People often joke about living in a box as a means to convey financial desperation. Well, for many impoverished individuals around the globe, living in a box may be the next best thing. A recent earthquake in Haiti devastated the nation, leaving many people homeless, without shelter. In response to this literal housing crisis ( you thought Americans had it rough), researchers at Clemson University are looking to use shipping containers as temporary housing. Don’t call DCFS just yet. The idea is not as gruesome as it seems.

Researchers Pernille Christensen, Doug Heckner, and Martha Skinner are working on a method to convert unused shipping containers into temporary housing after disasters such as hurricanes and recently, earthquakes, that often rock the Caribbean. Many countries have hundreds of these containers that sit, useless, at marine ports. The project would utilize these containers as means of temporary housing, so that community members can work on rebuilding their own homes as well as those of neighbors while still having a place to stay. The researchers hypothesize that this situation would help build a sense of togetherness among member as well as a sense of security, in that displaced individuals would have a place to stay.

Reading the beginning of the ‘life in a box’ proposal, I have to admit I was a bit taken aback…moving people into boxes? Is this the Dark Ages? But when you take a deeper look into the situation as a whole, you realize that 1) These containers have no other use once cargo is unloaded and 2) The displaced people are often forced to live in the street when disaster strikes and the containers provide the perfect solution to a housing problem. Not only do the containers provide housing, but they make excellent use of the ‘recycle and reuse’ principle in an innovative way. So, box or street? I would take the box any day.