From Vernacular Housing to Popular Rural Housing in the Municipality of Calpan, Puebla, Mexico

Abstract

In recent decades, rural housing has been transformed according to the new needs of its inhabitants, technological advances, and the media. This transformation has established a new relationship with the outside world that has influenced the inhabitants to appropriate the space differently. The research objective was to analyze the new popular rural housing in the municipality of Calpan. A questionnaire was applied to 121 people to obtain the information. The results show that the houses have 99 m2 of construction, have a built-up level (67.8%), all have a kitchen, bedrooms, and a spare bathroom, just over half have a dining room, and almost none count with a living room or study. Most houses have a high construction quality; adobe and tile were replaced by brick or block and concrete or prefabricated slab. Very few houses are overcrowded, and the Rural Popular Housing Quality Index was good. As for its external elements, they have a patio, and it was found that there is little space dedicated to agricultural activities. It is concluded that the idea of house has changed in response to external forces-demographic, social, economic, and technological.