Home Environments

The present volume in the series focuses on homes, residences, and dwellings. Although many fields have had a long-standing interest in different aspects of home environments, the topic has recently come to the forefront in the interdisciplinary environment and behavior field. Researchers and theorists from many disciplines have begun to meet regularly, share ideas and perspectives, and move the investigation of psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of home environments to the central arena of environment and behavior studies. This volume representative-though not comprehensive attempts to provide a sampling of contemporary perspectives on the study of home environments. As in previous volumes, the authors are drawn from a variety of disciplines, including environmental design fields of architecture and planning, and from the social science fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and history. This diversity of authors and perspectives makes salient the principle that the study of homes in relation to behav ior requires the contributions of many disciplines. Moreover, the chap ters in this volume reflect an array of research and theoretical view points, different scales of home environments (e. g. , objects and areas, the home as a whole, the home as embedded in neighborhood and communities, etc.), design and policy issues, and, necessarily, a com parative and cross-cultural perspective. Home environments are at the core of human life in most cultures, and it is hoped that the contributions to this volume display the excite ment, potential, and importance of research and theory on homes.

1: Temporal Aspects of Homes: A Transactional Perspective. - 2: Home and Homelessness. - 3: Experience and Use of the Dwelling. - 4: The Ritual Establishment of Home. - 5: A More Humane History of Homes: Research Method and Application. - 6: The House as Symbol of Social Structure: Notes on the Language of Objects among Collectivistic Groups. - 7: A Conceptual Framework for Residential Satisfaction. - 8: Home and Near-Home Territories. - 9: Continuity and Change in the Tswana s House and Settlement Form. - 10: Understanding Mobility in America: Conflicts between Stability and Change. - 11: Thinking about Home Environments: A Conceptual Framework. - 12: The Role of Housing in the Experience of Dwelling. - 13: Transnational Housing Policies: Common Problems and Solutions.