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What does the future hold for the problem ofhousing? A good deal depends, of course, on the meaning of future. If one isthinking in terms of science fiction and the space age, it is at least possibleto assume that man will have solved such trivial and earthly problems ashousing. Writers of science fiction, from H.G. Wells onwards, have had littleto say on the subject. They have conveyed the suggestion that men will live ingreat comfort, with every conceivable apparatus to make life smooth, healthyand easy, if not happy. But they have not said what his house will be made of.Perhaps some new building material, as yet unimagined, will have beendiscovered or invented at least. One may be certain that bricks and mortar will long have gone outof fashion. But the problems of the next generation or twocan more readily be imagined. Scientists have already pointed out that unlesssomething is done either to restrict the worlds rapid growth in population orto discover and develop new sources of food , millions of people willbe dying of starvation or at the best suffering from underfeeding before thiscentury is out. But nobody has yet worked out any plan for housing thesegrowing populations. Admittedly the worst situations will occur in the hottestparts of the world, where housing can be light structure or in backward areaswhere standards are traditionally low. But even the minimum shelter requiresmaterials of some kind and in the teeming, bulging towns the low-standardhousing of flattened petrol cans and dirty canvas is far more wasteful ofground space than can be tolerated. | 
