Mass housing: Challenges, contemporary paradigms and future potentials

In a world of increasing global population and constant transformation, where climate change and limited natural resources have become undeniable facts, there is a growing demand for housing that efficiently and adequately responds to the needs of the masses, while limiting environmental impacts. Given this setting, the objective of this introductory chapter is multi-fold and intends to carry a holistic review of mass housing paradigms, trends, challenges and production in order to uncover its future potentials. Henceforth, the generic challenges and the complex and inter-related driving forces shaping the mass housing production are first underlined. Following, mass housing is explored through its conceptual and sometimes shifting paradigms; from social egalitarian state, welfare state, to the market driven context and the participatory concepts. In each pattern, the various policies and processes are discussed, while representative case studies from different contexts are presented and critically reviewed to uncover both their achievements and drawbacks. This chapter ends with an exploration of the anticipated approaches for mass housing in both developed and developing countries. This encompasses the predicted environmental, economic and social sustainability as well as the technical challenges and the expected, or rather recommended, scenarios for confronting such challenges. In this regard, the perceived future mass housing approaches, decision-making processes, forms and technical opportunities are briefly discussed.