(august 2014) - The World Steel Association (worldsteel) has published the third booklet in the Steel Solutions in the Green Economy series titled Affordable social housing.

This booklet illustrates the economic, environmental and social benefits of steel modular houses. Steel is lightweight compared to many other building materials used for the same purpose and thus requires less material and less transportation. This lowers overall building costs. Steel’s long lifespan and flexibility to create adaptable spaces also provides a cost advantage. As steel building components can be cut to precise specifications or prefabricated off-site, on-site waste is minimised and any steel scrap generated can be 100% recycled. Steel structures also help improve energy efficiency and thermal comfort. Lastly, the houses offer a quality and affordable solution to deprived families in need of shelter. A basic house can be erected in days and the houses’ resistance to earthquakes and high winds make them safer to live in.

The publication features three successful steel housing projects around the world; ACERHOGAR of Altos Hornos de Mexico, Mexico, NEST-IN of Tata Steel, India, and PROTEA® of ArcelorMittal, South Africa.

Edwin Basson, Director General of worldsteel said: “More than half of all steel produced worldwide goes into buildings and infrastructure. Because of its sustainable benefits steel is a material of choice for not only the construction of skyscrapers and residential housing, but also for the construction of affordable housing. Steel is central to the evolution of society and the possibilities for using steel in buildings and infrastructure are limitless. Many of the challenges posed by population growth, urbanisation, poverty reduction and mitigation of natural disasters can best be met by steel.

The ‘Steel Solutions in the Green Economy’ series features steel applications that provide sustainable solutions for various industry sectors, helping them to address both economic and environmental challenges.

The first booklet in the series, Steel Solutions in the Green Economy: Wind turbines, illustrates how world demand for energy is increasing, driven by population growth and economic development while at the same time climate change concerns require energy solutions that are sustainable. The second booklet ‘FutureSteelVehicle’ features steel body structure designs that reduce the mass of the body-in-white and reduce total life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Both are good examples of how the steel industry has an important role to play in clean production technologies.

All three booklets are available from the online bookshop. A PDF copy of the books can be downloaded for free from the website. Printed copies can be ordered from the bookshop www.worldsteel.org