ABSTRACT
Sustainable Urban Development is one of the major challenges in the present world, affordable housing being a part of it. As because a vast part of world population is in varying states of homelessness, we need to create more and more shelters, which already has emerged in the policy agenda for most of the governments in different developing countries. One very appropriate method of attaining sustainability in affordable housing is to incorporate passive design strategies. This can fulfill the major objective of maintaining thermal and visual comfort mostly by natural means, avoiding non-renewable energy resources, and also can save a lot of energy cost during functioning of the building. This chapter will dwell on Passive Design Strategies, suitable to be incorporated in mass affordable housing of permanent nature in Indian tropical climate. In the context of this article, affordability will mean an equally strong element of environmental affordability, of which frugality, simplicity and most importantly, wisdom and innovation would be a necessary part. The term affordability related to affordable housing, would of course mean a lower optimum cost of the shelter with local materials and clever methods but would also watch out for scarce resources like land and other natural capital, finally constituting an overall environmental affordability which is sustainability in other words.
