Description
Course Description:
Since most Americans build their wealth via home ownership, housing is key to reducing poverty passed from generation to generation. Moreover, children growing up in stable homes are more likely to succeed in school and become assets to their communities and society. However, it is estimated that there is a need for more than 5.5. million homes. One contributing factor is outdated zoning rules that allow for large apartment buildings or single-family homes on big lots and not much in between. This results in what is called the “missing middle” of more affordable townhomes and smaller homes that are clustered together. As contractors, we can’t rezone the towns and cities where we build, but we can control what we build, how, and where we build. This course will explore solutions to the housing crisis through the design and construction of housing units, including modular construction methods.
Objectives:
At the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Define affordable housing and its advantages and recognize the need to build houses people can afford.
- Identify methods of construction that make building houses more economical (short-term affordability) and efficient (long-term affordability), including alternatives to single-family detached housing.
- Describe and summarize modular construction, including its history and evolution.
- Differentiate between modular, panelized, and manufactured housing.
- Compare the benefits of modular construction with other construction methods.
- Provide clients with current alternatives relating to residential and commercial modular construction.