Science,Technology and the State in the Provision of Low-Income Accommodation: The Case of Industrialized House-Building,1955-77

Abstract

To eliminate the housing problem, many authorities have contended that the application of science and modern technology to the prefabrication of housing (`industrialized building') would result in a quantum improvement in production, cost reduction and quality. Diffusion of this theory has transcended socio-political boundaries. However, extensive construction of dwellings by industrialized systems was dependent upon the prior existence of a significant state housing sector: implementation (and sophistication) increased across the spectrum from market, through welfare, to socialist economies. Although significant numbers of dwellings have been built using industrialized methods, this has not resulted in an order of magnitude improvement in quantity, quality, cost or time. Furthermore, many industrialized dwellings have serious defects, and sophisticated systems were only economically competitive for high-rise flats, which have proved unsuitable for low-income families. The relative failure of industrialized building should give policy makers pause: also, emphasis upon industrialized building has obscured consideration of employment- and skills-generating methods of increasing housing stock.