Housing Forms and Patterns of Culture

The relationship between culture and housing can never be over emphasized. The overt expression of cultural elements is more evident in rural areas. This study is an attempt to investigate the relationship between culture and housing. Specific objectives of the study on salient issues such as the direction of such relationship, the impact of housing on the socio economic and cultural lives of the people and the differences in housing forms and patterns on the basis of linguistic orientations. The study is based on theoretical analysis of culture and housing across development literature using secondary data from print and internet sources. Evidence from this study reveals that housing is more than a dwelling. It is symbolic of the people‟s cultural values norms and expectations as it reflects the socio economic lives of the people as well as linguistic orientations. Consequently, the study recommends that (1) the mass media should intensify mass education on the inevitability of cultural relativism and (2) advocacy for preservation of the rich cultural ethos of the people through public and private housing by the ministry of culture and housing