Streets of hope: An urbane, ecological approach to temporary housing for E.U. asylum seekers

Abstract

The unfolding refugee crisis in Europe has prompted governments to set up thousands of prefabricated shelters to house the waves of refugees who must go through the process of being registered, screened, and filing asylum requests. However, these provisional living quarters are not structured on the basis of sound urban criteria, nor do they obey strict ecological guidelines. This paper outlines the urban and ecological failures of current refugee housing schemes, including the lack of structured public space and cultural amenities, and high carbon footprint of prefabricated units. A proposal is put forward which envisages the construction of asylum processing centers using traditional urban models and employing ‘zero-impact’ environmental techniques to create humane, welcoming settings which can be easily removed or re-purposed after the crisis. Residential units would be constructed using upgraded adobe techniques familiar in countries of the Middle East from which most of the refugees come.