Why Care: applying the concepts of social housing to Detroit

Abstract

This thesis explores how the concepts found within social housing can be adapted to improve the ways the United States challenges affordable housing. Only formulating around the period of industrialization, the following two centuries have seen these concepts evolve to remedy a range of issues faced around the world. The United States has seen limited success compared to other countries in its attempts to solve affordable housing for its residents. This thesis aims to uncover the source of the mistranslation and offer solutions by asking how American ideologies have stigmatized socialized housing and urban environments, how the built environment relates to social structures, and how designing for low-income residents can expand to include entire communities. This thesis has examined previous attempts at affordable housing in the United States while comparing them to developments in Europe and South America. This investigation has expanded to include the various social, economic, and political developments and challenges that remain due to them. The United States poses a different environment to its counterparts around the world and requires a unique solution to assist in solving its housing crisis.