Housing for single-parent families

Abstract

This thesis poses the question of how we are to house the family of the future. The concept of the strictly nuclear family as a backbone of our civilization is disintegrating under the onslaught of careers, of divorce, of teen pregnancy, and of abusive home life. Though many of these trends are deplorable, there are cases in which the decision to be a single parent is a constructive one. But, whether voluntary or not, the situation of the single parent is a difficult one. Single parenthood entails the combination of roles and tasks usually shared by two adults. A child who lives with only one parent has fewer resources for support, whether financial or emotional, and may lack necessary role models. Single-parent families, therefore , are families with extraordinary needs. It is the premise of this thesis that many of these needs are related to housing. Among the issues involved are childcare, location of the workplace, the sense of home and of belonging to a neighborhood, of having a 'turf ' of one's own. These issues are not limited to the single- parent family, per se. But these families have both greater economic and emotional constraints, and fewer resources for housing and services. The present-day housing market does not cater to this ever-growing segment of our population. The attempt to define the housing- related needs of these families is paralleled by a design exploration. The site is 21 adjacent lots in a residential neighborhood of San Francisco. The program is for a cluster development of 24 units, incorporating various levels of cooperative living. There are single units and shared units all have features that are intended to enhance the possibility of sharing childcare or chores, and to facilitate the reintegration of the workplace with the home.