Reader Submissions: Design an Emergency Shelter

Every year, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters leave thousands of people homeless. Many more are displaced by wars and other man-made catastrophes. How can so many people be sheltered? Your challenge here is to imagine an emergency shelter. Ideally, the shelter should be:

• easy to build,
• inexpensive,
• suited to the local climate and topography, and
• strong enough to withstand storms and other natural disasters.

Use this form to tell us how you would build such a shelter. If you wish, you can also send drawings, sketches, floor plans, or computer renderings of your idea.