Spaces of the home: socio-cultural aspects of urban housing in Croatia

The project is based on the assumption that the spaces of the home have their own intrinsic logic that tells us about the way of life, values ​​and behavior of people and that by researching the construction and practice of the home we can gain insight into the functioning of different dimensions of society. Speaking more in theoretical constructs, we are interested in the practices and rituals of living and everyday life and the meanings we associate with the space of the home. The project was implemented in three phases: the first phase included a review of the literature and statistical data on housing, on the basis of which, in the second phase, research instruments were created and potential respondents were contacted and the implementation of the research was organized during March, April and May 2021. year, while the third phase was reserved for transcription, coding, data processing and writing the project report. The implementation of the research itself was characterized by a pandemic context, which proved to be an aggravating circumstance considering that the research involved entering the respondent’s home, but despite this, all the planned interviews were carried out. The main goal of the project was to investigate, describe and analyze everyday housing practices with special emphasis on the values ​​and meanings attributed to the home and to analyze the space of the home through the socio-cultural aspects of housing in an urban context, and the main research questions dealt with ways of using the home, meanings and the values ​​associated with living in a residential area and with the socio-cultural aspects with which the transition from merely meeting the need for shelter to the realization of living at home is realized. Taking into account the fact that recent natural disasters such as pandemics and earthquakes have affected housing, living space and the perception of home, the specific goals of the project included, among other things, research into changes in the daily routine, the experience of living space and ways of adapting to the new situation.