India has announced that it will establish a web-based ‘knowledge lab’ to share developments in affordable housing technologies with states and local governments throughout the country
Why is this important, not only for India, but also for other countries struggling with an affordable housing crisis?
Well, many free market economies shy away from social democratic solutions: ones in which the government interferes, hopefully in a positive fashion.
Those economies which prefer to avoid government-based solutions are however experiencing an affordable housing crisis without a great deal of help from their homegrown housing industry.
The private sector housing industry is understandably far more interested in building market rate or luxury housing that nets everyone involved much larger profits than affordable housing construction.
An article in the American Builder magazine explains why the national industry simply ‘can’t’ build affordable housing. Its solution: pass the blame to wage-payers, not builders. Otherwise ignore the problem (except when induced by generous government handouts). Try: Home Builders’ Solution: Higher Wages Can Make Our Products Affordable.
A later Builder article in part attempts to blame human ‘bargaining’ behaviour as a force in unnecessarily increasing housing prices. Read more in Builder: The Real Data On Entry-Level Home Buying Affordability
However, this Builder article ends with an interesting prophecy: if the conventional construction industry cannot find ways to profitably build affordable housing, someone else surely will.
Enter India’s ‘knowledge lab.’ India has taken on an enormous responsibility to effectively house the world’s second largest population by the year 2022. In spite of government commitment to this target, the country’s private sector is more interested in building what is profitable, not necessarily what is needed.
India’s ‘knowledge lab’ is effectively a step towards Builder’s prophesy that ‘somebody else will’ find ways and means to build profitable affordable housing. It is encouraging as a knowledge resource into which other countries may eventually tap. Should it also serve as a warning that along with knowledge, affordable housing technology itself may one day come from offshore? That may be a great detriment to home-grown housing industries that are unprepared to innovate and adapt.
While there is not any indication that India will share its affordable technology resources outside of the country, it points to the value of developing national knowledge resources, and the benefit of sharing this kind of information not only nationally but globally.
Read more in India’s Devidiscourse: Centre to use new technologies and innovative designs for affordable housing
