Abstract

A single family occupying one residential unit is the typical residential arrangement in cities of the Global North. However, specific communities tend to practice coresidency, wherein several families share the same residential unit. In this study, we evaluate immigrant groups’ coresidency tendencies in London’s East End Whitechapel neighborhood, through a door-to-door survey and interviews. We differentiate between horizontal and vertical family structures and find that a sizable percentage (44.4%) of the residential units were shared by two or more families. At the neighborhood level, we show that the segregated residential pattern of groups was correlated with the pattern of coresidency, indicating that the uneven spatial concentration of ethnic groups led to high densities of families in specific parts of Whitechapel. The interviews reveal that coresidency is not merely a result of economic constraints but also a residential preference reflecting the need for cohabitation with extended family members.

摘要

一个家庭占据一个住宅单元是全球北方城市的典型住宅安排。但是，特定社区倾向于实行同住制，其中几个家庭共享同一个住宅单元。在这项研究中，我们通过挨家挨户的调查和访谈来评估移民群体在伦敦东区白教堂社区的共同居住倾向。我们区分了水平和垂直家庭结构，发现相当大比例 (44.4%) 的住宅单元由两个或更多家庭共享。在街区层面，我们表明群体的隔离居住模式与同居模式相关，表明族群空间集中度不均导致白教堂特定地区的家庭密度较高。