Room for Aesthetics

In the reading Learning from Pop there is a line that says we need to understand what the economically constrained tastes might be if they were not so economically constrained. This line really resignation with me. People are not motivated by design as much as they are by the economic factors. A person of limited means might not have any other choice but to live in what is affordable and that will significantly reduce the available options. This made me think about the situation I grew up in and am currently a part of. Being middle class, you are afforded the opportunity to make decisions based on aesthetics. Yes, money is still a concern but personal preference is able to a factor in the decision making process. In architecture aesthetics are a vital part of design and encompass out lives. I am constantly passing mental judgement on building, environments, and object that I deem wither "good design" or "bad design".

Now taking a step back what would it be like to not be able to make decisions about the environment in which you live because you could not afford any other options. This one hurts to think about. Again, design is a constant part of my life so how would I cope not being able to design and craft my surroundings or even take the time to appreciate good design. This goes back to studio and thinking about poverty and the survival mentality. Living day to day and paycheck to paycheck, not being able to look beyond the essentials because attaining them is a large enough challenge. 

This then made me ask myself, what does design for people in poverty look like? Do people in poverty seek out, as the reading states, nouveau rich environments? Do they want Modern design or as the reading lists the Georgian styling of the middle classes or is it something else? What would people ask for and idealize if they had the opportunity and the room to seek out aesthetics and design?