Recently, residents of Roturua, New Zealand, discovered a number of containers piled up on a government public housing development in Kāinga Ora.
If you look closely, each of these "containers" has doors and windows on it, and all of them are small rooms.
Some residents said they were shocked when they saw this, and "they are very worried about the quality of life of these public housing residents in the future".
Community residents are "unhappy"
This is a large public housing project in Rotorua, and a significant number of houses have already been built before that, and they look similar to traditional New Zealand houses.
These so-called "containers" are new housing units under construction in public housing communities, and when completed, there will be three buildings, each with four one-bedroom units, for a total of 12 units.
Some residents living in this public housing community said they were shocked to see that their new houses were actually built from something that "looked like shipping containers".
Annamaria Downes has only recently moved into a new neighbourhood after 10 years of living in public housing in Rotorua Fordlands.
She said that her yard was facing the new public housing next door, and she was worried about privacy.
Another resident, who asked not to be named, said the neighborhood is now becoming a "trailer park."
"It's only slowly starting to get better with the departure of some troublesome tenants in recent months, no gangs, no fights and no anti-social behaviour, but now they want to keep people in containers?"
The resident was worried about who the new occupants would be and whether it would bring additional foot traffic and cars.
"All I can say is that the scenery here used to be very good, but now it's an eyesore, and I just want the people who come to stay here are good men and women. ”
The Lake Rd public housing project in Auckland uses prefabricated houses to build high-rise residential buildings
Tracey McLeod, a local resident of Rotorua and a member of the lobby group Revive Rotorua, questioned whether the "container" houses met building standards and whether they had sound insulation and thermal insulation in place.
The Lake Rd public housing project in Auckland uses prefabricated houses to build high-rise residential buildings
She also compared the same large "container" public housing buildings on Lake Rd on Auckland's north shore to question whether Rotorua was "out of money".
Public Housing Department's response:
Made in China, legal and compliant
Darren Toy, District Director of the Bay of Plenty Public Housing Department, responded by saying that these are not containers.
"It's all made of steel, and it's completely different from a shipping container in every way, except for what it looks like, and they're fully functional modern homes that meet all New Zealand requirements for housing. ”
He said that each home will be double-glazed, with insulation in the walls, which will be connected by a common stairwell, and all the balconies will be shielded on one side, and there will be no rear balconies facing the existing residents, ensuring privacy for all residents.
After completion, these dwellings are long-lasting.
Toy has repeatedly confirmed that the quality of these modular pre-built homes is assured.
"Every component is inspected before leaving China to ensure it meets New Zealand standards, and by the time they arrive in New Zealand, they have all been ready, including kitchens and bathrooms and interior paint, so that they can provide housing to families in need more quickly. ”
He said the Public Housing Department had recently adopted an "off-site factory-made" model, with about 12 per cent of public housing in New Zealand being built in the year to June.
Comment ridicules "Made in China"
Local netizens retorted
Under the coverage of this incident, almost all of the more than 200 comments overwhelmingly agreed with the PRD's approach.
There are a lot of sharply worded arguments, such as the most upvoted accusations that public housing residents should not be so picky about housing.
"Do PRD residents still want houses with land and sea views? They should take good care of them until they can afford to move out of PRH. ”
But in addition, some people ridiculed whether the quality of products made in China would be poor after seeing the speech of the person in charge of the Public Housing Department.
“...... My only concern is whether these Chinese-made products will survive five years, as many others have said. ”
However, other netizens immediately refuted this view.
"Made in China is not bad, if it really doesn't work, everyone's mobile phones and cars have to be thrown away. Even if those houses can't hold up, the only one to blame is the design consultant. If you've built your own house, you know that everything has to be approved according to the rules, whether it's paint, metal roofs, or whatever, so this argument is just creating unnecessary panic. ”
Some netizens refuted it with their personal experience.
"These modular buildings are fully compliant, and made in China means advantages in scale, speed and price, so why not?
"I grew up in Mt Roskill, Auckland, which has the largest number of public housing estates in the country, most of which were built in the '50s, and although the design is not very pretty, it is very sturdy and quite enough for a family like my family.
"I think it's great that these new public housing units are now in line with the next 50 years. And when we question the quality of 'Made in China', think about it, China actually produces your iPhone, iPad, Mac, countless electronics, clothing, footwear, furniture, and other goods.
"The Public Housing Department also deserves a lot of credit, this project was started during the Labor Party period and promoted by the current government, which is a good example of policy continuity. ”
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