The vast majority of housing in the United States today has been
created to conform to a family definition that does not match current
demographic realities. The "traditional family" - a married couple with
an employed husband, a homemaker wife, and several children has been
the model family that housing designers have strived to accommodate on a
grand scale since at least the mid-1940's. This type of family,
however, comprises only 10% of all American families; the remaining 90%,
despite being a majority, have had their housing needs ignored. One
family group often considered to be non-traditional and often left out
of housing considerations is the single parent family. This family type
is an established household form in the United States; currently nearly
one third of all American families are single parent families, most of
which are headed by women.
During the past few years housing projects have begun to appear
that are designed to house "non-traditional families" such as single
parent families. It has been generally assumed that the spatial needs
of single parent families are different from those of nuclear families
or the "traditional family". This research will focus on the analysis
of housing as designed for single parent families in comparison to
housing as designed for the American nuclear family. Floor plans of the
two housing types were obtained from the following cities: Denver, CO,
Hayward, CA, Providence, RI, and Minneapolis, MN.
The intent of this study is to examine what, if any, differences
occur in the spatial orientation of housing designed for single parent
families and housing designed for the nuclear family: the single family
detached home. The study examined room layout in relation to use and
commonly accepted social function. Two methods of analysis were
employed: gamma analysis as developed by Hillier and Hanson and
annotated analysis developed specifically for this research. The method
of gamma analysis was used to determine if the housing as designed for
the two family types is different in form and social function, while the
annotated analysis was used to measure the "fit" of the housing for each
of the family types.
It was originally expected that the single parent family dwellings
would exhibit a higher degree of integration than the single family
detached homes based on predictions gleaned form the literature.
However, the gamma analysis revealed a lower mean relative asymmetry
value for the single family detached houses (0.308), indicating a higher
degree of integration, than the mean relative asymmetry value for the
single parent family dwellings (0.368). This difference was not found
to be significant (p = 0.276). The annotated analysis results indicated
single family detached houses scored a better fit to their intended
family type (mean annotated analysis score = 0.638) than did the single
parent family dwellings to their intended family type (mean annotated
analysis score = 0.533). Again, this difference was not found to be
significant (p = 0.385).
The findings of this study provide a glimpse at the interior
spatial arrangements of housing as designed for the two family types in
question. While the results of the two analysis methods seems to
indicate that the interior spatial arrangement of housing is not meeting
the needs of either family type, more research should be conducted to
further substantiate the findings. These findings will be of interest
to designers of homes, housing developers, planners and policy makers,
and researchers in the field of housing, all of whom can have an effect
on the shape of the housing environment and can help make it more
suitable for all family types. / Graduation date: 1991
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/38090 |
| Date | 25 April 1991 |
| Creators | Asam, Susan Lynn |
| Contributors | Brandt, Jeanette A. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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