Actually, we could end homelessness today if we wanted to, without building a single thing. Turns out there are 4 times as many empty houses as homeless people. The only reason why everyone doesn't have a house is because some people can't afford one.
But even if we did need to build more homes, there are several ways to make homebuilding cheaper, faster and more efficient. Check out contour crafting, for instance.
With 3-D printing, you could easily construct a house for under $5000, but that isn't even as cheap as we could go.
This company 3-D printed 10 houses in a single day.
If you build homes out of earth and use automated construction methods, houses could be created for free. Rammed earth has been used for thousands of years, and most of the oldest buildings in the world are made of it. It's as solid as a rock because it is a rock.
Currently, building with rammed earth is somewhat expensive because of all the labor involved. But if you scale up the process and prefabricate the panels in a factory, the costs would go down significantly. The same goes for all the other components in the home like plumbing and wiring.
There's a lot of other sustainable and inexpensive building methods besides rammed earth, and this is just one example.
What this article is really about is property ownership, and how it would mesh with the concept of a resource-based economy. As you've read, The Global Assembly manages the means of production and this does include land to an extent. Still, that doesn't mean people can't gain the security of a private home or that everyone would be forced to live in cramped, run-down soviet-style apartments. No way. Not when we can do so much better. Everyone deserves to have a home of their own, and they will. It's not even a luxury.
One of the Global Assembly's main responsibilities is ensuring everyone has an place to stay. During the construction of the new cities, families will be able to individually design their houses and have them built, just for them. Each house will be fully recyclable and is designed to be taken apart at the end of it's lifetime. But a resource-based economy does require a value shift, from ownership to access. Today, everyone has to have "one of everything", even when it doesn't make sense or sits unused 98% of the time. Each house has to have one car, one power saw, one surfboard, one toaster.. We buy so much stuff because we're afraid that when we need it most, it'll be taken away. Then, we end up needing to find new places to store all that junk. In a world like this, it's understandable to worry.
When it comes to home ownership, first you want to ask yourself, "why"? The main answers are "security", "stability", and "investment". We want to know that we're safe and that we always have somewhere to sleep at night. In tough times, homes are usually safe places to store money for the long term. When we want to emphasize how solid something is, we say it's "safe as houses". You won't need to worry about any of those things in a resource-based economy. Since everyone is guaranteed access to a home, there's no reason to worry about losing it or being put out on the street.
There are two types of housing agreements people can sign in order to get a house, roughly equivalent to "renting" and "owning", respectively. If you budget wisely, you won't have to worry about missing a payment since you will always be able to fall back on your basic income.
1) Monthly
For those who aren't going to be in an area for a long period of time, it's best to get a monthly deal. Like a rental, you pay a sum of money each month in order to stay, for as long as you stay. Like a rental, the monthly price adjusts based on supply and demand: If you live in a desirable area, then the monthly rent will rise. On the flipside, if you live in a less desirable area your rent will drop, which wouldn't usually happen in today's economy. What makes renting in a RBE unique is that it builds equity. Housing is free, so when you decide to leave your rental you get all the money back, minus any city residency fees. If you leave a rental for more than a certain period of time, it can be placed back on the market. Cities manage these homes.
2) Yearly/Long-Term
If you want to make a long-term commitment and plan to stay in one place, getting a yearly contract is the best deal. You can own a home for anywhere between 10-100 years, and stipulate that the home be passed on to your children if you die before the time is up. Taking out a long-term contract is a serious deal, because you can't just walk away. Even if you leave the home or move, if you can't find someone willing to buy the rest of the lease the money will still be deducted from your basic income monthly.
There are benefits, though. For one, your monthly rate is locked in for the duration of the term and you can rent the home to someone else if you don't want to live there. At the end of the lease, you have the first chance to extend it by making an offer. Long-term homes build equity too, so that once the lease is up you or your family can withdraw the money you've spent on it over the years.
Who owns the land?
Land inside cities is owned and managed by the city itself, while agricultural and industrial land beyond it is maintained by the Global Assembly. Individuals cannot "own" land, but they can be granted stewardship of it. Stewardship is just an agreement where you agree to take care of the land and also not to harm or abuse it in any way so that it is left available for future generations. Unless you decide to give it away before then, stewardship always lasts for life. This is a recognition that we are really tourists on this planet. Nobody can truly "own" land. You did nothing to create it. It was here for millions of years before you and will be around for billions after you have gone. All we can do is take care of it.
An example of where stewardship might be useful is for someone who enjoys farming. While most farming will be automated, if someone wants to take stewardship of a small portion of land to start an organic farm or resort they would be able to. There isn't any reason for people to own much besides their homes after all, since the planet and the resources on it belong to all of us.
Notice that I never say the Global Assembly "owns" the means of production or land. It manages and maintains it- big difference. If someone wants to temporarily use an unused plot of land for, say a festival or summer camp, then they can without being charged a fee. As long as you don't make a mess and leave only footprints, you are generally free to do whatever you want. The global assembly must show a compelling interest for denying access to any open spaces. This right is known as the right to roam in common-law countries, and if you believe it has been violated you can sue. Of course, extraction of resources (like hunting or fishing) is different.
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