UNIT-2 SOCIO

ECONOMIC ASPECTS

Social factors influencing Housing Design – identity, safety, convenience,

access, amenities etc , economic factors - affordability and its relationship
to house income , incremental housing concept , Slum Upgrading and
sites and services schemes.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

 SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING HOUSING DESIGN
Amos Rapoport is the first author who comprehensively list cultural aspects about
“house form”, that he examined using anthropological discipline. He termed
“modifying factors” to specify non-architecture aspects that determine the
architectural form and functions. Two parts that he discussed:

1. Modifying Factors of House Form (factors that directly affect form)

2. Socio-cultural factors and house form (factors that indirectly affect form. It affect
socio-cultural aspects first and later architecture)

1. Modifying Factors of House Form

1.1. Climate and the Need for Shelter
However Climate is not the determining factors of house form in all case.
Case:
• Not all human need house (A numbers of tribes live without house)
• people can give more importance to other build than house, such as:  granary,
family shrine, kitchen, ancestor’s shrine before shelter.
• Below are some contradictory value/ anti-climatic manner:
• Cham people regard shade as evil space.
• cycle of hunting tradition  molds the American Indian Teepe.
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Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

• Sumatran people prefer to alter the thatched to metal roofing regardless the green house
effect that it causes, because It is easy and cheap.
• Javanese prefer to alter the bamboo mat walling with brick for getting more prestige in
society, regardless danger of earthquake.
• Galvanized iron is symbol of success.
• In China popular Feng-Shui and in India popular Vastu is more determining than technical
professional consideration.

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Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

1.2 Materials, Construction and Technology
• As Solution
• Materials, Construction and Technology are defining to one another

1.3. Site
• Site is often considered after economic importance of crops cultivation or the availability of
living sources (i.e. water, food, cattle food);

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

1.4. Defense
Concept of defense in traditional society, is formulated in consideration of society as a
survival unit, with their survival features.

a. to protect food storage:

• The Sundanese gather granaries in higher places in groups each belonging to each
house, so that in case of fire in the village, it won’t disturb the food storage.

• Balinese put Granaries along the village’s boulevard, raised with gathering spaces below
where youths usually would gather for chatting and playing game, while guarding the
granary above.

b. against enemy or animals:

• the pile dwelling in most of Southeast Asian house has an obvious defensive
component against people, insects, animals and snakes.

• Lock and door designs are often equipped with hot water or oil shower to hold enemies
to enter the building.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

c. spiritual defense,
• hierarchical spatial zoning in Mandala, where putting center as the sacred points,
flanked by layers of concentric zones which is gradually profane as it recede away the
center.
• In, Java and Angkor the spiritual defense is actualized by mounting the building to
resemble meru, as power preservation, while in India is actualized by void.

Mayamata and Arthasastra prescribe defense needs in more a systematic plot of urban
configuration, that aim of controlling the development so as to keep the sustainability of
the whole system.

1.5. Economics
• In sedentary agriculture villages, granary still play central role in conserving
economical assets, but well-supported by designed features such as water reservoir,
water management systems, and property managements that is conducted by
chieftains of the villages.

• Southeast Asian vernacular villages acknowledge concept of weekly markets concept.

Therefore in one day every week, people of five villages could gather in one village for
shopping.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

• Kautilya in Arthashastra plan forts, treasuries, official’s governments and populations in
arranging the spatial distribution of city. Hierarchical and systematic zoning for
heterogeneous classes of society based on wealth which coincided with castes is well-
prescribed in Mayamata as geometric, concentric, and hierarchical scheme in: Sri
Ranggam, Kanchipuram, City of Angkor, and City of Majapahit.
• Another way to value economy is according to Rapaport is lifestyle. In Annam, Vietnam,
peasant build house as soon as having money.

1.6. Religion
1. C Kluckhohn infere religion as set of believes, from which socially rules and order, the
profane and the sacred was produced.
2. Religion affects the form, plan, spatial arrangements, and orientation of the house.
Religion also defines if one should need their own shelters.

• In Southeast Asia, house is not only a place for habitation, but place of origin of the kin
groups – ancestral house. Sometime it is left inhibited, while the real resident leaves
somewhere nearby or adjacent to it. Therefore the house it self appear more like a
temple and is considered sacred (1990, p.43).
• Mostly the ancestor’s house is still occasionally visited for conducting pooja (praying).
• The arrangement of house plan in Minangkabau, West Sumatra follows rites of the
passages of family, from baby to old times.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE CHOICE OF HOUSING STYLES
Social/Cultural:
- Location: urban or rural, proximity to work, school and amenities
- Size of house: sufficient space for all family members to live comfortably
- Special needs: no stairs for disabled or elderly, Granny flats, wide doorways
- Personal Choice: People like their houses to make a statement about themselves. Some
people want privacy and will look for a detached house, others like to refurbish older houses
others want new houses
- Availability: in certain areas
- The length of time going to be spent in the house

Environmental:
- Regulations: planning permission can affect the style of the house as local authorities
determine what is allowed e.g. skyline
- Climate: Houses should be able to withstand the weather of a country
- Surrounding area: Aspect of the house ensures light gets into main rooms. If on a gradient
houses may need to be split-level. Houses must fit into surrounding area.
- Local materials: houses may use local stone around doors or on front of houses

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

Economic:
- Income: Determines whether one can buy their own house or whether they should rent
privately or from local authority. Low-income can buy from local authority. See Housing
notes.
- Cost of sites: Adds to cost of building house. Therefore buying ready-built houses may be
the only option.
- Extra costs: e.g legal costs, stamp duty, repairs, furnishings, decorating and services
- Household bills: the larger the house the more expensive bills will be
- Resale value: if one plans to buy a house to sell after several years they must research
the area to see if it is a good investment
- Location affects cost: in cities houses are built upwards for apartments
- Type of house: Detached houses are more expensive than terraced or semi-detached.

Budget
The budget of the client can also influence the design process greatly as this greatly
effects how big build will be, it also affects the materials that can be used and the land
that it can be built on. Before the design is started personal quotations are made so that
the client has an idea of what can be built and what it can be built with from the amount
of money that they have. Quotations can be made from taking information from past
builds for the same purpose and the same budget. If the design costs more than expected
then it also influences the design process, meaning that materials or size may need to be
changes, starting the whole process again, costing money and time.
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Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

Design Changes
- Changes in the design greatly affect the process, if the client wants to change part of the
design it will cost a high amount of money to change as they would have to restart the
whole design process, this will also cause the design process to take a lot longer that it
would without a change. This may involve hiring more people or the architect refusing to
change the plans if the change is small.

Sustainability
- The sustainability of the design is also a large factor that affects the design process. If
the building is not environmentally friendly or if the building will not last very long then
the design would need to be changed prolong the buildings lifespan and also to make the
building better for the environment.

This affects the design process because in long term it may cost the owners more to
repair and improve the building as it deteriorates.

Others include: Age, Occupation, Size of family, Life-cycle of family, Aesthetic

requirements (as done in Housing)

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Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

INCOME LEVELS AND HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
The relationship between income and affordability for various income groups follows a
nonlinear trend.

The costs on food, nonfood essentials and house rent form a significant portion of
income for lower-income groups.

As we move towards higher-income levels, the rise in costs do not increase at the same
pace. Disposable surplus income, which is often used to purchase a new house, drops
significantly at lower-income levels and is higher at higher-income levels.

Thus, people of higher-income levels can better afford to purchase new houses, owing
to higher disposable surplus incomes. In addition, it can be seen that this disposable
surplus is highly sensitive to incremental change of expenditure.

For example, if house rents increase from 15% to 20%, the disposable surplus for a LIG
household (person with monthly income of INR 10,000) reduces to 30% from 35%.
Whereas for a person with monthly income around INR 120,000, it can be seen that
when rent increases from 15% to 20%, the corresponding reduction in surplus income is
from 64% to 59%

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

 16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

Suggestive Approach for Affordable Housing
While most definitions for affordable housing consider area, price and affordability of
the occupier, the key idea as per our understanding should deal with the minimum size
(volume) of the habitable units, provision of basic amenities, cost and location of the
house

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

 16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

 16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

INCREMENTAL HOUSING CONCEPT
Owners control the expansion of their
housing based on their needs and resources.
Incremental housing is an affordable way to
rapidly resettle many families at a mini-
mum housing and services level by linking
the energy of families with the large-scale
city planning

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

INCREMENTAL HOUSING CONCEPTS
Incremental housing can be defined as a gradual step-by-step process whereby building components are
appended or improved by owner-builders as funding, time, or materials become available. In this way, the costs
of housing construction can be reduced, especially compared with the housing delivery by contractors.

Incremental Housing Process and Development

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

It is important to understand factors behind incremental hosing. In other words, one should understand the reasons
that trigger the incremental housing growth. (Tipple, 2000) points out that both cities and households suffer from
‘housing stress’ which forces them to expand their dwellings. The method and form of the incremental housing
highly depends on the private needs of the occupants.

Changes in household sizes and changes in household income and strategies and priorities in space.

a) Changes in Household sizes The households’ growth makes the needs for space more and more important. The
occupants affect the incremental housing. In other words, the single family or the extended family has large
impact on the process.

b) Changes in Household Incomes Incomes play a crucial role in the expansion and improvement of the
dwellings. The improvement of the households’ dwellings is attributed to the increase of income levels. With
additional incomes, dwellers develop their household into a fully serviced house that has all essentials such as
water, sanitation and electricity, etc.
c) Strategies in Space The strategies differ among households for develop and expansion their home. Several
households such as average and high income expand their homes and utilities to meet their needs in space, cultural
requirements and functional priorities. Others such as low-income households are far more pragmatic. They
improve their dwellings in proportion to their income. Therefore, their immediate needs are quite important.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

FACTORS AFFECTING INCREMENTAL
HOUSING

There are some factors that support incremental

housing process such as, building material, finance,
infrastructure, labor, and land are equally important in
incremental building well-functioning dwellings. In
fact, these guarantee the possibility of incremental
decent dwelling

CASE EXAMPLE – BELAPHUR HOUSING – CHARLES COREA.

Belapur incremental housing project - a proposal for mass affordable housing in New Bombay (Navi Mumbai),
which demonstrated how high densities could be achieved with low-rise courtyard homes, built with simple materials
at a human scale.

Based on clusters of between seven and 12 pairs of houses arranged around communal courtyards, the buildings did
not share party walls – allowing each family to extend and adapt their own house independently. 550 families were
planned for in a 6-acre area limitation.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

PLANNING SPACES
The project is generated by a hierarchy of spaces. The first is the private courtyard of single dwelling used as a space
for outdoor activities during most of the year. Subsequently, seven units are grouped to form a small courtyard town
of about 8m x 8m.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

Three of these groups form a module of twenty-one homes that describes the collective space of the next scale
(approximately 12m x 12m).

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

PROJECT MODULE

Project demonstrates how high density housing (500 people per hectare)
can be achieved in a low-rise typology, while including (open to sky
spaces) and services, like schools, that the community requires
• Overriding principle is to give each unit its own site to allow for
expansion (Incrementality)
• The footprint of each plan varies little in size (from 45 sq. m to 70 sq.
m), maintaining equity (fairness) in the community
• Scheme caters wide range from the lowest budgets of Rs 20000, Middle
income groups Rs 30000-50000 and Upper income Rs 180000.
• The village was produced with the idea that the residents were going to
alter it in many ways, making it truly their own, therefore homes are
freestanding, so residents can add on to them as their families grow; and
differently priced plans appeal to a wide variety of income levels.
• This housing project offers the quality of life of a village with the
sophistication of a city. Each cluster permits the emergence of a local
community feeling, while integrating each house to the whole
settlement at different levels. The hierarchy itself is very organic.
The complex allowed people to modify their houses freely, whether
with a paintbrush or mortar - something that is NEVER allowed in
the type of mass housing devastating the urban and psychological
landscape of cities around the world.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

 16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

 16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST

DESIGN ACHIEVEMENTS
• The feel of the space still intact.
• Ample amount of open and green spaces provided.
• The complex allowed people to modify their houses freely, whether with a paintbrush or mortar - something that
is never allowed in the type of mass housing.
• Clusters help build a local community feeling.
• Allowed enhanced interactions which was the essence of a village.
• The green spaces and playgrounds are maintained by the NMMC.
 

DRAWBACKS
• Most of the houses have been remodelled or destroyed and rebuilt as some inhabitants said they were very
impractical (eg. toilets outside the house).
• The concrete houses arose as a result of the changing aspirations of the residents. They no longer wanted a
‘village’ or a rural backdrop. Modern materials and technologies have thus been employed to a great extent.
• Proper spaces were not provided which is one of the major reasons why the artisans sold their houses.
• Also, 20 years ago the transport facilities were not fully developed which was another reason.
• Due to lack of commercial spaces, the houses facing the streets transformed into shops, which were illegal.
• No proper provisions were made for parking, which resulted in encroachment of open spaces due to parking.
• Cultural centre made for the artists to exhibit their works remained unused.

16AR454 - HOUSING

Krithika R, Asst Prof, SAID- SRMIST