Temporary Shelters

In Haiti, displacement camps full of people left without homes after the devastating January earthquake are becoming more and more permanent. Deborah Gans argues that these sites should be more carefully planned to foster functioning places.

A Methodist reverend has a vision of a portable living space for aging seniors that could be set up in a family's backyard. Local officials worry about them becoming permanent if zoning changes.

GOOD Magazine highlights designer Michael McDaniel's Reaction Housing System, a temporary shelter that can be stacked up and loaded onto a flatbed 20 at a time.

Families who have income will now be charged a small rent to stay in public housing shelters in New York City, part of a 1997 state law that had up until now gone unenforced.

Oobject collects examples of instant architecture, temporary structures created mostly for the military to serve as hangars, sleeping quarters, or tactical command posts.