Abstract:

This chapter examines ways in which individuals over their life courses move through stocks of housing which are also changing. Understanding these housing trajectories requires an appreciation of the diverse histories and chracateristics of housholds and dwellings in the context of the broader economic, political and social devlopments. The idea of a "housing career" the succession of dwellings by indivudals over their lives provides the central concept in the chapter. Housing careers are parallel to and interwoven with family, employment and other life careers and shaped by the prevailing market conditions including the influence of public policies. Housing tenure is arguably the central divide in most housing markets and a life course approach needs to pay close attention to tenure and the costs, types and location of housing.