TITLE:
Homes or Just Houses: The Housing Needs of Female-Headed Households in Egypt
AUTHORS:
Reem Hamad, Ahmed S. Abd Elrahman, Ayat Ismail
KEYWORDS:
Female-Headed Households Housing, Social Housing in Egypt, Socially Integrated Neighborhoods, Female-Headed Households Inclusive Neighborhoods
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Building Construction and Planning Research,
Vol.6 No.3,
September
17,
2018
ABSTRACT: With the drastic rise in divorce rates in Egypt in the last few decades, targeting female-headed households as new housing segment is becoming increasingly crucial. Female-headed households are categorized as part of the housing vulnerable groups supported by the government. The housing needs, preferences and the market navigation patterns of this group are the study matter of this paper. While this group shares similarities in the housing needs with the two-parent families there are defined differences in the housing presences and market navigation patterns of the two groups. The paper also sheds the light on how the social characteristics of the female-headed households determine the housing problems they face with the current market offerings. Then, it outlines a typology of the housing preferred by the female heads, with the aim of generating recommendations that would help create more inclusive and satisfactory housing market offerings tailored for them. The proximity of the workplace to the housing unit in addition to the presence of an active community center within the neighborhoods was on top of their housing demands.