The Meaning of Dwellings: an Ecological Perspective

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Abstract
The meaning of dwellings has been studied from many different perspectives, such as psychology, phenomenology, sociology and environment‐behaviour studies. Several authors have argued that a more integrative and interdisciplinary approach is needed, in which physical, socio‐cultural, psychological and economic dimensions are interrelated. However, in these studies dwellings are mainly treated as such. What is lacking is an approach in which dwellings are considered as integral parts of the environment. An ecological approach offers such a perspective. Such an approach focuses on the individual's relationships with meaningful features of the environment; it emphasizes the intentionality of individual's actions. The reciprocity of the environment and the individual is a central feature of an ecological approach. A dwelling is an individual's primary anchor in the environment. It may serve many functions, such as shelter, privacy, security, control and status. From an ecological point of view the meaning of dwellings lies in these functional relationships between human beings and their dwellings. This paper presents the conceptual and methodological framework for studying the meaning of dwellings from an ecological perspective. This framework is illustrated with examples from the author's own research.

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