DEVELOPMENT OF A LIGHTWEIGHT PORTABLE RECYCLABLE EMERGENCY SHELTER UNIT Gene Farmer ARA Associate Professor Department of Construction Management Florida International University Email farmerg fiu edu Ronald A Baier PE Visiting Professor Department of Construction Management Florida International University Suneetha Mallikarjuna Graduate Assistant Department of Construction Management Florida International University Abstract Each year thousands of Americans are left homeless by natural disasters In addition thousands more are permanently homeless living on our cities streets and parks When homelessness occurs emergency agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross are often tasked with providing emergency shelter for these unfortunate individuals Unfortunately the current system of supplying shelter is both complex and costly Generally emergency shelter consists of either large tents supplied by the military or through the use of mobile homes Both systems are expensive and logistically difficult This project proposes to develop and test a new system of providing emergency shelter At the core of this system will be the development of a recyclable shelter unit composed of a recyclable corrugated board material These shelter units will be designed for short term use usually up to three months and can then be totally recycled The units will be both lightweight and inexpensive and will consist of a set of corrugated board panels which can be carried and assembled by no more than two persons Setup and connections will be designed to be easily assembled by unskilled individuals using simple tools After an emergency the units can be trucked or air lifted into disaster struck areas to provide almost immediate shelter In winter climates these shelters can again be delivered by truck directly to the homeless to provide shelter from the dangerously harsh temperatures After the initial need the shelter can be easily de constructed and the materials re cycled In addition to design considerations this project will consider the economics of both the manufacturing and distribution of the shelters Keywords Natural disasters homeless emergency shelter recyclable lightweight inexpensive SECTION ONE BACKGROUND Disaster Relief The United States because of its geographic location and geologic make up has historically been prone to a variety of different types of natural disasters These natural disasters include hurricanes tornados floods and earthquakes For the purposes of this project a natural disaster will be defined as a weather geologic event classified by the federal government as qualifying for federal disaster relief Table 1 Natural Disasters in the United States NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE UNITED STATES DISASTER TYPE YEAR HURRICANE TORNADO FLOODS EARTHQUAKE 1990 0 9 5 1 1991 2 1 6 1 1992 2 13 14 2 1993 0 9 11 2 1994 2 4 6 1 1995 4 14 18 1 1996 3 11 19 2 1997 2 14 18 1 1998 4 18 18 1 1999 5 15 8 1 2000 0 9 6 2 2001 0 17 11 1 2002 1 16 17 2 TOTAL 25 150 157 18 According to the emergency management agencies such as American Red Cross Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA Virginia Department of Emergency Services World Health Organization WHO and climatic data centers such as the California Geological Survey Dartmouth Flood Observatory National Hurricane Center National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service NESDIS National Center for Environmental Prediction NCEP National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA and United States Geological Survey USGS there have been over 350 such natural disasters documented since 1990 These disasters have taken their toll on the population of certain geographic sections of the United Stated in terms of lives money and emotion There have been hundreds of persons killed or injured as a result of natural disasters since 1990 In addition over 481 000 men women and children were left homeless It is these homeless men women and children that will be the focus of this project Table 2 Homeless left by Natural Disasters in the United States HOMELESS LEFT BY NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE UNITED STATES DISASTER TYPE YEAR HURRICANE TORNADO FLOODS EARTHQUAKE 1990 302 1991 1992 126 167 56 5 046 1993 3 27 654 1 000 1994 2 550 10 000 1995 6 100 475 36 725 1996 198 963 892 23 000 1997 4 548 1998 1 536 10 116 1999 2 500 1505 9 238 2000 59 460 2001 536 11 351 2002 250 100 4781 TOTAL 335 516 3 932 126 423 16 046 Homeless in the United States It is estimated that on any given night there are at least 750 000 people in the United States without a permanent shelter To put this number in perspective these homeless outnumber the populations of San Francisco Boston or Washington DC General Information about Homelessness Over the course of a year between 1 3 million and 2 million people will experience homelessness While every major city is making an attempt to assist the homeless a recent survey taken in 27 major U S cities found that 37 of all emergency shelter requests went unmet National Coalition for the Homeless 2002 The following chart illustrates the approximate number of homeless people in six large US cities Table 3 Homeless in the United States HOMELESSNESS IN THE UNITED STATES CITY NEW YORK APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF HOMELESS 38 627 Daily Report 2004 BOSTON 6 210 Anderson et al 2002 CHICAGO 3 000 Wright 1995 ATLANTA DALLAS MIAMI 12 000 Blueprint to End Homelessness in Atlanta in Ten Years 2003 5 181 Cold Weather Homeless Census Report 2003 4 000 Homeless Wrap up September 2002 While these people are technically without homes they are not always without shelter Sheltering of the homeless generally falls into the following four categories 1 2 3 4 Persons living on the street Persons living in emergency or transitional shelters Persons living in cars Persons living in campgrounds Of these four categories those persons living on the street are the most critically in need of assistance Living on the street is a dangerous proposition at best and a can be potentially life threatening at worst In the harsher winter climates of the northern states persons living on the street are subjected to significant injury or death from exposure to the lower temperatures Several people living on the street die each year from exposure related incidents Current Methodology of Shelter Assistance While there are several agencies which assist the homeless in finding shelter in most cities there is no methodology in place to assist those persons actually
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