ABSTRACT
Housing units in rural areas are more likely to lack plumbing, a private bath, a complete kitchen, an adequate water supply and sewage disposal system, and are more likely to have electrical and structural defects than urban units. Rural and urban differences in the characteristics of households and the characteristics of the housing stock gain significance when evaluated in terms of housing needs. In the past, housing, including rural housing, has been studied primarily in the "social conditions" tradition. Assessment of objective housing conditions in rural areas is of obvious importance. Census data and annual housing survey data, along with survey data on preferences, indicate that the housing stock of rural areas is more closely attuned to the first-choice housing norms of families than is the urban housing stock. Population booms in particular areas may produce conditions that require quick responses, such as mobile home parks and modular housing complexes.
