Static Versus Mobile Architecture: A Comparison Of Solutions For Homelessness In Hawai’i

Within the context of modern sustainable development, there is a movement of human sustainability, which focuses on the value of human life and the problems that threaten that life. One problem found in Honolulu, Hawai’i is a large homeless population. Mobile architecture—understood in this case as single-family homes on non-permanent foundations—presents opportunities to draw distinct connections to the issues that cause this homelessness problem. Static tiny homes—understood here as single-family homes on permanent foundations with an area of 500 square feet or less—presents a different set of strengths when addressing the same problem. This analysis weighs the use and stability of static tiny homes against the cost and mobility of mobile tiny homes, concluding that static tiny homes better solve the issue of homelessness in Honolulu, Hawai’i.