Raising the minimum

 

    Habraken explains how the everyday environment has changed drastically and how architecture changes along with it. In early history, everyday architecture was created based on the knowledge of the everyday builder, "[a] process so deeply rooted in social patterns and material skills" learned from generations of experience and self built architecture. This everyday architecture focused on what we would today call the bare minimum living conditions. A roof over your head and protection from the elements and enemies. The environment at the time was mostly lightly settled land full of farming. Since then we have come a long way with the introduction of new technologies and developing places we live, work, and experience on a large scale.  The introduction of  new technologies raises the minimum of everyday living, it also increases the gap between the poor and the other social classes. The minimum of living is much more than a roof over your head but but now requires transportation access, internet and hygienic spaces. Places that don't have these minimums suffer greatly. An example would be the Slums. Today a roof over your head isn't enough to get by.  Slums are located in an urban setting because individual personal transportation is not affordable. They lack access to basic technologies and can be very dirty due to over crowding and being built from scrap materials. As we look to the future we need to learn from the past. As the everyday environment changes based on human devolvement
we need to be aware we are raising the bar the less fortunate as well.