Second-world countries are those nations aligned with the Eastern Bloc & Soviet Union, generally considered socialist or communist or socialist nations with central planning economics and state-owned industries. Countries considered are Russia, China, North Korea, and various federations of Eastern Europe. The term “Second World Nations” has almost vanished in the contemporary reference, but some appraisers still use it in the relevance of respective nations based on their development statistics. They shifted focus from centrally planned to fair gains. Further creating the challenges of economic affordability and environment. As the population constantly and increasing climatic risks pressurize to develop ideal housing models. First-world nations have stronger running work frames compared to third-world nations as have a lower urbanized ratio. Second-world countries try to innovate within limits of socio-political leads. Let’s dive through the article.
The Housing Crisis in Transitional Economies
Few Eastern European nations, some parts of Central and Southeast Asia are grappling with aging, uneven and inadequate housing stock, often rapid urbanization with irrational infrastructure growth, and limited financial access to green building loans, no proper regulatory frameworks and urban planning. A new wave is seen of hybrid housing model solutions, aligning with green goals for the future.
Key Components of Green + Affordable Housing Models
Green + affordable housing systems serve a structured and strict framework. Some approaches are the whole and soul utilization of locally extracted materials (earthen blocks, bamboo, recycled bricks) to reduce cost and transportation-related emissions. Vietnam and Uzbekistan have successfully revived the masonry-earth building techniques. Modular and incremental housing setup offer flexibility by allowing structures to be built in small phases, according to nominal income and needs. The factor reviewed in Latin America is now adopted in Eastern European nations, like prefabricated techniques or steel frames to enhance scalability and affordability.
Community-centered planning includes design and participatory construction, leading to the benefits of reduced costs and being seen effectively in nations like Romania and Bulgaria. Lastly, checking for net-zero homes might be cost-prohibitive. Passive design strategies also play a pivotal role, helping build optimization factors that help in reducing energy consumption. Places like Georgia and Serbia have witnessed architects blending vernacular techniques (thick stone walls and small window openings) with modern architectural techniques to achieve the green building code with various systems, codes, or other technological advancements. Renewable systems like solar panels and rainwater harvesting are becoming more common across all regions, nowadays.
Case Studies
Let’s see the highlight of interesting approaches to green + affordable economic ranges, for instance, the Baan Mankong Program of Thailand is a notable government movement of slum upgradation with land tenure, and access to credit as much as possible. Many community-fostering initiatives feature passive design strategies. In the Eastern part of Europe, EnerPHit Retrofits in Poland and the Czech Republic focus on upgrading Soviet-era panel buildings, supported by EU funding. In Kyrgyzstan, the Eco-Village Development initiative showcases a grassroots approach with residents collaborating to self-build and install solar-power panels.
Barriers to Adoption
The growth in the reputation of these housing models is seen. Barriers to adopt still stand tall hindering their flexibility. The major challenge faced is the perceived high cost of technologies, which often deters both development and homeowners, with long-term loss savings with this shortage of skilled labor, limiting the quality and scalability. Policy gaps in building codes and weak enforcement further efforts, as many regulatory frameworks are not accommodated or incentivized to sustainable practices. Lastly, financial investors often hesitate to fund this housing models, addressing them as high economic risk.
Recommendations for Scalable Impact
To achieve a better impact in green and economic housing is needed now for a better future. All stakeholders should subsidize green building models should be upgraded by leveraging carbon credits as many as possible. Forming PR and making technologies more financially accessible is mandatory. Simultaneously the importance of local material research to validate, adapt, and increase the usage of traditional needs. Furthermore, establishing dedicated training sectors. Finally, looking over the retrofitting efforts through energy savings-linked loans can boost the transformation of existing housing stock into more sustainable and cost-efficient housing models with the thought of making it more accessible.
Second World nations try in all ways to achieve position by taking a leapfrog jump toward a more sustainable urban future prediction, by blending wisdom, modern technological advancements, and inclusive stakeholder collaboration and movements, green + affordable housing can move from ideal and a healthy practice to incorporate in each financial range. The success stories of such models depend on the spirit of design and innovations with a systemic flow and shift towards how societies value community-leading environment, ecological balance, and growth in all manners and sectors possible.
Citation:
- Wikipedia. (2021). Second World. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World.
- Study.com. (2023). Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-second-world-country.html.
- World Bank Blogs. (n.d.). Building a sustainable future: Affordable green housing in emerging markets. [online] Available at: https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/psd/building-sustainable-future-affordable-green-housing-emerging-markets.
- World Green Building Council (2024). Sustainable and Affordable Housing Report. [online] World Green Building Council. Available at: https://worldgbc.org/article/sustainable-and-affordable-housing/.
