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Housing and Health: Beyond Disciplinary Confinement

Journal of Urban Health volume 83, pages 540–549 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

There is a need for innovative research on housing and health. In contrast to traditional disciplinary studies, which are sector-based, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary contributions offer a broader approach. Interdisciplinary approaches highlight the difference between a biomedical model that often adopts a symptom-treatment interpretation of housing and health and a holistic or integrated model that combines biological, cultural, economic, political, psychological and social factors in a new way. This article illustrates the pertinence of interdisciplinary contributions to develop a more holistic understanding of housing density and how it can be interpreted to understand the complex relationship between housing conditions and health status.

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Affiliations

  1. Professor, Centre for Human Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, University of Geneva, 40 Boulevard du Pont d'Arve, 1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland

    Roderick J. Lawrence

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  1. Roderick J. Lawrence
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Correspondence to Roderick J. Lawrence.

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Lawrence, R.J. Housing and Health: Beyond Disciplinary Confinement. JURH 83, 540–549 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9055-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9055-4

Keywords

  • Density
  • Housing
  • Human ecology
  • Interdisciplinary