Living in multi-storey apartments : a study of psychological and social implications in urban middle income housing in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The population growth has created a great demand for housing in the cities. The lack of land in these cities has made vertical development in housing. This population influx from the rural and suburban is primarily due to future occupation, they need to settle in town. "The universal image of the house in a person is a two story house, in a large garden and cat on the roof' This person in this community is free and left himself loose. It has different life and spirit. This is because the land and the territory to which they belong are large and left uncrowded. Accommodation in cities is confined to a limited space because the scarcity of land. The people have to live in tight spaces they are locked in inner conflicts. Living Ina house and retaining spirit of life has become a problem for them. Multistory apartment housing provides an effective solution to the problem of quantitative requirements of housing in urban sector. Here a person's house has become identical to another house and it is elevated from the ground. The attachment and identity and attachment are also lost. The personal self-image is threatened by living in an apartment. People are making adjustments because, have willingly or unwillinqly accepted the high-density multistory apartment living. A worldwide situation reveals that the living conditions in the multistory apartments constitute many unsatisfactory conditions. This can effect in different ways depending on their innate constitutions and previous life experiences. People are facing a difficulty due to the absence of proper living environments of the high-density apartment blocks. It relates to depression and several less serious mental and physical disorders.