Last year, the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, came under fire for failing to address the housing shortage plaguing the island of Oahu. The attitude of the government, which kept the police watching the homeless and had the plan to transfer them to an island far from their home (and from the sight of tourists) was condemned internationally.
At that time, much was said about the harsh social reality that was lived behind what seemed like a paradise of beaches and sun.
Today, it seems that Hawaii has heard at least some of the criticism, as it is considering new projects to improve the situation for the homeless, such as repurposing old disused city buses and adapting them as shelters or transitional housing for homeless.
The government made a concession to the private company Grupo de Arquitectura 70 Internacional, which took on the design challenge and has already presented some models of how the shelters would look.
In addition, there are already volunteers working on the construction of the first units. The pods built into the buses will be able to function as transitional housing in some cases and, in others, provide shelter, showers and recreation for some homeless people.
Hawaii is a very tourist destination and many people travel there every year, perhaps without stopping to reflect on the social realities. 2017 will be the year of Ecotourism, and it is a good time to promote reflection on the destinations we visit in our spare time.
For the transformation of the units, it will be necessary to replace seats with beds, place curtains to give privacy to those who go there to wash or rest, and make water installations to feed the showers and sinks.
Although the space inside a bus is not very large, they are resistant structures that can protect from rain, wind and a bit of cold, and that will surely be of great value for those who have nowhere to spend the night.
If it comes to fruition, it would undoubtedly represent a first step to improve the situation of those who suffer the most, but it would be the beginning of a path that can provide them with the living conditions they truly deserve.