Housing Discourse: Historical development, epistemological gap and sociological modeling

Housing issue is essentially major social issue. Even though housing is vital for individual life and social life, the attention given to its theorization and epistemological framework is neglected. Different disciplines and scholars from different disciplinary background have been carrying out housing study. The misplacement of housing study and social relegation of housing per se triggered this theoretical review of housing discourses. Housing study needs to have self-governing epistemological ground and housing research should be framed with its grand theories. Housing is a key social need that strongholds the foundational essence of social fabric. So far housing studies did not understand housing discourses as a central sociological agenda. Isolation of housing issue from major sociological concerns misplaced housing study thereby affected epistemological and methodological advancement of housing knowledge. Therefore, housing study call for grand theory that potentially governs all aspects of housing issues. Housing is a social phenomenon which can be expressed in terms of processes, behaviors, development and structures. Housing problems are attributed to different social dynamics and structural challenges which enforce households to behave in different ways to cope with the problems. These issues are basically sociological concerns which enable us to scaffold housing study with sociological theories.