The Notion of Housing Need in France: From Norms to Negotiations (19th–21st Centuries)

Abstract: This article aims to show how the concept of “housing need” has circulated between the social sciences and architectural design fields in France since the second half of the 19th century up until today. France is a particularly rich example for developing this sociohistorical overview over a long span of time, through three time periods: the beginning of housing policy which, during the hygienist period and in legal devices and statistics, defined “good housing” as opposed to inadequate housing; the debate surrounding the notion of need illustrated through an examination of mass construction since the beginning of the 1950s, in particular, that of large social housing estates which developed in response to the housing crisis and the increase of slums; and the contemporary period, that raises many questions faced by architects and urban planners concerning the persistence of forms of inadequate housing and the development of individual aspirations for well-being.

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