Housing and Space Management

Housing And Space Management 3(2+1)

Lesson 04 : Characteristics Of Rural And Urban Housing

Characteristics Of Housing In Urban Areas

• Urban housing is influenced by the size of its population, industrial and commercial development.
• Urban areas have essential infrastructural facilities for healthy living such as protected water supply, electricity, and sewerage; and also the opportunities for education, employment and health.
• In big cities like Bombay, Delhi, Kolkata there is more population, overcrowding and city is busy as it consists of factories, offices, business institutions, schools, colleges, big shopping centre and hotels. To meet the housing needs of the ever-growing population, cities expand in vertical and horizontal direction.
• With the increasing industrialization, socio – economic changes are operating on a large scale, old pattern of society and family structure are undergoing a change.
• The joint family system is breaking up and more individual or nuclear families are on the increase with the result that family units and households are increasing which in turn demand more housing accommodation.
• The cities are classified as class I, II and III based on the population, infra-structural growth and services.
• In any city or town, land-use pattern is controlled by municipality, town-planning or urban development departments, through statutory master plan or regional development plan with zoning regulations. Building byelaws and standards control the un-orderly growth of buildings for various uses. The State Government of each state also makes effort to ensure better housing to economically weaker sections, low income group and middle income groups of families through its group housing schemes.
• The type of housing in urban areas varies widely. There are row houses, bungalows and multi-storied apartments. Gated communities, Condominiums and suave housing societies are on the increase like in the foreign countries with a world class facilities inside the premises.
• In urban areas the houses are mostly strong and durable as these are made out of table bricks, cut stones, reinforced steel and cement.
• The older houses are big for having more rooms, more open space around the house as when compared to the modern houses which are more compact having living cum dining, kitchen cum storage, W.C. cum bath with little or no open space. The housing spaces also provide for the academic/professional pursuits and hobbies of the inmates. More importance is given to the architecture of the building.
• More thought is given to having different rooms for different purposes living, dining, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen and also to have storage facilities by providing attics and built in cupboards and houses are also well ventilated, and these ensure privacy, safety, and security.
• In the cities most of the houses or homes have water supply, drainage facilities, electricity and garbage disposal.
• The multi-storied apartments are common in cities due to land cost and scarcity. These provide housing accommodation for low, middle and high-income categories. Most of the essential infrastructure services are provided to the public through public service departments
• Usually if a family builds a big house there is a tendency for renting out.
• With the influx of migrating population, cities face the constraint of land scarcity and thus resulting in over-crowded settlements. The net result is a continual decline of the quality of life in urban centers today.