The American Dream of Housing Becomes Reality in Sweden
The United States has long struggled with an affordable housing shortage, but architect Ivan Rupnik believes the solution is simple: build more houses, and build them fast. However, the traditional construction methods in the U.S. make this goal nearly impossible.
Inspired by modular housing projects in Europe from the 1950s and ’60s, Rupnik began researching the concept for his doctoral dissertation. He was surprised to discover an American initiative called Operation Breakthrough that constructed nearly 3,000 units between 1971 and 1973. Despite its success, this program remained largely unknown.
Operation Breakthrough was created by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1969 under HUD Secretary George Romney. Romney, a former Republican governor and father of Mitt Romney, believed that rapidly increasing the housing supply would lower prices for everyone. He proposed building 26 million houses in a decade, emphasizing the need to industrialize construction methods for efficiency.
While productivity has increased in most industries since 1968, the productivity of home-building has declined by half. The current rate of construction is insufficient to meet the demand, leaving the country millions of units short. With population growth, climate change, and the deterioration of existing housing stock, the need for more housing will only continue to rise.
The concept of modular construction, which involves assembling pre-fabricated modules on-site, has gained popularity in Sweden as an efficient and cost-effective way to address the housing shortage. By adopting this approach, Sweden has been able to build housing at scale and meet the needs of its growing population.
Unlike the U.S., Sweden has embraced modular construction and reaped the benefits of speed and efficiency in housing development. By looking to successful models like Operation Breakthrough and implementing innovative strategies, the U.S. could potentially overcome its affordable housing challenges and make the American Dream of homeownership a reality for more people.