Housing (shelter)

I

Introduction

Housing (shelter), permanent shelter for human habitation. Because shelter is necessary to everyone, the problem of providing adequate housing has long been a concern, not only of individuals but of governments as well. Thus, the history of housing is inseparable from the social, economic, and political development of humankind.

II

History

From the beginning of civilization, attention has been paid to the form, placement, and provision of human habitation. The earliest building codes, specifying structural integrity in housing construction, are found in the Code of Hammurabi (see Hammurabi, Code of). City planning activities during the Greek and Roman empires centered almost exclusively on the appropriate placement of urban housing from the perspectives of defense and water supply. These same concerns continued throughout the Middle Ages. In 13th-century Europe, the city became a center of trade, and its walls provided a safe haven from nomadic warriors and looters. People could find shelter for themselves and their flocks, herds, and harvests while the open country was being overrun by enemies of superior force. Demand for urban housing increased. For centuries this demand was filled by unplanned additions to, and subdivisions of, existing structures. Where climate permitted, squatting (occupying without title or payment of rent) became commonplace, but provided only temporary shelter.

By the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution, people were moving to cities in unprecedented numbers. Workers lived in sheds, railroad yards, and factory cellars, typically without sanitation facilities and water supply.

In the postindustrial society of the 20th century, housing in developing nations and poor parts of developed countries continues to be of insufficient quality and does not meet the demand of some parts of the population. Vacant, abandoned central-city housing exists alongside structures that are usable but overcrowded and buildings that are structurally reclaimable but are functionally obsolete.

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At present, there is both a demand for housing and a supply of reusable structures that are going unclaimed. This situation is a good example of the complex role housing plays in society. Its primary function was to serve the need for shelter and privacy, but housing must now offer other advantages: (1) location, including proximity to the workplace, shopping, businesses, schools, and other homes; (2) environment—that is, the quality of the neighborhood, including public safety and aesthetics; and (3) investment potential, or the degree to which home ownership may affect capital accumulation.

A

Housing in the United States

The physical stock of housing in the United States is one of the nation's principal capital assets. The unique aspects of housing in the United States are its density and how it is provided. In the United States, about two-thirds of the population live in single-family homes, most of which have been built by small, private housing developers on separate lots. America's housing industry is a largely unorganized group of entrepreneurs who construct housing in their own geographical area. They decide on the type of housing that will be accepted by consumers and then proceed to provide this housing through the development process.

Various laws, institutions, and public agencies work to ensure that private-market housing is produced safely by builders and delivered efficiently to consumers. The quantity and type of housing are controlled by zoning laws; the quality of the housing and the inclusive services to be offered are determined by building or housing codes. Financing needed to construct and purchase housing is available from lending institutions whose activities are governed by law. Consumers are afforded access to this housing through a variety of settlement procedures and fair-housing laws.

Housing has been built in the United States in an outward progression from major cities, such as New York City and Chicago, first following rail and trolley lines and then automobile paths such as major roads, beltways, and interstate highways. Housing in the city was generally either single-family homes (one unit on one lot, typically of frame construction) or multifamily dwellings (multiple apartment units on a single tract of land, often of masonry construction).

B

Suburban Housing

The growth of suburban housing in the United States began in the 1920s, but was stalled by the Great Depression of the 1930s and by World War II (1939-1945). In the postwar era of the 1950s, a tremendous surge occurred in the suburban housing market. Single-family homes on relatively small lots (often less than one-tenth of an acre) sprang up. During the 1950s, many large “tract” developments encroached on former farmlands near metropolitan areas. The growth of housing created significant demand for schools and other public services in these locations.

By the 1960s, builders were constructing larger homes on larger lots. A new development was the emergence in the suburbs of so-called garden apartments, usually abutting commercial districts. Garden apartments are two- to three-story brick and frame structures containing between 5 and 30 housing units per structure. These apartments were popular with young married couples with insufficient capital to purchase their first home.

In subsequent suburban housing development, traditional housing was embraced but new forms were also introduced: the townhouse, a single-family attached dwelling; the triplex and fourplex, three- and four-family structures; and mobile or modular housing, which has become significantly more popular during the last 20 years, because it is inexpensive and easy to construct. In addition, as ownership of housing has had compounding income-tax benefits, other changes have taken place. Increasingly, condominium and cooperative ownership arrangements have replaced rental tenancy in apartment buildings (see Real Estate).