A "home" is where you live your life.

A
"house" is where you pose waiting for the
photographers to show up

A house is not a home

A house is a structure as the other poster put it, but a home is the people who live in the house

and make it a safe and pleasant place to be. You've heard quotes such as "Keep the home fires

burning" (during the wars years) and the oldie but goodie "Home is where the heart is." You can

live in a beautiful home, but if you have no one to love and share it with, then it's just a plain

house no matter how fancy it is. Poor or rich, no children or a dozen children, adults have the

control to make any place a good home.

A home can be anywhere you live -- your home may be a mobile home, or a motor home, or an

igloo. For some, home can be an abandoned warehouse on Main Street in Anywhere, USA. You

can call an apartment your home. As they say, "Home is where the heart is." But a house is a

physical structure with walls and a roof and a door. An apartment would not be considered your

"house", etc. “http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_a_home_and_a_house#ixzz1Cb48reHr”

The difference between “ house” and “ home” should mean something, but it is “ by and large

the linguistic waste product of the American real-estate industry” ( Hollander, 1993, p. 37). The

split is also a concept that may have meaning only in a Germanic language. The relationship

between “ house”- the building and “home” – the more general condition of where you live and

have your focus.

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A home is a place of residence or refuge. [1]
When it refers to a building, it is usually a place

in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day

households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own

homes as well, either living in the wild or in a domesticated environment. "Home" is also used to

refer to the geographical area (whether it be a suburb, town, city or country) in which a person

grew up or feels they belong, or it can refer to the native habitat of a wild animal. As an

alternative to the definition of "home" as a physical locale, home may be perceived to have no

physical definition—instead, home may relate instead to a mental or emotional state of refuge or

comfort

A house is a home, building or structure that is a dwelling or place for habitation by human
beings. The term house includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of

nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures. In some contexts, "house" may mean the

same as dwelling, residence, home, abode, lodging, accommodation, or housing, among other

meanings. The social unit that lives in a house is known as a household. Most commonly, a

household is a family unit of some kind, though households can be other social groups, such as

single persons, or groups of unrelated individuals. Settled agrarian and industrial societies are

composed of household units living permanently in housing of various types, according to a

variety of forms of land tenure. English-speaking people generally call any building they

routinely occupy "home". Many people leave their houses during the day for work and

recreation, and return to them to sleep and for other activities.

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There is a similarity/ connection between home and house, but we can fine a big concept behind

these two words. Macro and micro approved have to be used to defined. Diagram below can

show us how these two terminology cooperate /interact each other .

House(micro)

Home ( macro )

Micro and macro environment in housing

House is just a concrete structure in a big housing scheme as we look at micro level. Can we call

“house” as affordable housing or decent housing?

Affordable housing is housing that consumes 30% or less of household income. Most affordable

housing programs focus on house hold with income below 80% of area median income. First –

time home buyer programs target household from 60-80% of area median income, while rental

programs serve households below 60% of area median income.

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Decent housing is housing that is structurally sound, free health and safety hazards , has

adequate sanitary facilities, could maintain temperate indoor temperature all year , and affords

the occupants with reasonable security for their persons possessions.

There is few types of houses in housing which called as trends in housing output such as low cost

house , medium cost houses and high cost houses. . Are these refer to housing demand or

housing needs? . In a project, housing is increasingly similar in design .

Low Cost Houses Medium Cost Houses High Cost Houses

Malaysia
Plan Propose
Proposed Completed % Completed % Proposed Completed %
d

1986-1990
370,400 88,877 45.3 146, 000 89,741 45.7 23,600 17,701 9
(5th)

1991-1995
215,700 212,003 38.3 145,800 240,069 43.4 26,100 100,788 18.2
(6th)

1996-2000
140,000 129,598 17.6 350,000 260,008 35.2 88,000 348,250 47.2
(7th)

2001-2005
40,000 97,294 14.8 158,000 283,107 43.2 105,000 274,973 42
(8th)

Sources: 5th to 9th Malaysia Plan

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Normally house can named as an economic good but not social or collective good. House cant

called as sustainable housing development but home yes. Rights to Adequate Housing: Everyone

has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his

family, including food , clothing , housing and medical care and necessary social services, and

the right to security in the event of unemployment , sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or

other lack of livelihood. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25

Any discussion of housing has two main aspects- quantitative and qualitative. People needs

shelters, but they also need shelter which adapted to geography, climate and place of work, and

which provides certain standards of construction, space, hygiene and comfort in which the

business of home-making can go forward effectively. Houses is a physical structures, homes are

social, economic and cultural institutions.

We cant separate people and home/ housing. Its plays very vital roll in creating good sociality.

We must understands the right to a adequate housing. Housing forms an indispensable part of

ensuring human dignity.  "Adequate housing" encompasses more than just the four walls of a

room and a roof over one’s head.  Housing is essential for normal healthy living.  It fulfills deep-

seated psychological needs for privacy and personal space; physical needs for security and

protection from inclement weather; and social needs for basic gathering points where important

relationships are forged and nurtured.  In many societies, a house also serves an important

function as an economic center where essential commercial activities are performed.

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Adequate housing was recognized as part of the right to an adequate standard of living in the

1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the 1966 International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Other international human rights treaties have since

recognized or referred to the right to adequate housing or some elements of it, such as the

protection of one’s home and privacy.

There are several key aspects in the “right to an adequate standard of living in the 1948

Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights” , shows how the home suppose to be which unlike house.

Key aspects of the right to adequate housing ( home)

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has underlined that the

right to adequate housing should not be interpreted narrowly. Rather, it should be seen as the

right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity. The characteristics of the right to

adequate housing are clarified mainly in the Committee’s general comments No. 4 (1991) on the

right to adequate housing and No. 7 (1997) on forced evictions.1

1 General comments are adopted by the treaty bodies based on their monitoring experience.

They offer expert guidance to States on their obligations arising under a particular treaty.

6
The right to adequate housing contains freedoms. These freedoms include:

 Protection against forced evictions and the arbitrary destruction

and demolition of one’s home;
 The right to be free from arbitrary interference with one’s home,
privacy and family; and
 The right to choose one’s residence, to determine where to live
and to freedom of movement.

The right to adequate housing contains entitlements. These entitlements include:

 Security of tenure;
 Housing, land and property restitution;
 Equal and non-discriminatory access to adequate housing;
 Participation in housing-related decision-making at the national
and community levels.

Adequate housing must provide more than four walls and a roof. A number of conditions

must be met before particular forms of shelter can be considered to constitute “adequate

housing.” These elements are just as fundamental as the basic supply and availability of housing.

For housing to be adequate, it must, at a minimum, meet the following criteria:

 Security of tenure: housing is not adequate if its occupants do not have a degree of tenure

security which guarantees legal protection against forced evictions, harassment and other

threats.

 Availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure: housing is not adequate if

its occupants do not have safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, energy for cooking,

heating, lighting, food storage or refuse disposal.

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 Affordability: housing is not adequate if its cost threatens or compromises the occupants’

enjoyment of other human rights.

 Habitability: housing is not adequate if it does not guarantee physical safety or provide

adequate space, as well as protection against the cold, damp, heat, rain, wind, other

threats to health and structural hazards.

 Accessibility: housing is not adequate if the specific needs of disadvantaged and

marginalized groups are not taken into account.

 Location: housing is not adequate if it is cut off from employment opportunities, health-

care services, schools, childcare centers and other social facilities, or if located in

polluted or dangerous areas.

 Cultural adequacy: housing is not adequate if it does not respect and take into account

the expression of cultural identity.

8
For those who don’t have houses they don’t called it as houseless but homelessness. Home
is a macro terminology in housing. How can we define homelessness?

Homelessness is the condition and social category of people without a regular house or dwelling

because they cannot afford, or are otherwise unable to maintain regular, safe, and adequate

housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." Street people are the segment

of the homeless who spend substantial periods of time on the streets in urban areas. The actual

legal definition varies from country to country, or among different entities or institutions in the

same country or region. The term homelessness may also include people whose primary night-

time residence is in a homeless shelter, in an institution that provides a temporary residence for

individuals intended to be institutionalized, or in a public or private place not designed for use as

a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness

“It is shocking to discover that some 400 homeless Sabah youths

are loitering around Jalan Masjid India, the Dayabumi Complex,
Klang bus station and Bukit Nanas in Kuala Lumpur every night,
sleeping along roadsides, parks or buildings and have to forage for
leftover food just like animals.” This article written by Mugunan Vanar and Joshua Foong on
the Online STAR is most distrubing.

http://journaler0203.blogspot.com/2010/02/malaysia-homeless-in-kl.html

“Urbanization is one of the most powerful, irreversible forces in the world. It is estimated that
93percent of the future urban population growth will occur in the cities of Asia and Africa, and
to a lesser extent, Latin America and the Caribbean. A very good home or housing scheme help
to make this Urbanization. We live in a new urban era with most of humanity now living in
towns and cities.” By Anna Tibaijula, Executive Director, UN-HABITAT Under Secretary General of the United Nations .

9
SUSTAINABLE HOUSING IS A SUSTAINABLE HOME

The Sustainable Homes program is providing communities throughout World with display

homes which incorporate principles of sustainable design and performance utilizing the Smart &

Sustainable Homes Design Objectives. The homes are unique because they provide practical

examples within their regional climatic context of dwellings that aim to meet the triple bottom

line concept of sustainability i.e. environmental, social and economic sustainability

Housing is the critical issue in global urbanization which have a tremendous impact on the

environment – both during construction and through out their. As the key element in urban

development, housing plays a vital role in attaining the goal of sustainable development.

Effective of project management is becoming increasingly important for sustainable housing to

remain competitive in today’s dynamic business environment..

Malaysia is a developing country heading towards industrialization. The growths of industries

bid rapid housing expansion due to the high demand from the customer. A good housing area has

to fulfill the health aspect from the building, drainage, clean water supply, domestic waste

management and suitable ventilation. The quality of housing and its social, economic and

environmental performance is critically important to sustainable development. However, the

lacks of practices of project success factors in housing development activities may often bring

about water, air and land pollutions thus affecting the natural environment, health and quality of

life. These issues are often raised today as problems of uncontrolled development of housing

growth as concern for the environment is not considered. With this concern in mind, housing and

other social services become priority in today‟s development programmes which aimed at

improving the quality of life and contributing towards the formation of a caring society.

10
However, the issue of sustainable housing are still new and not that familiar in our country. With

referring back the house being built in the past decade, those houses were not meeting the

essential criteria of sustainability and unfortunately, there are little to none; in depth studies for

this matter. Although the homes that create may look good and be cheap to build, they are poor

value if they weather poorly, have high energy and other running costs, are expensive to

maintain and cannot adapt to changes in use. According to Maylor (1999) those organizations

that are most resourceful in seeking out best practices and making those aspects work for them

will be the most successful. Although project management has proved its success in many

construction projects, there is however some problems associated with the manner in which the

system has been selected and/or implemented (Noum S. et al., 2004). Here, critical factors of

successful project management were establish to develop a new area of managing sustainable

housing for further studies of this research to ensure its potential for future sustainability.

Sustainable development ensure that no one is left out in the development process. This explain

sustainable cities are ‘ cities for all’. The basic objective of urban development is not to meet

human needs and achieve equity and social justice. No one should be marginalized in the

development process. However, many of us feel that housing development tends to benefit the

privileged few rather than the poor and deprived. What is wrong with our housing system or

where is the missing link in the sustainable housing development process? Do the force of

economic growth have stronger influence than social and environmental considerations in

housing development or to what extant does our housing system incorporate elements of

sustainable development in Malaysia? No comprehensive study has yet been done to address

these questions. Nevertheless, we may be able to evaluate and make some propositions regarding

the current housing based on the following observations.

11
The current housing system encourage people to buy bigger houses. For civil servants, they

could do so through second housing loan limits as announced in the 2001 Budget speech in

Parliament . The consumptions of housing should be based on needs rather than wants. Over-

consumption of housing leads to environmental deterioration. The Growth of residential

development on the urban periphery-suburban residential development is a result of the increase

of population in the higher income category. This is normal trend of urban development in which

suburban growth attracts the rich leaving the poor in the central areas of the city. Resort, hill and

waterfront development have lately become more popular in our country. Resort development in

normally attractive to those in high income groups with professional and management

backgrounds. Their purpose in acquiring these properties is to have better living environment, for

family reasons, as a weekend retreat and for investment.

Like other developing countries, Malaysia faces the problem of providing adequate and secure

shelter for a large portion of its people, especially the poor. In spite of the hundreds of thousands

of houses, flats and apartment having been built over the years throughout the country, many

Malaysian consumers can only dream about owing their homes. This is because not enough

houses are being supplied at low enough prices to cater to all who want to have their own houses.

For the poor and the lower-middle income group, the greatest stumbling block to owning their

own homes is lack of affordable housing. However, those who are lucky enough to own one of

these affordable houses often and up with homes that are not suitable for living . This may

be due to a number of factors, such as, defective and poor-quality housing, poorly- designed

units too small to accommodate large families, high- density living environment which are more

12
like urban slums and concrete jungles-noisy and devoid of any green and open spaces. Thus, the

process towards owing a home can be full of trials and tribulations for lower-income consumers.

QUALITY OF LIFE

While the available and affordability of housing remains the foremost concern of most

consumers, particularly those from the lower income group, another major concern is the quality

of housing and the surrounding environment. Are we building mere pigeon-hole with inhuman

living conditions or are we concerned about building homes for people? What about the

surrounding environment ? Is it conductive and safe human living? These are very important

concerns for consumers?

QUALITY OF HOUSING

The quality of housing provided has been discussed, to some extent, in relation to the poor

quality materials used and the poor workmanship. Apart from the quality of the workmanship, a

recurrent concern is the issue of the design and size of premises and the nature of housing

projects.

As United Nations Habitat II Conference secretary-general Dr Wally N’Dow said: Adequate

shelter means much more than just having a roof over one’s head. Ts also means privacy,

adequate space and security, a place with which to thrive, the structural disability and durability

of a dwelling with proper lighting and ventilation, and with adequate infrastructure for sanitation

and waste management. It is also important for the shelter to be located to work and basic

facilities- all this at an affordable cost.

13
Much has been said about conventional high-rise building which look more like pigeon-

holes and concrete jungle than place to call home. It has become apparent that such tall, grey

building are often unsuitable homes. The cold brutally of the architecture makes the blocks feel

bleak and comfortless. Alienation, loneliness and stress become common experience. Cramped

apartment make life particularly difficult for families with young children and the lack of private

space outside and the distance from the ground have meant that children have nowhere to play.1

In recent times, the Deputy Prime Minister has called on housing developers to pay attention to

the quality of low –cost housing. He has emphasized that the quality and design of low and

medium-cost houses are important as their price. ‘What we are now seeing is a need to ensure

that we build quality homes for the poor. There must be quality homes for them’, he said 2

If we are concerned about rising social ills in this country, then sufficient attention must also be

given to the living environment as it is well known that poor living conditions also contribute to

social ills. It is not that there are no alternative in providing the right type of housing for large

numbers of people. As architect Charles Correa advocate, these is much room for low-rise high

density housing concepts in our cities. Such concepts have been implemented in cities like

Bombay and there is much to learn from such ideas. In such projects, there is opportunity for the

individual owner to design and expand the existing housing to suit his own needs, taking into

account, cultural and religious sentiments, and ensuring easy maintenance, affordability and so

on. 3

1
Girardet, Herbert (1996), The GAIA Atlas of cities: New directions in sustainable living, p80
2.
New Straits Times, November 20, 1996
3.
Correa, Charles ( 1985), The new Landscape, p51

14
There is a lot scope for improvement in this country in terms of improving the quality of

housing, as urged by Deputy Prime Minister. What remains is the task of translating this call into

action.

LACK OF OPEN SPACES

One of the most important aspects to improve the quality of the living environment is the

provision of green lungs or open space for community enjoyment and for children to play in.

Some local governments have guidelines that impose an obligation on the developers to make

such provisions in their housing plans. What is heartening to note is that the Town and County

Planning Department maintains that open spaces are a ‘must’ even when developers have rooftop

garden within their projects, The department has expressly stated that ‘rooftop’ gardens cannot

be considered as an open space even when a project faces land constraint. 4

SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT

With the rapid pace of urbanization and commercialization within the town and cities in the

county, major concerns have emerged about the quality of life and the state of our surrounding

environment. Discussions about sustainable cities, which have been taking place in international

meetings, have yet to emerge in this country in a big way. In contrast, the deteriorating quality of

life and of the environment are commonly acknowledged. In particular, worsening air and noise

pollution have become an accepted norm in the cities, Of late. Some serious environment

problems have emerged. Such problems have been either reported in the media or have come to

our attention through complaints.

4
. The Star, May 18, 1996

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FLASH FLOODS

Flash floods have become a common and regular occurrence in some housing areas, following

short spell of continuous rain, The most well known is the plight of the 30,000 residents in

Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam. Many residents have expressed their frustration with the

flooding problems and have even considered legal action against the local authorities for the

losses they have suffered, Residents in many housing estates in this country face a similar plight.

Despite promises and flood mitigation plans, the frustrations of these affected people continue.

CUTTING OF HILLS AND HILL-SLOPES

Any discussion of hill or hill-slope cutting immediately brings to mind the Highland Towers

tragedy in Ulu Klang, Selangor in which many residents lost their lives and suffered severe

property damage. The collapse of the condominium block is apparently blamed on the massive

development projects going on around it and cutting of surrounding hill-slopes. The fateful

incident catapulted the nation’s attention on safety of buildings constructed on hill or hill-slopes.

For a while, everyone was concerned and there was a nation-wide freeze on hill-slopes projects.

However, in a matter of few weeks, the fear of the highland Tower’s tragedy was forgotten and

business carried on as usual.

POLLUTION

When buyers choose to buy housing units, they are usually unfamiliar with the surrounding

environment and do not know the kind of environmental problems existing in the area. Problems

peculiar to the area only be experienced when they move into their homes and starts living in the

community. When there are factories, quarries or livestock-rearing activities in neighborhood,

residents are subjected to noise, dust, unbearable stench, and other such nuisances. In a densely-

16
populated housing area in Paya Terubong , Penang residents were taken aback when they began

to experience the foul stench of rubber being processed in a nearby factory.

DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ADJOINING DEVELOPMENT

In recent month, the fate of hundreds of residents living around the Prangin Mall project in

Penang has caught national attention. The eight storey Prangin Mall project involved very major

excavation works for several levels of underground car parks. It began in September 1996, and

not long after, serious cracks appeared on walls, roof beams and pillars of houses and building in

vicinity. The safety of houses, building and roads in the vicinity, including the komtar, became

an issue of major concern. The developer was issued with a stop-work order and engineering

consultants were called in by the state government to assess and advise on the situation . The

problems have not been resolved as yet.

COMPREHENSIVE AND INTEGRATED PLANNING AND CO-ORDINAN

In the above instance, what is apparent is a lack of comprehensive and integrated tow planning

and co-ordination between the various authorities. The Town and Country Planning Act 1976

was enacted to specifically ensure more integrated and co-ordinated planning and land-use

management, zoning etc. The structure plans and the various local were supposed to be stools for

better planning. Although structure plans have not kept pace and hence ad hoc panning and

development approval continues. Also, the value of integrating environmental concerns into

planning is often not appreciated. Where environmental impact assessments are considered to be

necessary as in the case of major projects on hill and hill-slopes, they are seen as a hindrance to

development, rather being regarded as a fundamental in ensuring protection of the environment.

17
ROLE OF HOUSING INDUSTRY

Are the industry players environmentally-conscious or have they just carelessly pursued profits?

In a recent case, a developer who launched a lunched a prestigious upmarket housing scheme on

the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur produced a brochure extolling the impressive development

guidelines followed. The development was described as an ‘ environmentally friendly’ and ‘

ecologically…sustainable community’ with no disturbance to the natural topography and

vegetation’. However, upon visiting the site, it was found that none of the ‘guideline’ were

true. The site was hot ,not conducive for salubrious living, and was environmentally unfriendly

with hardly any view. Site topography had been cut and plat formed , the topsoil was either

removed or washed away, and all existing tree were gone leaving only some mismatched tree

along the roadside. There is not a single project in Malaysia Housing project development which

does not employ the ‘ cut and fill’ technique when preparing the land. The ‘cut and fill’

technique is fine as long as it is wisely implemented and the environment is not damage or

threatened, In many cases, what results is massive clearing giving rise to scarred hills, soil

erosion and flooding. Until the introduction of the Town Planer’s Act restricting submission of

layout plans to only qualified planners, anyone could submit such plans. Many housing schemes

were laid out by surveyors whose primary role was to optimize the number of housing.

18
CONCLUSIONS

Social Development is vital in order to promote a good home. There is no single factor that can

produce a good home. A Multi factors are involved in building up a very good home. As we

discussed earlier, socio-economic plays very vital rolls here. If the supplier can provide the basic

needs in housing ( social development ), the house will be a home if not it still will remain as a

concrete structures. A good housing plays an important role in our economy. There is a positive

relationship between housing development and economic growth. When we have a good home,

productivity also sure can increased. A improper housing scheme can promote to a very massive

problems, such as social problems, crime, decrease in productivity, less investors and so on. The

government must play a important role in the Planning and Housing Development Process in

order to get a perfect housing output that we can called as sweet home.

19
References

1. Abdul Ghani Salleh, (2006), Residential Satisfaction in Private Low-Cost Housing in

Malaysia: A case study of Terengganu, Proceedings of the International Conference on
Sustainability Housing, Penang, pp 254-261
2. Abdul Ghani Salleh, (2000), Urbanization & Regional development in Malaysia.
3. Meenakshi Raman, ( 1997), Chapter15. Housing and the Concerns of Consumers,
HOUSING THE NATION: A DEFINITIVE STUDY, PP 709-748
4. Jimmy C S Lim, ( 1997), Chapter14. A Planner’s Perspective, HOUSING THE
NATION: A DEFINITIVE STUDY, pp 667-692
5. Nor’Aini Yusof. (2007) PEMAJU SWASTA DAN PERUMAHAN KOS RENDAH. Isu-
isu perumahan Negara membangun, pp 13-21
6. “http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_a_home_and_a_house#ixzz1Cb48
reHr
7. Prepared by, Duane Kissick, David Leibson, Morey Kogul,(june 2006) in collaboration
with The International Housing Coalition: Housing for All:Essential to Economic,
Social, and Civic Development. Prepared forThe World Urban Forum III Vancouver.
8. UNITED NATIONS; THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING. Fact Sheet No. 21
(rev.1)

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