HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A home, or domicile, is a
space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually con ...
used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
s, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be performed such as sleeping, preparing food, eating and hygiene as well as providing spaces for work and leisure such as remote working, studying and playing. Physical forms of homes can be static such as a house or an apartment, mobile such as a houseboat, trailer or yurt or digital such as virtual space. The aspect of ‘home’ can be considered across scales; from the micro scale showcasing the most intimate spaces of the individual dwelling and direct surrounding area to the macro scale of the geographic area such as
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...
,
village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
,
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...
,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
or
planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a ...
. The concept of ‘home’ has been researched and theorized across disciplines – topics ranging from the idea of home, the interior, the psyche, liminal space, contested space to gender and politics. The home as a concept expands beyond residence as contemporary lifestyles and technological advances redefine the way the global population lives and works. The concept and experience encompasses the likes of exile, yearning, belonging, homesickness and homelessness.


History


Prehistoric era

The earliest homes that humans inhabited were likely naturally occurring features such as
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
s. The earliest human
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s found in caves come from a series of caves near Krugersdorp and Mokopane in South Africa. The cave sites of
Sterkfontein Sterkfontein (Afrikaans for ''Strong Spring'') is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo-anthropologists located in Gauteng province, about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of K ...
, Swartkrans, Kromdraai B, Drimolen, Malapa, Cooper's D, Gladysvale, Gondolin and Makapansgat have yielded a range of early human species dating back to between three and one million years ago, including '' Australopithecus africanus'', '' Australopithecus sediba'' and '' Paranthropus robustus''. However, it is not generally thought that these early humans were living in the caves, but that they were brought into the caves by carnivores that had killed them. The first early hominid ever found in Africa, the Taung Child in 1924, was also thought for many years to come from a cave, where it had been deposited after being preyed upon by an eagle. However, this is now debated. Caves do form in the dolomite of the Ghaap Plateau, including the Early, Middle and Later Stone Age site of Wonderwerk Cave; however, the caves that form along the escarpment's edge, like that hypothesized for the Taung Child, are formed within a secondary limestone deposit called tufa. There is numerous evidence for other early human species inhabiting caves from at least one million years ago in different parts of the world, including '' Homo erectus'' in China at Zhoukoudian, '' Homo rhodesiensis'' in South Africa at the Cave of Hearths ( Makapansgat), '' Homo neanderthalensis'' and '' Homo heidelbergensis'' in Europe at Archaeological Site of Atapuerca, '' Homo floresiensis'' in Indonesia, and the Denisovans in southern Siberia. In southern Africa, early modern humans regularly used sea caves as shelter starting about 180,000 years ago when they learned to exploit the sea for the first time. The oldest known site is PP13B at Pinnacle Point. This may have allowed rapid expansion of humans out of Africa and colonization of areas of the world such as Australia by 60–50,000 years ago. Throughout southern Africa, Australia, and Europe, early modern humans used caves and rock shelters as sites for rock art, such as those at Giants Castle. Caves such as the
yaodong A yaodong () or "house cave" is a particular form of earth shelter dwelling common in the Loess Plateau in China's north. They are generally carved out of a hillside or excavated horizontally from a central "sunken courtyard". The earth that sur ...
in China were used for shelter; other caves were used for burials (such as rock-cut tombs), or as religious sites (such as
Buddhist caves Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
). Among the known sacred caves are China's Cave of a Thousand Buddhas and the
sacred caves of Crete Sacred caves and peak sanctuaries are characteristic holy places of ancient Minoan Crete. Most scholars agree that sacred caves were used by the Minoans for religious rites, and some for burial. While all peak sanctuaries have clay human figurine ...
. As technology progressed, humans and other hominids began constructing their own dwellings. Buildings such as huts and longhouses have been used for living since the late
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...
.


Ancient era


Post-classical era

From the 14th to the 16th century, homelessness was perceived of as a "vagrancy problem" and legislative responses to the problem were predicated upon the threat it may pose to the state.


Modern era

According to Kirsten Gram-Hanssen, "It can be argued that historically and cross-culturally there is not always strong relation between the concept of home and the physical building, and that this mode of thinking is rooted in
the Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
of the seventeenth century". Before, one's home was more public than private; traits such as privacy, intimacy and familiarity would proceed to achieve greater prominence, aligning the concept with the bourgeoisie. The connection between home and house was reinforced by a case law declaration from
Edward Coke Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
: "The house of everyman is to him as his castle and fortresse, as well as his defense against injury and violence, as for his repose". Colloquially, this was adapted into the phrase "The Englishman's home is his castle" which popularised the notion of home as house. A result of the longstanding association between home and women, 18th century English women, of upper-class status, were scorned for pursuing activities outside of the home, thus seen to be of undesirable character. The concept of home took on unprecedent prominence by the 18th century, reified by cultural practice. The concept of a smart home arose in the 19th century in turn with electricity having been introduced to homes in a limited capacity. The distinction between home and work formulated in the 20th century, with home acting as sanctuary. Modern definitions portray home as a site of supreme comfort and familial intimacy, operating as a buffer to the greater world.


Common types

The concept of home is one with multiple interpretations, influenced by one's history and identity. People of differing ages, genders, ethnicities and classes may have resultingly different meanings of home. Commonly, it is associated with various forms of abodes such as wagons, cars, boats or tents although it is equally considered to extend beyond the space, in mind and emotion. The space of a home need not be significant or fixed though the boundaries of home are often tied to the space. There have been multiple theories regarding one's choice of home with the residential conditions of their childhood often reflected in their later choice of home. According to
Paul Oliver Paul Hereford Oliver MBE (25 May 1927 – 15 August 2017) was an English architectural historian and writer on the blues and other forms of African-American music. He was equally distinguished in both fields, although it is likely that aficiona ...
, the vast majority of abodes are
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
, constructed in accordance with the residents' needs.


House

A house is a single-unit residential
building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...
. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of ligni ...
,
masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
,
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...
or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...
systems.Schoenauer, Norbert (2000). ''6,000 Years of Housing'' (rev. ed.) (New York: W.W. Norton & Company). The social unit that lives in a house is known as a
household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...
. Most commonly, a household is a
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
unit of some kind, although households may also be other social groups, such as
roommate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dormmate, suitemate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Briti ...
s or, in a
rooming house A rooming house, also called a "multi-tenant house", is a "dwelling with multiple rooms rented out individually", in which the tenants share kitchen and often bathroom facilities. Rooming houses are often used as housing for low-income people, as ...
, unconnected individuals. Some houses only have a dwelling space for one family or similar-sized group; larger houses called
townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
s or row houses may contain numerous family dwellings in the same structure. A house may be accompanied by outbuildings, such as a garage for vehicles or a shed for gardening equipment and tools. A house may have a
backyard A backyard, or back yard (known in the United Kingdom as a back garden or just garden), is a yard at the back of a house, common in suburban developments in the Western world. In Australia, until the mid-20th century, the back yard of a prop ...
or a front yard or both, which serve as additional areas where inhabitants can relax or eat. Houses may provide "certain activities, which gradually accumulate meaning until they become homes". Joseph Rykwert distinguished between home and house in their physicality; a house requires a building whereas a home does not. ''Home'' and ''house'' are often used interchangeably, although their connotations may differ: ''house'' being "emotionally netural" and ''home'' evoking "personal, cognitive aspects". By the mid-18th century, the definition of home had extended beyond a house. "Few English words are filled with the emotional meaning of the word home".


Moveable structures

Home as constitutionally mobile and transient has been contended by anthropologists and sociologist. A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). Used as permanent homes, or for holiday or temporary accommodation, they are often left permanently or semi-permanently in one place, but can be moved, and may be required to move from time to time for legal reasons. A houseboat is a
boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...
that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities. However, many are capable of operation under their own power. Float house is a Canadian and American term for a house on a float (raft); a rough house may be called a shanty boat. In Western countries, houseboats tend to be either owned privately or rented out to holiday-goers, and on some canals in Europe, people dwell in houseboats all year round. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, Amsterdam, London, and Paris. A traditional yurt or ger is a portable round tent covered with skins or felt and used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure consists of an angled assembly or latticework of wood or
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
for walls, a door frame, ribs (poles, rafters), and a wheel (crown, compression ring) possibly steam-bent. The roof structure is often self-supporting, but large yurts may have interior posts supporting the crown. The top of the wall of self-supporting yurts is prevented from spreading by means of a tension band which opposes the force of the roof ribs. Modern yurts may be permanently built on a wooden platform; they may use modern materials such as steam-bent wooden framing or metal framing, canvas or tarpaulin, plexiglass dome, wire rope, or radiant insulation.


Management


Housing cooperative


Repair


Housekeeping


Tenure


Owner-occupancy


Rental accommodation


Squatting


Homelessness

The state of being without a home can occur in may ways, ranging from the upheavals of natural disasters, fraud, theft,
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
, or war-related destruction, to the more common voluntary sale, loss for one or more occupants on relationship breakdown, expropriation by government or legislated cause, repossession or foreclosure to pay secured debts,
eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortg ...
by landlords, disposal by time-limited means – lease, or absolute gift. Jurisdiction-dependent means of home loss include adverse possession, unpaid property taxation and corruption such as in circumstances of a failed state. Personal insolvency, development or sustaining of mental illness or severe physical incapacity without affordable domestic care commonly lead to a change of home. The underlying character of a home may be debased by structural defects, natural subsidence, neglect or soil contamination.
Refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
s are people who have fled their homes due to violence or persecution. They may seek temporary housing in a shelter or they may claim asylum in another country in an attempt to relocate permanently. A dysfunctional home life commonly precipitates one's homelessness. The dichotomy between home and homelessness is to the extent that the concept of home, scholars have said, is dependent on homelessness: "in a sense, without homelessness, we would not be concerned with what home means".


Anthropogenic significance

The connection between humans and dwelling is profound, such that, the likes of
Gaston Bachelard Gaston Bachelard (; ; 27 June 1884 – 16 October 1962) was a French people, French philosopher. He made contributions in the fields of poetics and the philosophy of science. To the latter, he introduced the concepts of ''epistemological obstacl ...
and
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centu ...
consider it an "essential characteristic" of humanity. A home is generally a place that is close to the heart of the owner, and can become a prized possession. It has been argued that psychologically "The strongest sense of home commonly coincides geographically with a dwelling. Usually, the sense of home attenuates as one moves away from that point, but it does not do so in a fixed or regular way." A person's conception of home can be dependent on congealing conditions, such as culture, geography or emotion; the sense of being at home may be contingent upon the presence of multiple emotions, such as joy, sorrow, nostalgia and pride. Further psychological interperation contends that homes serve the purpose of satisfying identity-based desires and expression and that it functions as a "symbol of the self", bound to the events of one's life.
Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas (; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, ...
wrote of home as where, upon seclusion from the greater world, a sense of self can be regained. There exist many connotations regarding the concept of a home, including of security, identity, ritual and socialisation, varied definitions and residents may associate their home with meanings, emotions, experiences and relationships. Home has been described as an " essentially contested concept". Common connotations of home are espoused by both those with or without a home. It is the sociality and action of homes which some scholars have said conditions a house in to a home, which is, according to Gram-Hanssen, "a
phenomenon A phenomenon (plural, : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern Philosophy, philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influe ...
made by its residents". Dysfunctional sociality may negate the sense of a residence being a home whereas the physical contents may endow the sense; alienated from home one may feel "metaphorically homeless". Romantic or nostalgic notions are typical in the conceptions of "ideal homes", at once a cultural and individual concept. An ideal working-class home in Postwar Britain was one of comfort and cleanliness, plentiful with food and compassion. In modern America, an owned house has greater cachet as a home than other residences; debate exists as to if a rooming house can provide a home. Some housing scholars have contended that a conflation of house and home is the result of popular media and capitalist interest. Differing cultures may perceive the concept of a home differently, ascribing less value to the privacy of a residence or the residence itself – although housing issues have been seen as of great concern to immigrants. The home can render to men and women in significant differences: men conditioned to experience great control and little labour and vice versa for women; homelessness too can be subject to differences per gender. Sociologist Shelley Mallett preposed the idea of home as abstractions: space, feeling,
praxis Praxis may refer to: Philosophy and religion * Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised *Praxis model, a way of doing theology * Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...
or "a way of being in the world". Abstract notions of home are present in the proverb "A house is not a home". Since it can be said that humans are generally creatures of habit, the state of a person's home has been known to physiologically influence their behavior,
emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
s, and overall
mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...
. Marianne Gullestad wrote of the home as the center of and as an attempt to amalgamate everyday life; one's conduct there, she said, can reflect greater culture or social values, such as gender roles insinuating the home to be the domain of women. To be homesick is to desire belonging, said Zygmunt Bauman. Places like homes can trigger self-reflection, thoughts about who someone is or used to be or who they might become. These types of reflections also occur in places where there is a collective historical identity, such as Gettysburg or Ground Zero. The time spent with one's home is a considerable element in establishing one's attachment. Those without significant time spent of their life in a residence often struggle to consider home as a feature of residences. The perception of one's home can extend beyond the residence itself, to their neighbourhood, family, workplace or nation and one may feel as though they have multiple homes; to have felt at home beyond residence can be a significant element in one's appraisal of their life, a time in which notions of home, it has been observed, are more profound. The connection between home and family is pertinent, to the extent that some scholars consider the terms to be synonymous.


See also

* Human habitats (Category) * Ancestral home * ARCHIVE Global * Home automation * Home network * Home improvement * Home repair * Homemaking *
Housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and housing authority, assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of Shelter (building), shelter. Housing ensures that members of so ...
*
List of countries by home ownership rate This is a list of countries and territories by home ownership rate, which is the ratio of owner-occupied units to total residential units in a specified area. See also *Owner-occupancy * Home ownership in the United States * Homeownership in Ge ...
* List of human habitation forms * Show house * United Nations Human Settlements Programme


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control Human habitats