Temporary Housing for the Homeless: A Pre-Engineering Design Project

It has been reported by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty that in 2004, over 3.5 million Americans were homeless. While many homeless live in temperate climates, many others live in locations where it can get very cold in the winter. Without adequate shelter, this can become very hazardous to the health and well-being of these individuals. One possibility to consider is the development of a low-cost portable shelter made of materials such as cardboard and insulation. If designed properly, a portable and inexpensive shelter would keep people sufficiently warm, with the only source of warmth being their own body heat. In this article, the authors present a project that requires students in tenth through twelfth grades to design a lightweight, low-cost homeless shelter capable of supporting a family through a cold winter night. (Contains 5 tables and 3 figures.)