Engineering-Based Methods for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Community Development

Housing is a key component of the U.S. economy: in 2001, housing comprised more than a third of the nation’s tangible assets, and, in the form of home building and remodeling, housing consumption and related spending represented more than 21 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. Since 2001, home sales, prices, equity and debt have all grown substantially, enabling millions of Americans to purchase ever-greater amounts of goods and services (Joint Center for Housing Studies 2006).