Anthropological understanding of culture – the key for designing Romani housing

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to demonstrate a possible way in which cultural elements of minorities, in the specific case of the Romani, can be researched and operationalized in certain guidelines for designing housing intended for these groups. The paper was inspired by a constant failure of the present practice of solving the socially vulnerable Romani housing problems, namely, previous attempts have only achieved a negative outcome that, besides the partial satisfaction of urgent housing needs, does not respect the specificities of the Romani culture and lifestyle. The negative result has once again displaced this subject outside of the designing expertise and demands new examinations of strategical principles that precede the solving of the Romani housing question.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors create a methodological turn from the humanistic determination of the term culture towards the anthropological one, forming a clear methodological position of accessing the Romani culture. To test this approach on Romani settlements in Belgrade, this study used on-site observations of everyday life and informal interviews with residents.

Findings

As a practical result, this paper presents an operational knowledge base about Romani housing with design recommendations. In the social sense, this knowledge contributes to the scientific description and explanation of the characteristics of Roma housing. In a wider sense, this paper has the potential to shed light on similar problems of minorities that are present outside of the national borders of Serbia.

Originality/value

The topic of Romani housing is insufficiently researched, especially in the region of the Western Balkans. For this reason, the present study and the obtained results represent a significant contribution to scientific knowledge in this field.

Citation

Grbić, M., Dulić, O. and Aladžić, V. (2021), "Anthropological understanding of culture – the key for designing Romani housing", Open House International, Vol. 46 No. 1, pp. 130-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/OHI-07-2020-0078