Territories and Territoriality in the Home

Abstract

This research defines human territoriality as a set of attitudes and behaviors in and toward given physical areas and examines its expressions within the home. The authors interviewed 185 adult and child family members individually. The results indicate that the dwelling unit can be described as a territorial model: as a socio-spatial system in which each area has a clear social classification and is characterized by a particular pattern of behaviors and attitudes. Five different types of areas can be identified: individual, shared, public, jurisdiction, and activity areas. These differ in the degree and nature of control possible within them and in their associated behaviors and attitudes. The physical characteristics of the dwelling unit related to control were the size of the shared area and the quality of the boundaries of the individual and shared areas.