A developer in New Jersey is looking to shipping containers as building blocks for affordable housing.
"Building a home out of a metal box may seem like a peculiar idea to some, but to Kent Pipes it's a vision in green.
Pipes, president and CEO of The Affordable Homes Group in Mount Holly, plans to build homes and homeless shelters out of the 8-by-40-foot ISO heavy-gauge steel shipping containers that can be frequently seen stacked up at American ports. The cost would be around $20,000 and they would come with everything a normal home comes with -- separate rooms, working plumbing, deck space and more.
Pipes attended a Mount Holly planning board meeting on Monday to obtain final approval for a house to be developed on Filbert Street in Mount Holly for sale as affordable housing. Once the plans are approved, Pipes said they hope to begin the project by the end of the year.
Pipes' concept involves building a duplex home made from the recycled containers. The plans for each house include a basement, dining room, kitchen, living room, den, porch, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, stairs, decks, skylights and storage. To help with the insulation, storm water runoff and the greenhouse effect, vegetation will be planted on the flat roofs."
FULL STORY: Steel containers could be affordable houses, shelters

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

The French Solution to Congested Tunnels: Make Them Car-Free
Bay Area transportation officials keep expanding car capacity. Lyon’s Croix Rousse Tunnel offers a different way.

Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies
A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.

USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program
The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Fort Worth
planning NEXT
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie