Mini:Architecture
There are about two billion buildings in the world, which is around 2 x 10^9 buildings. This amounts to about 10^12 or 10^13 square feet of construction. If one includes the exterior space which is part of our immediate world, parks, streets, gardens, the total amount of designed space in the world is around 10^14 square feet.
The efforts of all the building design professionals in the world do not even begin to scratch the surface of that task. The sum of their works amounts to less than 10^10 square feet of designed space per year, a tiny percent of what’s needed,which is to say: far too small to be effective. (Alexander 1996)
According to the American Institute of Architects, the shortage of skilled professionals at every level of the architecture profession will only become more acute in the next five years. “Institutional inertia will make it very difficult for many schools of architecture to adapt to meet the changing needs of the profession.” (Tardiff 2007)
The shortage of building design professionals becomes more acute as we move into economically-developing countries. It is estimated that professionals design and construct less than 40% of housing built in Mexico City. (Villavicencio)
Ample evidence shows that although State endorsement of auto-construction of social housing has, in the short tem, favored the process of housing construction for low income segments of the population, it has also served to deepen social inequity. To say that not all possible habitat policies have a place for auto-construction is an understatement. (Martínez)
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