Housing in Kings County: Toward a holistic approach
LE3 .A278 2012
2012
Horgan, Mervyn
Acadia University
Bachelor of Arts
Honours
Sociology
All people need access to appropriate housing. However, housing, on its own, does not meet the entirety of people’s needs. As well as a roof over head, people need to a place to call home. There are systemic barriers to the realization of home, which this thesis explains in detail. These barriers include: stigmatization, commoditization and poverty. Through an analysis of government and Not-For-Profit authored reports this thesis demonstrates two different attitudes toward the creation of appropriate housing: the instrumental approach and the needs based approach. These two approaches are examined and contextualized through the theories of Frederick Engels, Erving Goffman and Zygmunt Bauman, and then further unpacked through an analysis of interview and photographic data collected for this thesis. The data were collected through a series of three semi-structured interviews and through the use of photo-elicitation. The currently dominant housing system does not meet the needs of the people it serves. It does not act to prevent homelessness, nor does it focus on employment or respect the autonomy of the people it serves. This thesis advocates moving toward a holistic approach to housing, which would consider the entirety of people’s lives. A holistic approach to housing would work to find housing solutions that involved employment and inclusion, addressed the needs of at-risk populations and allowed people the autonomy and respect necessary to successfully create a home.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:913