The purpose of the encyclopedia is to develop a comprehensive global categorization of characteristic housing construction types across the world. A housing type being practiced anywhere in the world is presented as a Housing Report using a standard information format. So, every report includes all relevant aspects of housing construction, such as socio-economic issues, architectural features, structural system, seismic deficiencies and earthquake-resistant features, performance in past earthquakes, available strengthening technologies, building materials used, construction process employed, and insurance matters. In addition to the text and numerical information, several illustrations (photos, drawings, sketches) are also included in the report. Each report contains over 20 pages of text and figures. All reports comprise a searchable database of global housing construction. Before posting on the web site, the content of each report is peer reviewed. Once the review is complete and necessary revisions made, the information becomes visible on the web site.