Issues around houses and homes reflect and inform our social, cultural and political worlds, from the subprime market and the financial crisis to social mobility and gender roles. Critically exploring key theories and cutting-edge debates, this text examines home in a global context for students across sociology, human geography and urban studies.

How our thirst for more and larger houses is undermining society and what we can do about it. Have we built our way to ruin? Is your desire for that beach house or cabin in the woods part of the environmental crisis? Do you really need a bigger home? Why don’t multiple generations still live under one roof? In The Housing Bomb, leading environmental researchers M. Nils Peterson, Tarla Rai Peterson, and Jianguo Liu sound the alarm, explaining how and why our growing addiction to houses has taken the humble American dream and twisted it into an environmental and societal nightmare. Without realizing how much a contemporary home already contributes to environmental destruction, most of us want bigger and bigger houses and dream of the day when we own not just one dwelling but at least the two our neighbor does. We push our children to "get out on their own" long before they need to, creating a second household where previously one existed. We pave and build, demolishing habitat needed by threatened and endangered species, adding to the mounting burden of global climate change, and sucking away resources much better applied to pressing societal needs. “Reduce, reuse, recycle” is seldom evoked in the housing world, where economists predict financial disasters when "new housing starts" decline and the idea of renovating inner city residences is regarded as merely a good cause. Presenting irrefutable evidence, this book cries out for America and the world to intervene by making simple changes in our household energy and water usage and by supporting municipal, state, national, and international policies to counter this devastation and overuse of resources. It offers a way out of the mess we are creating and envisions a future where we all live comfortable, nondestructive lives. The “housing bomb” is ticking, and our choice is clear—change our approach or feel the blast.

This 1999 book re-examines traditional assumptions about the nature of social relationships in Greek households during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Through detailed exploration of archaeological evidence from individual houses, Lisa Nevett identifies a recognisable concept of the citizen household as a social unit, and suggests that this was present in numerous Greek cities. She argues that in such households relations between men and women, traditionally perceived as dominating the domestic environment, should be placed within the wider context of domestic activity. Although gender was an important cultural factor which helped to shape the organisation of the house, this was balanced against other influences, notably the relationship between household members and outsiders. At the same time the role of the household in relation to the wider social structures of the polis, or city state, changed rapidly through time, with the house itself coming to represent an important symbol of personal prestige.

For any house-proud owner of a Victorian property this book represents a unique and invaluable resource. Packed with information about Victorian architectural ideas, it includes a wealth of practical advice about the maintenance and conservation of Victorian homes. Part One provides a concise overview of the development of the Victorian house, the wide range of architectural styles that came in and out of fashion over the period, and the lifestyles of the original owners the houses were designed to accommodate. Throughout, the emphasis is on family houses of various sizes rather than the great houses of the aristocracy, which are discussed only in relation to their influence on contemporary builders and architects. Part Two discusses structures and materials, covering brickwork, stone, renders and stuccos, roofs, woodwork, windows and doors, ironwork, and conservatories. In each case there is comprehensive advice on symptoms of trouble, techniques for preservation and restoration, and the correct choice of materials. Part Three covers services—fireplaces and chimneys, lighting, kitchens and bathrooms—all subjects requiring particular sensitivity to achieve a satisfactory compromise between preserving the spirit of the original building and meeting modern standards of comfort and convenience. Part Four examines all aspects of interior decoration, including plasterwork, decorative tiles, paint colors and finishes, wall coverings, curtains and blinds, and floor coverings. The book is completed by lists of further reading, places to visit, and useful addresses, including those of specialist suppliers and contractors, and sources of more detailed information and advice.

A fascinating insight into Britain's built heritage and the diverse housing styles of the twentieth and twenty-first century. This book showcases 100 houses – one from each year from 1914 – that represent the range of architectural styles throughout the years and show how housing has adapted to suit urban life. Each house is accompanied by stunning photography and texts written by leading architectural critics and design historians, including Gavin Stamp, Elain Harwood, Barnabas Calder, Ellis Woodman and Gillian Darley. From specially commissioned architect-designed houses for individuals and for families to housing built for increased workforces, each of the 100 houses brings a different design style or historical story. There are houses built as part of garden cities, semi-detached suburban houses, housing estates, eco-houses, almshouses, converted factories and affordable post-war homes. The architectural styles encompass mock Tudor, modernist, Arts & Crafts and brutalist and the featured architects include Giles Gilbert Scott, Walter Gropius, Edwin Lutyens, Powell and Moya and David Chipperfield. The book also contains essays that explore the social and political aspects of housing design in Britain over the last 100 years, looking at the impact the World Wars had on housing, exploring domestic technology and building materials and asking how the modern house came about. Whether exploring Grayson Perry's folly-like House for Essex, Patrick Gwynne's modernist glass villa in Surrey, Sarah Wigglesworth's Straw Bale House or Simon Conder's black rubber-clad fisherman's hut in Dungeness, this book gives a glimpse into the wonderful housing in Britain and is a must-have for all fans of design history and architecture.

Great Houses of Minnesota is the engaging story of the evolution of architectural styles in Minnesota from 1830 to 1914--from the influence of the early French traders along the Mississippi and St. Croix to the emergence of the school of Frank Lloyd Wright. Through photographs and colorfully informative text, internationally known historian Roger Kennedy helps readers understand the unique styles of Minnesota's first homes, including the Mower House in Arcola, the first large house on the St. Croix; Alexander Ramsey's "Mansion House" in St. Paul, influenced by Pennsylvania Dutch virtues; the whimsical Charles C. Clement house in Fergus Falls, clearly Norse in spirit; and the Purcell House in Minneapolis, a fine example of the Prairie School design. On a broad plane these architectural eras reflected social customs, politics, commerce, religion, and literature. On a personal level they often revealed the national origin and character of the families that made the house a home. In short, this is in large measure a history of the people. Kennedy has considered their heritage and traditions as carefully as he has examined the architecture they created, and he offers a fresh, wholistic approach to the study of our state's great houses.

Ideal Homes? shows how both popular images and experiences of home life relate to the ability of society's members to produce and respond to social change. The book provides for the first time an analysis of the space of the home and the experiences of home life by writers from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, architecture, geography and anthropology. It covers a range of subjects, including gender roles, different generations relationships to home, the changing nature of the family, transition and risk and alternative visions of home.