Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Walker, A.G

Titel

House form and social identity: the formal consolidation of irregular housing in Mexico City. (BL: DXN047097)

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2000

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This thesis examines the physical form of the irregularly produced houses in Mexico City, and attempts to explain the form of these houses through reference to the social and cultural context in which irregular housing production occurs.The thesis sets out from an observation of the relative homogeneity in built form in the irregular settlements of Mexico City, and poses a set of questions relating to the nature of the production process of the irregular houses, and the motivations of the producers in the production of a determined built form. An approach is used which draws on the literature relating to the relationship between house form and social identity, and to the way in which elements of built form are capable of expressing social significance about the inhabitants of the houses. With regard to the specific context of irregular housing production, it is suggested that this represents a response to the difficulty experienced by the producers of the housing in gaining access to houses which are socially acceptable. In terms of the social significance expressed by the elements of house form, the unconformity of the housing produced in the earlier phases of formal consolidation with the urban housing norms results in an erroneous expression of the social identity of the inhabitants. In response to this situation, the producers of irregular houses use a gradual process of formal consolidation in which they incorporate elements of house form which are in conformity with the urban housing norms in order to express their integration into the broader urban society.The fieldwork uses a case study methodology, taking as the main case an irregular settlement in the Eastern part of Mexico City. Within this approach, 45 questionnaires and 16 individual case studies are conducted, and use is made of photographs of house forms to elicit opinions. These fieldwork techniques are complimented by a period of participant observation.