Well, let's say we do it, you're basically turning a single family home into a multifamily property with an ADU. How is that any different from say turning that single family home into a multi story multi family home? I mean it should be clear that the laws regarding land ownership are serving owners at the expense of everyone else and not in a particularly efficient way. In socialism everyone scrambles to get up early and be lucky enough to find what they need at the grocery store, in capitalism people are born early and scramble to get hold of land because it doesn't go "bad" unlike most physical goods including capital itself.

michaelt 5y ago

This is the case in my country - any land within commuting distance of a middle class job that one can build a house on costs a fortune. And shipping rough sleepers to parts of the country with low housing costs doesn’t seem politically popular.

drivingmenuts 5y ago
If you start shipping them around, you’re dehumanizing them, treating them like objects instead of people with agency. Furthermore, what happens when they get there? Low housing costs are a symptom of little to no economic opportunities, so you’re essentially just warehousing them like parts on a shelf. What do you do with the inconvenient people, the mentally ill and those who cannot easily participate in society? Yeah, you’ve shipped them somewhere where they’re not in your way, but will you also provide for treatment or just wait and hope they solve the problem by dying or getting killed? People are not things, despite what economists may say. You can’t just ship them around and utter thoughts and prayers at them. I guess you could but you’d be joining a select group of history’s biggest assholes.
dogma1138 5y ago
That’s very much a UK problem, self build is pretty much non existent due to some of the worst zoning regulations imaginable. Even buying a lot in a residential area with a condemned building would require you to jump through so many hoops that would make it near impossible to build for anything below 7 figures…

somid3 5y ago

Then disrupt that. Those laws can be executed and people are on sidewalks in tents. That’s the problem that has to be solved. If they want to break the law with their $5k tiny home on wheels, then so be it until the laws open space for them. The state should provide property tax breaks for people who allow temporary homes.

imtringued 5y ago
Well, let's say we do it, you're basically turning a single family home into a multifamily property with an ADU. How is that any different from say turning that single family home into a multi story multi family home? I mean it should be clear that the laws regarding land ownership are serving owners at the expense of everyone else and not in a particularly efficient way. In socialism everyone scrambles to get up early and be lucky enough to find what they need at the grocery store, in capitalism people are born early and scramble to get hold of land because it doesn't go "bad" unlike most physical goods including capital itself.