The Millennials: young people at home in the city

Abstract

This thesis examines home-making needs and particularities of today’s young people. It has developed from an interest in human behaviourology in architecture and aspires to address housing needs and desires through contextual interrogations between behavioural studies and housing choice, as well as contemplating the making of ‘place’ and ‘home’. It is acknowledged that undertaking a generational study is not without its significant challenges. A large majority of knowledge comes from literature rather than first-hand accounts; furthermore, the insight surrounding this generation is multi-determined. Accepting the considerable diversity of this cohort, this thesis, therefore is an eff ort to provide a contemporary perspective on the noticeably large movement of young people to urban areas and centres. How the millennials choose to exert their growing distinctive lifestyles will have both implications and opportunities for architecture and the contemporary city. Thus, key questions must be: What housing form and design considerations will best align with the specific needs and desires of the millennials? How can architecture mediate the interstice between transitional accommodation and home ownership through an identifiable ‘home’? This thesis seeks to address these questions by critiquing the millennial generation’s home-making in the 21st century city. The objective has been to investigate the concepts and social ideals that underpin housing aspirations associated with this generation. How intrinsic needs and desires as well as external influences have shaped their housing identities are explored to navigate towards a more personalised way of living. The discussion ranges from the radical socialist ideals propagated by the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s, to the community-focused settlements and neighbourhoods of the latter decades of the 20th century. From these models, the desire of this thesis is to demonstrate through a design methodology how best to respond to the specific needs and preferences of the millennial generation.