Abstract
This research project investigates the household history of numerous cities around the world in an effort to merge the fields of urban sociology and the sociology of housing. Using historic demographic data provided by projects like IPUMs, as well as contemporary studies like the Federal Reserve Bank’s SHED, household composition is woven into the story of the city as we understand it theoretically as well as practically. Though the data collection will be chiefly empirical, this study aims to bring the household into the theoretical framework of numerous urban ideas, and test their applicability to one of society’s most pressing concerns. My research will pay particular attention to the household composition of non-family households, which I will argue, are key sites of acculturation and networking in the history of urban development. In doing so, I hope my work can contribute to real-world solutions to housing crises which go beyond the standard family-household ideal which has been valorized in the homeowner republics of the global north.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
HOUSING, URBAN SOCIOLOGY, HOUSEHOLD, SOCIAL THEORY, SOCIAL HISTORY, LIVING ARRANGEMENTS
