Beyond Houses

This book delves into the complexities of urban crises, focusing on the efforts of researchers and practitioners who confront precarious housing and forced displacement. Originating from the 8th International Conference on Building Resilience (convened in November 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal), this book examines challenges across diverse contexts and geographies, including Chile, India, Kenya, Mexico, Portugal, and Syria. Structured in three parts, the book's 12 chapters address disaster prevention and recovery, humanitarian architecture, and issues related to housing, migration, and urban forced displacement. The narratives emphasize vulnerabilities, community-driven design, and cross-cultural perspectives, comprehensively reviewing global urban planning, slum upgrading, and incremental housing strategies. The contributions engage readers with practical insights for mitigating urban vulnerability and intellectual analyses that consider the complexities of life amid systemic injustices. Ultimately, the authors suggest integrating architectural practice with social work within communities to address intricate urban housing challenges.