Residential relocation is the household decision that generates housing consumption changes. It is not merely a decision about changing locations; it is also a decision about tenure—about whether to own or to rent. Research into housing markets has been largely focused on the process of changing from renting to owning, as most countries in the Western world have moved from predominantly rental societies to societies of homeowners. Households and Housing is designed to demonstrate the interconnections between the housing stock and households. The focus is on understanding the demand for housing and the way in which the demand is fulfilled as households select housing. This book is concerned with both the decision to move one's residence and the resulting type of housing choice. The housing supply—the stock of dwellings—is the context within which households make choices and acquire housing. The authors use the concepts of life course, housing career, and housing hierarchy to trace the movement of households through the housing market. They paint a comprehensive picture of housing consumption by age, income, and tenure choice, illustrated with nearly 150 figures and tables. US housing market data are contrasted with data from the Netherlands to document the differential effects of government intervention. This is the most up-to-date analysis available on the dynamics of housing choices and housing markets.

Improved housing conditions can save lives, prevent disease, increase quality of life, reduce poverty, and help mitigate climate change. Housing is becoming increasingly important to health in light of urban growth, ageing populations and climate change. The WHO Housing and health guidelines bring together the most recent evidence to provide practical recommendations to reduce the health burden due to unsafe and substandard housing. Based on newly commissioned systematic reviews, the guidelines provide recommendations relevant to inadequate living space (crowding), low and high indoor temperatures, injury hazards in the home, and accessibility of housing for people with functional impairments. In addition, the guidelines identify and summarize existing WHO guidelines and recommendations related to housing, with respect to water quality, air quality, neighbourhood noise, asbestos, lead, tobacco smoke and radon. The guidelines take a comprehensive, intersectoral perspective on the issue of housing and health and highlight co-benefits of interventions addressing several risk factors at the same time. The WHO Housing and health guidelines aim at informing housing policies and regulations at the national, regional and local level and are further relevant in the daily activities of implementing actors who are directly involved in the construction, maintenance and demolition of housing in ways that influence human health and safety. The guidelines therefore emphasize the importance of collaboration between the health and other sectors and joint efforts across all government levels to promote healthy housing. The guidelines' implementation at country-level will in particular contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG 3) and sustainable cities (SDG 11). WHO will support Member States in adapting the guidelines to national contexts and priorities to ensure safe and healthy housing for all.

The author presents a large comparative database derived from ethnographic and architectural research in Southeast Asia, Egypt, Mesoamerica, and other areas; proposes new methodologies for comparative analyses of houses; and critically examines existing methodologies, theories, and data. His work expands on and systematizes comparative and cross-cultural approaches to the study of households and their environments to provide a firm foundation for this emerging line of study.