Good Housing can be defined as a home well planned, hygienic and healthy enough
for proper living of the occupant of the house.
Good-quality housing is a key element for ensuring a healthy village. Poor housing can lead to many health problems, and is associated with infectious diseases (such as tuberculosis), stress and depression. Everyone should therefore have access to good-quality housing and a pleasant home environment that makes them happy and content. Specific aspects of housing quality are described in the following sections.
Good-quality housing is a key element for ensuring a healthy village. Poor housing can lead to many health problems, and is associated with infectious diseases (such as tuberculosis), stress and depression. Everyone should therefore have access to good-quality housing and a pleasant home environment that makes them happy and content. Specific aspects of housing quality are described in the following sections.
QUALITIES
OF GOOD HOUSING
1. GOOD HOUSING PLANNING
House planning is the most important part of qualities good housing process whether you’re designing a new home or designing a remodeling or addition. It’s a bad idea to try to plan your house without having a clear idea of what you want to achieve. This process involve the positioning of various rooms and other sections of the house such as bedroom, Living room, Bathrooms, Car parks and house garden or loom.
2. VENTILATION
Adequate home ventilation is particularly important where wood, charcoal and dung are used for cooking or heating, since these fuels give off smoke
that contains harmful chemicals and particulate matter. This can lead to respiratory problems, such as bronchitis and asthma, and make tuberculosis
transmission easier. Women and small children are particularly at risk from poor ventilation if they spend long periods within the home or in cooking
areas. Where cooking is done indoors, it is essential that smoke and fumes be removed from the house quickly and efficiently. Ventilation may be improved
by constructing houses with a sufficient number of windows, particularly in cooking areas. Alternatively, houses can be constructed using bricks with
holes drilled through them (“air-bricks”), which allow fresh air to circulate within the house.
3. PROPER LIGHTING
Poor indoor lighting can have many harmful effects on health and well-being. Apoorly lit working environment in the home can lead to eyesight problems, for example. This is a particular concern for women working in indoor cooking areas. Poor lighting within the home can also make people feel more depressed. These problems can be remedied by adding windows to the house to increase the amount of natural light, which is much stronger than light from candles or lamps. In communities where it is important that privacy within the home is maintained, windows can be located where it is difficult for people to see into the house, or constructed with a mesh or lattice work which allows light to enter while guarding privacy. Increasing natural light is also important for home cleanliness: if a house is dark, it is more difficult to see dust and dirt and thus more difficult to clean properly.
4. GOOD DRAINAGE CHANNEL SYSTEM
There must be adequate drainage system that will channel the used or unwanted water such as rain water or used water out of the house in order to avoid flooding and other water hazards and disaster.
5. REGULAR SANITATION
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic wastewater (sewage, sullage, greywater), industrial wastes and agricultural wastes. Hygienic means of prevention can be by using engineering solutions (e.g. sewerage and wastewater treatment), simple technologies (e.g. latrines, septic tanks), or even by personal hygiene practices.
6. SECURITY
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection is structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition, So Adequate security must be ensured.
7. ENSURE THE HOUSE IS NOT OVERCROWDED
Overcrowding in homes causes ill-health because it makes disease transmission easier and because the lack of private space causes stress. Overcrowding is related to socioeconomic level, and the poor often have little choice but to live in cramped conditions. In principle, increasing the number of rooms in a house should improve the health of the people who live there, but increasing house size is often difficult. Careful planning of family size can also help to reduce overcrowding. So ensure the house is not over crowded to avoid diseases and hazards.
8. ADEQUATE WATER SUPPLY
Adequate and drinkable water supply must be available to the house in other to prevent disease that may arise from use of bad water.
9. GOOD ROAD
1. GOOD HOUSING PLANNING
House planning is the most important part of qualities good housing process whether you’re designing a new home or designing a remodeling or addition. It’s a bad idea to try to plan your house without having a clear idea of what you want to achieve. This process involve the positioning of various rooms and other sections of the house such as bedroom, Living room, Bathrooms, Car parks and house garden or loom.
2. VENTILATION
Adequate home ventilation is particularly important where wood, charcoal and dung are used for cooking or heating, since these fuels give off smoke
that contains harmful chemicals and particulate matter. This can lead to respiratory problems, such as bronchitis and asthma, and make tuberculosis
transmission easier. Women and small children are particularly at risk from poor ventilation if they spend long periods within the home or in cooking
areas. Where cooking is done indoors, it is essential that smoke and fumes be removed from the house quickly and efficiently. Ventilation may be improved
by constructing houses with a sufficient number of windows, particularly in cooking areas. Alternatively, houses can be constructed using bricks with
holes drilled through them (“air-bricks”), which allow fresh air to circulate within the house.
3. PROPER LIGHTING
Poor indoor lighting can have many harmful effects on health and well-being. Apoorly lit working environment in the home can lead to eyesight problems, for example. This is a particular concern for women working in indoor cooking areas. Poor lighting within the home can also make people feel more depressed. These problems can be remedied by adding windows to the house to increase the amount of natural light, which is much stronger than light from candles or lamps. In communities where it is important that privacy within the home is maintained, windows can be located where it is difficult for people to see into the house, or constructed with a mesh or lattice work which allows light to enter while guarding privacy. Increasing natural light is also important for home cleanliness: if a house is dark, it is more difficult to see dust and dirt and thus more difficult to clean properly.
4. GOOD DRAINAGE CHANNEL SYSTEM
There must be adequate drainage system that will channel the used or unwanted water such as rain water or used water out of the house in order to avoid flooding and other water hazards and disaster.
5. REGULAR SANITATION
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic wastewater (sewage, sullage, greywater), industrial wastes and agricultural wastes. Hygienic means of prevention can be by using engineering solutions (e.g. sewerage and wastewater treatment), simple technologies (e.g. latrines, septic tanks), or even by personal hygiene practices.
6. SECURITY
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection is structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition, So Adequate security must be ensured.
7. ENSURE THE HOUSE IS NOT OVERCROWDED
Overcrowding in homes causes ill-health because it makes disease transmission easier and because the lack of private space causes stress. Overcrowding is related to socioeconomic level, and the poor often have little choice but to live in cramped conditions. In principle, increasing the number of rooms in a house should improve the health of the people who live there, but increasing house size is often difficult. Careful planning of family size can also help to reduce overcrowding. So ensure the house is not over crowded to avoid diseases and hazards.
8. ADEQUATE WATER SUPPLY
Adequate and drinkable water supply must be available to the house in other to prevent disease that may arise from use of bad water.
9. GOOD ROAD
Good road must
be provided to a house because a good housing should be easily assessable.
REFERENCES
1.
Shelter By Lloyd Kahn. Shelter Publications, Inc., May 1,
2000.
2.
American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the
American Home By Les Walker. Overlook Press, Jul 1, 1998
3.
Schoenauer, Norbert (2000). 6,000 Years of Housing (rev. ed.) (New York: W.W. Norton &
Company).
4.
"Online
Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=house. Retrieved
2012-01-04.
5.
Sacks, David (2004). Letter perfect: the marvelous
history of our alphabet from A to Z. Random House Digital. pp. 65–66.
ISBN 0-7679-1173-3.
7.
Tabor, Philip, "Striking Home: The Telematic Assault on
Identity". Published in Jonathan Hill, editor, Occupying Architecture: Between the
Architect and the User.
8.
"Manor
House". Middle-ages.org.uk. 2007-05-16. http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/manor-house.htm. Retrieved
2012-01-04.
9.
Evans, Robin “Translations from Drawing to Building:
Figures, Doors and Passages” London: Architectural Associations Publications
2005
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