PAUL ANGEL S. DELA ROSA AR. GLENN J.

OPENIANO
BS ARCHITECTURE 4-2 APRIL 15, 2023

Housing has always been an important aspect of human life as it can be traced down to the
earliest civilizations. Although these civilizations differ drastically in terms of culture, it can be said that
their needs are nearly, if not, identical with one another. Factors such as culture, tradition play key roles in
identifying the layout of living spaces. These may mean that certain spaces may be added to conform to
an idea that the civilization is leading as a form of response. One example is an open courtyard which
may be filled with Zen gardens or may pose cultural significance in Chinese, Korean or Japanese cultures.
Another may be the building materials such as wood which may be used to reflect different spaces such as
the homes of the Japanese, which are mostly made of wood.
It is with this reasoning that housing became an essential need for the people to fulfill their own
needs. Psychologist Abraham Maslow identified the human needs into a form of a pyramid, with each
level progressing as soon as needs are met. Physical needs being the most basic need as water, food and
rest are included. But in terms of psychological need, housing also offers significant changes to the
psychological health of people. One example is the sense of security a house can give to a family. It
provides protection for the family against different outside forces and because of this function that it can
make the people living in it feel safe. This feeling is not only limited to the house itself but also to the
neighborhood the house is located in. Having a house that is built in a well-lighted and with a low crime
rate area makes the people feel more secured, further enforcing the need to provide housing. It also
effectively encourages social interactions between the users because of the security of the neighborhood,
making the place people-oriented and adds character to the neighborhood itself.
But despite the advantages of providing housing to attain the basic needs of others, Filipinos are
still struggling with owning a home to go to. It is affected by different reasons, but the biggest reason
being the economy of the Philippines that gave birth to different social classes. The rate of poverty in this
country is very high and many people cannot afford to live in a proper home and often reside being
informal settlers. Help from the government is insufficient as the evidence of homeless people, or people
living in unsanitary settlements still persist to this day. Although the problem is still evident, there are
always opportunities to solve it and give the people the quality of life they deserve.