The transformation of housing and household structures in France and Great Britain

✍ Scribed by Bonvalet, Catherine ;Lelièvre, Eva

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 319 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1077-3495
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1220(199709)3:3<183::aid-ijpg61>3.0.co;2-s

✦ Synopsis

In France and Great Britain, the last 30 years have seen considerable evolution in the housing stock (decrease in the size of the private rental sector, increase in the number of home-owners) and in household structure (increasing numbers of people living alone and of single parent families, and decreasing numbers of couples, notably married couples with children). This article describes the dynamic interaction of processes influencing the evolution of both households and dwellings. In the two countries, the life course of individuals has become more and more complex. This translates into an ever greater variety of housing needs, not only at different stages in family life, but also in relation to growing job insecurity regardless of family situation. At the same time, policies encouraging home-ownership seem to have reached their limits, because of the new demand for rented accommodation. The answer to sociological and economic evolution cannot be found in a 'single' type of housing and tenure status, but rather in a wide range of dwellings and in the development of a more flexible housing market.