There are powerful assumptions about gender divisions inscribed in the built environment. Housing is the site of some complex processes in society. In making and remaking their homes, women and men define their place in the world and are defined by it. Taking a historical perspective, Living in a Man-Made World (originally published in 1991) is the first to make a complete examination of the relationship of gender to housing design. Design is seen in broad terms and revealed as part of the social process of society, rather than a separate sphere in which the architect has sole responsibility for decision making. Many of the ills of the contemporary environment can be traced to the barriers that have been built up between the concerns of social policy, planning and architecture. By breaking down these barriers through a synoptic study of how gender assumptions have operated in the design of housing, this book points the way to how improvements in design and in the built environment may be better achieved.

Marion Roberts is Professor Emeritus of Urban Design at the University of Westminster, UK. Her research interests have been in the field of urban design with a particular emphasis on the relationships between social issues and their physical context.