Housing plays a central role in everyday life and the fulfillment of human needs. Temporary housing demand can occur due to migration, extreme environmental events or personal decisions, and is expected to increase in the upcoming years. This study aims to create a general understanding of temporary housing. We conducted an integrated comparison of 66 international temporary housing examples via tabulation (table work), in an interdisciplinary manner considering details regarding built structure, open spaces, area, infrastructure, organizational and socio-economic aspects. It is the first time that a systematic comparison via tabulation (based on the approach of Braun-Blanquet) is used to classify temporary housing environments. The process is described in detail. The application of the systematic comparison creates a detailed typology that allows extensions and further differentiations. The types that emerge from the tabulation have specific concepts regarding the structural-spatial organization, technical infrastructure, and organizational matters, among others. The typology was further examined in the context of previous groupings in published literature. This novel approach of analyzing and structuring temporary housing offers a comprehensive perspective that can work as a universal understanding and language for precise communication among different disciplines regarding temporary housing.

It is widely acknowledged that real-world experimentation is essential for the advancement of sustainable solutions. Urban contexts are perfectly suited for this form of innovation, since they have a high demand for solutions and also offer the necessary resources for the development of new ideas. However, there is a need for a well-defined basis for the selection process of suitable experimental designs for specific cases. This paper presents a typology of various existing sustainability experimental designs, focusing on the distinct features between different types and their respective strengths and weaknesses. Using the case of temporary housing models for Vienna, this paper provides a step-by-step selection process based on a catalogue of questions to match various types of housing projects with experimental designs. By improving the understanding of what the defining features of existing experimental approaches are, more clarity is provided for the design and planning of sociotechnical experiments for greater sustainability.