Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction: Inhabitation in Nature
- 2 New materialism in housing studies: opportunities and obstacles
- 3 Inhabitation practices
- 4 Analysing inhabitation practices
- 5 Consumption practices
- 6 Production practices
- 7 Out of home inhabitation practices
- 8 Conclusion: Inhabitation research and policy
- References
- Index
7 - Out of home inhabitation practices
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 January 2024
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction: Inhabitation in Nature
- 2 New materialism in housing studies: opportunities and obstacles
- 3 Inhabitation practices
- 4 Analysing inhabitation practices
- 5 Consumption practices
- 6 Production practices
- 7 Out of home inhabitation practices
- 8 Conclusion: Inhabitation research and policy
- References
- Index
Summary
In the previous two chapters the focus has been on the inhabitation practices involved in the creation of the dwelling and consumption within it. But inhabitation is also undertaken in a number of locations outside the home. For example, we may leave the home to work and earn an income to pay for consumption within it and to purchase goods that may be used in the home. Children and adults may leave the home for educational activities in schools or universities. Some of our leisure time may be spent in the countryside or in cinemas or restaurants. We may also travel to the homes of friends and family to socialise together. As Horne (2018: 7) argues: ‘imposing a boundary around a dwelling and its residents constrains our understanding of sustainability and carbon. We must think of the carbon associated with residents’ mobility (getting from place to place) so that the act of dwelling – and scale – must extend to the neighbourhood and the city’. Therefore, a dwelling should be judged on its relationship to other dwellings and to other facilities and the study of inhabitation processes should not be confined to those undertaken at home, but include the activities of daily living located outside and in other locations. Inhabitation practices occur both in the home and in other locations such as neighbourhoods and cities. Maller (2018: 111) draws attention to the importance of cities as a habitat for non-human species of animals and plants and argues that ‘all cities, regardless of their size, geography, degree of urbanisation and density (among other characteristics) provide a range of habitats that can support a surprising array of non-human species’. These are most obviously parks and gardens but can include buildings, landfill stations and sometimes areas that contain pollutants that are poisonous to humans, but which can be tolerated by certain plants and animals. As a consequence, cities need to be reframed as a habitat for more than just humans and analysis of practices in the city needs to be aware of the material and animal elements.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Inhabitation in NatureHouses, People and Practices, pp. 122 - 136Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2023