Smaller homes is exactly what we need, for a mountain of reasons, AND they can be made well. Good insulation to keep out extreme temperatures, good overall design, all electric, solar powered homes would ultimately help reduce public health and other costs. Giving people on low-incomes sub-standard housing is false economy as well as heartless.

The thing is we are going to be seeing far more climactic extremes, in part due to this exact sort of person. Building houses with standards is absolutely more expensive up front and usually heaps cheaper over the longer life of the house.

My in-laws house is built to a pretty damned high standard, compared to my father's. My old man is forever spending money on small repairs, his powerbills are higher (I mean my in-laws are currently net exporters so their powerbills are almost entirely usage charge free), and his property price is largely based on the size of his block, whoever buys it will just knock it down and throw 2-3 units on the land.

It's the Sam Vimes Boots Theory all over again, its expensive to be poor.