ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the secondary data from a range of countries to establish the extent of the economic, political and cultural inequalities constructed through housing tenure. It discusses the primary data from Australia and secondary data from a range of countries to detail the subjective understanding of the economic, political and cultural inequalities of home owning and renting. The book also examines participation in a community-based crime prevention scheme and focuses upon social action within the home. Home ownership has expanded in the Twentieth Century to become the dominant tenure form in many developed societies. In countries such as Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of all households are home owners. Alongside these large percentages of home owners the tenure distribution of other households varies both spatially and temporally.
