Where can I find discussion of the development of homes as technology to gain perspective and context for the decisions we have to make in new construction today? I have gleaned a lot from reading authors like Rybczynski, Olgyay, Alexander, Kuntsler, Heschong, and Bryson, but I know nobody else in the industry who is wrestling with their accounts or ideas. I want something more than marketing to inform my values.

(Bear in mind, I am questioning my own assumptions and those I perceive to be held around me. I know my audience here doesn’t necessarily hold the same assumptions or work within the same limitations.)

As an example, the discussion around window AC units has me wondering why it is mainstream in the first world to simply assume we need to budget $20k-$50k+ when building a new home for central air?  Is it our goal that we maintain the ability to wear the same lounge clothing all year round?

On a related note, why do we think we need 700-1000+ square feet per person in our homes? So we won’t have to go outside?

Isn’t it true that that marketing and financial interests have done much to make housing hard to afford?

I am obviously torn between modern and hippy lifestyles to be asking these questions. To circle back, how can we avoid letting marketing teach us our values?