House , Home , and Dwelling

Abstract

The concepts of house, home and dwelling are frequently used in housing research without a clear indication of what is meant by the terms. The terms house and home are sometimes even used as synonyms, and especially the term home seems to be a multi-dimensional and multi- faceted concept which some researchers find attractive, while it has lead others to plead for abandoning the term altogether. In this paper an analysis will be undertaken that focuses on the terms house, home, and dwelling in the context of a conceptual and analytical framework that is used for studying people – environment relations in general and people – dwelling relations in particular. This analysis takes five different facets of house, home, and dwelling into account. The first facet distinguishes an object from the relationships people may have with the object. This distinction implies, for instance, that the term home cannot be used simultaneously for the physical structure, often called house, and the meanings we attach to the physical structure, which are sometimes called home or the meaning of home. The second facet focuses on the spatial dimension of house, home, and dwelling. In the literature the term home has been used for such different spatial entities as country, state, town, neighborhood, and dwelling. The time facet forms the third dimension of the analysis. When people talk about house and home they may mean their current house/home, but they may also be talking about the house/home of their youth or of an object or relationship in the future. The fourth facet refers to social relations. House and home are often considered from the perspective of the household or family, but other collectivities such as groups of friends or ethnic groups may also relate to house and home. The fifth facet relates to the distinction between product and process. Home is often considered as a place, but the term is also used for the process of homemaking. In the paper the different facets of house, home, and dwelling are elaborated, related to each other, illustrated, and evaluated