The housing problem in South Africa is complicated by the
cultural diversity and the rapidly changing nature of the
population. This indicates a need for research to help to
determine "what appropriate housing is" for various sectors of
the South African population. Social researchers and design
professionals therefore have to combine their efforts to provide
house designs that will be appropriate to the housing needs and
values of a variety of future occupants.
This study focuses on the impact of rapid change in the
sociophysical environment (modernization) on people's experience
of the quality of their relationship with their home
environments. An approach is proposed through which groups of
individuals, who share similar needs and requirements regarding
their housing, can be identified for inclusion in a process of
participatory design. A theoretical framework is developed to
account for the variety of perspectives of participants (users,
researchers and design professionals) in the design process.
Through application of the theoretical framework, a novel
approach to the determination of "what to design for whom" is
developed. The "modernity fit" concept is introduced to describe
the quality of the relationship between people and their housing
in terms of a rating of the modernity of both human and housing
characteristics. It is proposed that the quality of the
relationship or "fit" between the modernity of human
characteristics and the modernity of the physical characteristics
of the house influences people's experience of their houses.
Results of this study indicate that the "modernity fit" concept
opens up new avenues for research to assist in the design of
housing in developing countries. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/16692 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Du Plessis, Izak David, 1900- |
| Contributors | Viljoen, H. G. (Henning G.) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xvi, 343 leaves) |
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