Shelter

Without proper shelter, we humans generally have difficulty surviving the elements. And even aside from that consideration, it can be argued that every human being deserves a comfortable, esthetically-pleasing home in which to live.

However, vast numbers of people not only live in unhealthy, visually-depressing slums and hovels, but also find it difficult to ever climb out of such conditions.

Why is this? Why don’t people living in urban slums just migrate to the country, where conditions are less crowded, cleaner and probably safer from crime?

These are questions I always asked myself as a youth, before I came to the realization that city-dwelling people sometimes dislike or even fear non-urban environments, and may feel uncomfortable outside of city conditions. While I have had friends and relatives who grew up in extremely urban environments and still became consummate outdoorspeople, the likelihood is that most people who grow up in urban conditions become accustomed to them, and gain relatively little experience with non-urban environments. And while the idea of leaving what may be filthy, crime-ridden slums in favor of rural areas where one can raise one’s own food may on some levels seem appealing to some of these people, perhaps the vast majority of them would never make such a transition, because they wouldn’t want to leave friends and family, and besides, it’s just not part of their mindset. Lacking the outdoor skills of the country person, the urbanite can feel as out of place in a tranquil, pastoral setting as a “country person” might when first entering a megalopolis.

So, then, the reality seems to be that some people will always be comfortable in more rural settings, and some in more urban ones. (And this obviously applies to people of all income levels, since many people who can afford to live anywhere choose to live in crowded cities for various understandable reasons.)

Since this is the case, in order to provide a good standard of living for people everywhere without continuing to do serious damage to the environment, cities should become in every way as inviting as more rural areas.

But how can we do this? Perhaps by re-thinking the concept of what a city is, as was done by Bucky Fuller and Washington University architecture professor James Fitzgibbon, when they designed the crater-shaped “Old Man River” concept city, to be built in an economically-depressed area of St. Louis, Missouri.

The crater would be covered by a transparent umbrella, one mile in diameter. The inward-sloping surfaces of the crater would be geared toward communal life, while the outer ones (with their views of the surrounding countryside) would be devoted to dwellings and private life. (For more details, see section 5.7 of Christopher Fearnley's Buckminster Fuller FAQ.)

But the Old Man River city was never built. So, while looking at new alternatives is always fascinating, it can also be useful to examine the ways human beings have so far created shelter for themselves over the millennia.

After all, indigenous cultures have managed to live successfully with the Earth no matter where on its surface they have happened to be located.

In addition to conventional stone, brick or timber houses, humans have created such constructions as yurts, tipis, bamboo houses, Papuan stilt houses, domes, adobe houses, and what are known as Earthships. As we continue, we'll examine some of the features of each of these, and perhaps some others as well.

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