Living arrangements and household formation in an industrializing urban setting: Rostock 1867-1900

Abstract

This paper reintroduces to the historicaldemographic literature the problem of the relationship between a set of processes generally labeled as "industrialization"and "urbanization", and family change. Employing quantitative methodologies to the censuses of 1867 and 1900, we examine the impact of developing urban life on the family system of the industrialising city of Rostock. Structural developments in nuptiality, residence patterns, and household formation rules are revealed, and their gender, occupational, and spatial differentials are discussed. A substantial and relatively rapid transition in marriage patterns was observed in the population under study. The nuptiality change has triggered changes in the lifecourse transitions of individuals, such as the ages at leaving home and at household formation. By contrast, the effects of economic and societal changes on the composition of households were negligible. Various factors responsible for the persistence of living arrangements in Rostock are proposed.