Sheriff Hill
This led to the building of the first council housing estate in Gateshead. Alderman Hodkin laid the foundation stone on 27 October 1920; as work commenced the Alderman demonstrated the authority's concerns, telling the local newspaper that: "we can build houses, but we cannot build homes. Only the people themselves can do that and I hope that the spirit of ‘esprit de corps’ will prevail and this will be a model estate" Demand was highthere were 427 applicants for the first twenty eight houses builtand the council built further tracts of housing in a broad triangle between Sodhouse Bank, Ermine Crescent and The Avenue, although central government withdrew its promised funding. By 1936, most of the social housing available as of 2012 was in existence and provides accommodation to over half of the population of the suburb.
Richmond District, San Francisco
To lure home buyers with promises of large houses while keeping prices low, homes were built with large basements (basements are an unusual feature in California because its weather permits shallower foundations) with the intention that the buyers could convert the basements into living space at their own volition. This essentially marketed a house as two stories, with the first story (basement) unfinished. This decision would prove to be ingenious as the 20th century evolved, as many basements were converted to garages. Some were converted with garages in the front and in-law units in the back.