ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to measure preferences toward alternative housing environments among people soon to become housing consumers. Preferences toward living environments undergo changes concurrent with changes in age, family cycle, income level, and so forth. Preferential responses must therefore be evaluated in light of the particular socioeconomic setting of the respondents. Although considerable housing research has been conducted, few attempts have been made to measure and assess the preferences of people toward alternative housing environments. An overwhelming percentage of our sample preferred to own single-family detached homes. There was a strong preference for suburban living among all ethnic groups with the exception of the Irish, the largest percentage of whom expressed a desire to live in a small town environment. Housing designers and planners must begin to seriously examine consumer needs and preferences rather than simply relying upon accepted formulas and intuitive approaches to housing design.
