Wartime Housing

Wartime Housing


                                Wartime Housing
| 20 min
Free
streaming

Also available

This short documentary looks at the rapid industrial expansion that took place during WWII and the need for more decent housing. Workers flooding into urban centres and outlying areas were accommodated with small pre-fabricated homes that could be constructed quickly and efficiently.

Embed this code on your site

Wartime Housing, Graham McInnes, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Video player width

by Reset
Credits
  • director
    Graham McInnes
  • camera
    Grant Crabtree
  • editing
    Roger Racine
  • music
    Louis Applebaum
  • script
    Leon Shaw

  • Biff Harrelson

    Many of those houses were darling and for the mid 20th century, quite adequate for many. Of course, postwar, there were many plants shut down, so those houses weren't likely needed in some areas. The projects erected across the river in Detroit were nowhere near as attractive. It took ten years for them to completely dismantle the projects three blocks from my neighborhood.

    Biff Harrelson, 18 Nov 2016
  • gordlawson

    I have been fascinated by the wartime house and how there practicality and affordability caused them to outlive there government planned demise. I am researching how adapting the designs to energy efficient models could be a possible solution to the affordable housing crisis especially in smaller towns and villages. Obviously the Now House project has already seen their potential as they retrofit existing ones into net zero houses.

    gordlawson, 3 Mar 2016

The NFB is committed to respecting your privacy

We use cookies to ensure that our site works efficiently, as well as for advertising purposes. If you do not wish to have your information used in this way, you can modify your browser settings before continuing your visit.

Learn more