Housing

The intro video is taken from a popular American TV series which takes an ironic look at life in the suburbs. The refrain of the title song, "little boxes made of ticky-tacky", refers to the kinds of houses people live in. Why do we pay $3-500 000, which for most of us means taking on a 30-year mortgage, to live in "little boxes made of ticky-tacky", in bland suburbs devoid of culture? As the documentary "The End of Suburbia" suggests, it is time to re-think the way we approach housing and property development, especially with a view toward rising fuel prices, which are heralding the end of the commuter lifestyle.

This article aims to investigate housing, which includes house construction, property development and management in an effort to discover what is wrong about current suburban-style housing developments and what can be done to remedy this. The goal is to discover low-priced alternatives which address basic human needs in an integrated way. Although general problems and solutions will be discussed around this topic, the solutions will be specific to people living in New Zealand wishing to provide a healthy, comfortable and affordable home for themselves and their families.