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The problems of differential access to housing in rural Britain are widely recognised. Within rural Scotland rising levels of recorded homelessness and council house waiting lists are testimony to increasingly restricted access to housing. However, a continuing emphasis on the urban context within housing and related social science research has resulted in a lack of understanding of how rural communities, and indeed individuals, negotiate and experience the changing housing system. This thesis explores the issue of access to housing in rural Scotland. While accepting that there have been significant developments in the study of access to housing, these have, primarily, focused on urban housing. Furthermore, given the small size and dispersion of many of Scotland's rural communities, it is suggested that the "traditional" large scale social survey or examination of housing statistics does not provide sufficiently detailed information to allow understanding of access to ho using in the rural context. Rather it is advocated that a qualitative methodology is more appropriate. Access to housing is, therefore, examined from the perspective of the individual household. The primary method of investigation is the reconstruction and analysis of the housing histories of individuals who completed their secondary education in 1975 in three rural districts of Scotland, that is, Argyll and Bute, Skye and Lochalsh and Tweeddale, to allow detailed understanding of the influences on individuals' housing experiences and outcomes. The housing histories are considered in the light of information derived from alternative data sources such as housing plans and interviews with housing practitioners. It is concluded that housing histories reflect complex interactions of temporal and spatial factors including the availability of housing, previous housing experiences, employment and income, and personal desires and perceptions. It is argued, however, that the individual experience of housing cannot be divorced from its wider setting. Individual housing experiences are part of the changing nature of housing at a variety of different levels. Furthermore, it is suggested that housing histories are intrinsically geographic in nature and that the housing history methodology can provide important contributions to both housing studies and rural geography.

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This study investigates issues related to housing in the period immediately preceding Namibia's independence in 1990. A formal housing process was inherited from the colonial era and during the decade before independence, this process became the one that was applied to provide housing for low-income people. Indigenous Namibians were excluded from decision making and participating in their own housing process in the municipal areas. Policies of apartheid maintained cultural distances and contributed to a condition of lack of shared knowledge concerning the formal housing process. To solve the housing problem, an increased role by low-income people in the housing process is emphasised by international agencies, as well as the new Namibian government through its National Housing Policy and the housing strategy. In the context of policy and strategy proposals based on this emphasis, lack of shared knowledge is identified as the research problem for this thesis. This follows from the argument that shared knowledge is important to enable people to take actions in solving their own housing problems. This lack of shared knowledge is investigated through aspects of the formal housing process dealing with the commercialisation of housing and the creation of the domestic environment. The research is done by using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, which include fieldwork in various urban areas in Namibia. It was determined that a limited awareness concerning certain financial and contractual aspects exists among house buyers. On the other hand, the domestic environment designs are based on principles of 'closed domesticated environments' for nuclear family and 'suburbs' for domestic purposes only, which do not reflect the way of life of the people occupying the houses. This is illustrated by an in-depth comparison of the socio-spatial characteristics of domestic environments designed on these principles, with those inhabited and created by the inhabitants themselves. To conclude, proposals are made in context of housing developments after independence. It is proposed that increased participation by low-income people can only overcome this lack of shared knowledge, if the housing process is made more accessible to people. An accessible process also has to be developed in partnership with people in need of shelter.

The literature shows that there is much value placed in community involvement in the design of new social housing schemes, but little in the way of conclusive proof that it is effective. It was decided to establish the built effect of this involvement - did it make a difference to the houses? The research incorporates both qualitative and quantitative elements. A questionnaire survey of all developing housing associations was used to establish the current situation and four case study developments were selected and investigated in detail. The case studies were similarly sized housing developments located in London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Sunderland The survey shows that housing associations are involving tenants in a variety of ways. The predominant picture is one of participation in the latter stages of the design process, in the selection of the fixtures and fittings. There is also significant use of post occupancy surveys with results feeding into the housing associations' design briefs. There are no significant regional differences in approach but the size of association does appear to affect the community involvement techniques adopted, as does the procurement of the development site. Larger landlords use more involvement techniques and do so earlier in the process. The four case study developments show similarities in the pattern of the community involvement. Two types of involvement were isolated, and these are termed generic and specific. The former being where representative tenants are used to develop design briefs that are used in the development of all schemes, and the latter where the community is involved in the design of its own built environment. Overall the effect of involvement on the houses produced is small, with other factors in the development process being more significant; yet the processes isolated are associated with some built changes and these are unlikely to have been made independently of tenants' views.

In the initial part of the study some characteristics of the elderly, underlying their relevant needs for various provisions, were examined. Since the beginning of this century, in accordance with government policies, many forms of provision have been developed, expanded and made available for the elderly to meet their needs. Recent government policy is to keep the elderly in the community and preferably in their existing homes and this is also what most elderly people wish. Adaptation of the existing dwellings is a recent development and one of the provisions to achieve the objectives of this policy. However, there exists insufficient data about the effectiveness of adaptations in meeting the requirements of the elderly relevant to their existing dwellings and enabling them to remain longer in their existing homes. Thus, to tackle the problem with the aid of the existing theoretical concepts and ideas, a theoretical framework, including a number of testable propositions, was developed. The propositions are primarily relevant to the relationship between the physical settings (i.e. dwellings, adaptations), and the abilities of the elderly in various daily activities and their requirements for help from others in the activities concerned which might be particularly relevant to their ability to stay at home. Dynamism of the requirements of the elderly, as a possible crucial factor, is particularly taken into account in these relationships. Then, to test the propositions empirically, fieldwork was planned and carried out in fifty three cases and detailed data collected by employing physical measurements, structured questionnaires, personal interviews and examination of records. In addition specific classifications were used to categorize the dwellings and the persons in the sample. The results indicated that adaptations of the physical settings made a large positive impact upon the abilities of the elderly and their help requirements in various daily activities; this, in turn, in certain circumstances, appeared to increase their ability to stay at home. However, this impact was partially reduced by the factor of the dynamism of the requirements. Nevertheless, the research found a number of points which appeared to be particularly crucial to minimise this adverse affect and to improve the effectiveness of the provision of adaptations. While the results led to the conclusion that where appropriate adaptations are provided most of the requirements of a great majority of the elderly can be met and they can be enabled to stay longer in their existing homes, some elderly, particularly those more frail and living alone may also need to be provided with help or services from the local authorities.

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The available evidence on housing conditions reveals that housing conditions are relatively worse in rural areas (especially in remote districts) in Scotland, and that improvement policies have been relatively more successful in urban areas. The central theme that this thesis attempts to address is, therefore, to examine the reasons why housing in rural Scotland is in such a poor condition, relative to urban areas. Since rehabilitation policies have been so effective in eradicating urban housing problems, a focus of the research is an examination of the implementation and effectiveness of rehabilitation policy in Rural Scotland. Indeed, although there is a national improvement policy framework, there is a great deal of potential for local variation. The research aims, therefore, to highlight features that contribute to the variations in the implementation of improvement policy, particularly between urban and rural areas in Scotland. The research examines the implementation of rehabilitation policy by local authorities through an analysis of six case-study rural districts: Argyll and Bute, Clydesdale, Gordon, Skye and Lochalsh, Sutherland, and Tweeddale. It also examines the involvement of housing associations in rural areas, both generally, and in terms of their rehabilitation activities. A subsidiary aim is to elucidate the factors which relate to an individual household's propensity to repair and improve the home in Rural Scotland. This is achieved through analysis of a questionnaire carried out with 364 households living in Rural Scotland.