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HE economic factor is the main obstacle in industrial housing. The heart of the problem lies in the disproportionate increase in the cost of housing as compared with the general level of commodity prices and wages. As a result of this maladjustment, the average thrifty wage-earner can scarcely afford a suitable home.

What has caused housing costs to soar? As mentioned in the introductory chapter, the cause will be found, not in circumstances which are beyond control, but rather in the inefficiency and disorganization of the housing industry itself. The removal of this inefficiency is the immediate purpose of contemporary housing technique, which has for its ultimate goal architectural and social progress.

Economics, therefore, is fundamental in industrial housing. Housing economics is an extremely complex subject, and is involved deeply in the technique of housing architecture. It is generally misunderstood, perhaps because the housing industry is divided into many parts—into finance, real estate, city planning, architecture, contracting, house furnishings, real estate management and household operation—so that housing is usually looked upon from the point of view of one or two of these many, often conflicting, interests, and rarely is it considered as a whole. As might be expected, when any one group in housing seeks to advance, the contribution which it makes to progress is either unimportant or else is blocked by inertia in other quarters.

Notwithstanding this disorganization, there has been a steady improvement in housing design, particularly since the World War. During the time that housing costs were rising, architects have given their best efforts to improve housing