The Super Bowl show you might have missed: shipping container homes
One of the latest trends might be coming soon to a neighborhood near you. The rush is on to build much needed housing from . . . shipping containers.
Models were on display in downtown Phoenix during the Super Bowl, which took place in nearby Glendale, Ariz. Travelers pay up to $500 a night to stay in them on Airbnb. Architects are creating quirky mansions in the desert with them. And a growing number of cities from Newark to Chicago are using them to quickly boost housing supply, including for people who are homeless.
Phoenix is going all-in. Mayor Kate Gallego describes them as an “activation opportunity” that can move quickly to fill vacant lots and respond to urgent needs. Her city boasts the tallest shipping container building in the country (six stories), and its city council approved $3 million to provide more of these type of residences for the unhoused.
No one is claiming this is the magic cure for homelessness, but places such as London that have tried container homes for a while now have learned that people tend to find them superior to alternatives such as tents, old hotels or massive shelters holding dozens, and even hundreds, of residents. Container homes give individuals or families their own space. As Craig Tribken from the nonprofit A New Leaf in Phoenix said recently: “We need to try new things to address homelessness.” The container units in his city will be in a parking lot alongside a large shelter-style facility and possibly RVs.
Container housing checks a lot of boxes: These units are recycled, easy to transport and have an urban industrial look. A San Diego writer described them as having a “Restoration Hardware meets The Boxcar Children vibe.” Initially, there were fears that living in a shipping container would feel akin to being in a metal coffin, but builders have found ways to add floorto-ceiling windows and insulation and to stack containers atop each other to create multistory homes and high ceilings. Some in Phoenix are even off-grid with solar panels and water recycling capabilities.
Cities around the world now have bars, stores and homes made of containers. At the recent Qatar World Cup, many visitors stayed in transformed container “huts.” And in the Kansas City, Mo., suburbs, many watched the Chiefs win at an “outdoor village” made from six shipping container restaurants.
Cities across the United States are struggling with housing shortages - especially for affordable places to live. Waitlists can take years to get a typical government housing unit or even find a place willing to accept voucher payments. Shipping containers are a smart, temporary solution that gives the city streetscape unique flair.
Making it happen will require city councils and mayors to get creative. They can use vacant lots or underutilized parking areas to put several of these homes. They could also revisit zoning laws that have outdated mandates about what kind of materials can be used for home construction. Not every city can host the Super Bowl as the Phoenix area did on Sunday, but every one should follow its lead in moving toward the end zone on affordable housing.