There is a growing disconnection between where many people work and where they can live. We see this in things like fly in -fly out working arrangements as well as the growing number of jobs that can be done anywhere there is a reasonable internet connection. So what might this mean in terms of where and how people live?
In some cases the answer is not much because these people like where they are living, or are like my wife, sick of moving. For others it will be an opportunity to move somewhere they would like to live permanently but haven’t been able to do because of the need to be within commute distance from their workplace.
What this post is about is the other group. The ones that would really like to be able to change where they live frequently.
In some cases this might mean buying a superflash campervan and move as the mood moves them. The problem with campervans is that they are not all that suitable if you want to spend some of your time living in the big cities. Campervans tend to be stuck in caravan parks on city fringes.
With this problem in mind I could see the potential of rackable housing . In the picture below each of these 20 m2 units can be slid in and out of a permanent rack to allow a units to be moved to another location. This means that someone who likes to move around could have a unit fitted out to their taste that could be moved and fitted into an empty rack somewhere hundreds of km away. (They can probably afford to keep a number of empty slots spread over the country or simply rent slots.
I am assuming that the units would be close to standard container sizes for ease of transport. A standard 30 ft container floor area is 22 m2.
Still in the planning and prototype stage, the Kasita unit shown brings to mind elements of the tiny house and shipping container home communities. It comprises just 19 m2 of floorspace, including a bathroom, a kitchenette, study, and a lounge. A cantilevering glass front section is a nice touch. Available amenities include a walk-in shower, refrigerator, convection oven and cooktop, washer/dryer, and a queen-size bed that can be tucked away. The interior sports modular tiles that can be outfitted with shelving, gadgets, and furniture.
The rackable principle could also be attractive for construction camps where area is limited.
Brilliant idea – especially since labour market mobility is now almost back to where it was in the days of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I (James VI, for all you Scots) – and since our non-enterprising, dinosaur, inflexible banks are still addicted to bludgertoriums and whopping BIG!! mortgages too.
The banks and corrupt or stupid (or both) local government authorities will do their damnedest to stop anything as innovative as this happening.
Even if their is an outbreak of intelligence and vision, these sorts of dwellings are not without their problems:
(1) Can these units be slid in and out of their permanent racks without undue disturbance to other residences?
(2) What is there to stop the owners of these racks and sites from pulling some of the stunts that are all too familiar to “permanent” residents of retirement estates and caravan parks? (The social, legal and financial aspects of these units are nearly as important as the technical aspects).
I would be happy to own and live in one if the cost of the units and the cost of moving them were both affordable.
#*@@# !!! I typed “there” and I meant “there”, you stupid overspellchecked computer!! (reaches for wellie and flings it at computer).
Groan. Another ” device” intended to further increase the density of our already over-blown cities.
Post WW2 the government encouraged the 1/4 acre block. Aided by buses and private cars, sprawl was no longer limited to areas adjacent to train routes. And since then we have steadfastly compressed our living space to now about 19m2. Or half that if you are a couple. I am not a social worker but I’d bet there are some pretty good reasons not to let this go too far.
GB don’t be too tough on local government. They are in fact a creature of the State government, a hangover from our early settlement days (no roads, phones etc.) that allowed some delegation of State power to outer areas as a pragmatic solution the need for government where direct representation was impractical. Now local government is much more established (but still not in the Constitution) and is broadly used by State government as a whipping boy when things go wrong. ‘Not sure what happens if something goes right, still waiting for that to happen.
In any event this sort of development would certainly attract the interest of the State and they would set Policy, not local government.
But zany or cute as these little apartments may seem I suspect they are a poor response to overcrowding/overpopulation. That is a far greater issue and needs addressing at it’s root. These little dwellings (!?) just help support the ponzi-like scheme of our larger cities.
I like it.
If a like minded entrepreneur produced a hull, engine and wheelhouse to slide it onto for 4 week rentals through the Whitsundays it may be a goer 🙂
Here you go Jumpy. Don’t frig around with an old shipping container…
http://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-catamarans/perry-43-sailing-catamaran-highline-model/128680
Nice one Geoff.
But with a bigger diesel donk, the wind is too unreliable.
And when is does blow, the water gets all lumpy.
Twin hull is an excellent choice btw, park em anywhere, wet or dry.
Yep. Need two 40/50 hp diesels, a self-furling mast and someone else to pay the bills. Think Perry 43.
I’ve done a few bare-boat charters at Whitsunday, and many eons back would get dropped on an uninhabited island (Cid) for a few weeks between semesters. Daily cost for the two of us was $5.30. Sigh…
Will do another charter one day, it is very good for the soul.
Bilge-keel job for me; can park it anywhere, wet or dry Far more forgiving than a catamaran in BIG seas – though I did think of streamlined, retractable counterweight on the end of a strong, slim, extra-long “underwater mast” to prevent a complete capsize in a multihull.
G.H.: I’m one of those old-fashioned types who still believes in a quarter-acre block but a productive one, not one covered with lawn and concrete and builders’-nightmares.
I can see stackable housing being used more in remote-&-rural areas than in big cities – especially if the permanent racks can be moved without excessive bother and cost too.
Thanks for that alternative view of local government. Food for thought.
Geoff, if you ever get a chance, Middle Percy Island is just heaven.
Brilliant anchorages from all points and squeaky sand like Whitehaven Beach on the SEer one.
Bewitching it seems, at least to some.
GH: Rackable housing doesn’t make much sense as a source of permanent housing. What it is about is providing temporary housing in places where populations are expected to fluctuate and/or where the land is going to be used for something else in a few years time.