Survival to sustainable care: mono-material timber autonomous hybrid shelters to ensure houseless human dignity and address societal stigma

Abstract

In Canada, unhoused individuals face systemic problems that lead to a lack of care. Although housing is a human right, municipalities struggle to provide solutions to prevent houselessness, but also unshelteredness, leaving many to survive in difficult conditions, especially in winter. Considering the lack of affordable housing and the shortcomings of the regulated shelters, we need to provide a new shelter option that addresses the urgent needs of those who are not looked after. This thesis is informed by research regarding the challenges of unhoused individuals, the solutions to reduce negative societal perspectives and stigmatization, case studies of innovative autonomous shelter options, and innovative building strategies. The outcomes lead to the design of mono-material timber autonomous hybrid shelters built by community members and integrated acupuncturally on various sites in Sudbury (Ontario) to ensure survival and human dignity, address stigma, and create a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable system of care.