Housing and Space Management

Housing And Space Management 3(2+1)

Lesson 04 : Characteristics Of Rural And Urban Housing

Characteristics Of Housing In Rural Areas

• The study of a rural house is a reliable medium of expressing human responses to the physical and cultural environment of the region. It represents the cultural attainment of the past and the survival of the tradition through their simple architectural features.
• In typical human settlement pattern, there is a distinct variation in the type of house occupied by rural families. The rich upper caste families live in elaborate houses that are designed to exhibit their social, cultural and economic status, while lower caste families shelter in small houses or huts.
• Housing condition of rural families is the direct reflection of their economic status. Houses owned by big agriculturist are ‘pucca’ , and it means theseare built out of material like stone, brick and cement and hence strong and durable; while the houses of artisans and agricultural labourers are ‘Semi katcha’ or ‘katcha’ and these are constructed out of less durable materials like country tiles, stone rubbles, mud and thatch, which are locally available.
• In rural India, the building design, is influenced by the local building materials. In places where stone is available in abundance as in Rajasthan, Gujarat and hilly areas like Himachal Pradesh, houses are constructed with stone walls and roof comprising of stone slab and slate etc. Bricks and tiles made out of local earth, are commonly seen in the houses of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Timber and bamboo that are available in plenty in the mountains of States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur are liberally used for house construction.
• Houses in rural setup are designed to meet the functional needs of the family. The average accommodation in a house is 2 or 3 rooms, small open space used as a kitchen and a court yard in front. Some big houses have central courtyard in addition to the front and back courtyard. A fair sized courtyard in front and more at the back is a feature in rural homes as household production is carried to a greater extent than in the urban areas. This space is also used for activities like dairy, poultry and laying of kitchen gardens.
• Adequate provision is made for storing agriculture produce, fodder, implements and fuel or depending on the occupation e.g. weaver, carpenter, blacksmith – depending on the particular trade requirement.
• The floor is invariably made of stone in most of the homes. However huts are finished with rammed earth and plastered with cow dung.
• Pucca houses have small windows and ventilators, while the others have small skylights or ventilators near roof. Natural light is made available mainly through doors and courtyard. The houses of poor families are generally dark, damp, and ill ventilated and use partially enclosed area within or outside to serve as bathroom.
• Protected drinking water facilities and closed drainage are still in scarce in remote villages. Most of the villagers depend on personal or community wells or local lakes for drinking water.
• Houses of affordable families have sanitary latrines connected to septic tanks or leach pits. These are located away from main house to prevent contamination of ground water source. But the agony of moving out to open fields for defecation, continues till today in many villages.
• Garbage generated by the family is disposal into garbage pits which in turn is used as manure in the fields. In the houses of farmers, cattle waste is used for bio-gas plants to generate fuel and rich manure. Waste water from the kitchen and bathroom is diverted to the kitchen gardens.
• The houses are designed to provide for future expansion (in case of small rooms) as and when the need arises.
• However with the increase in education and economic status, few of the houses are well planned to ensure privacy and good circulation and these have semblance to urban homes. These houses have sanitary toilet provisions to ensure hygiene.