People living in short-term rental housing, henceforth temporary housing, are rarely consulted by professionals involved in the design process, whether regarding new or refurbished buildings. Knowing what is required for temporary dwellers to feel at home and how their meanings of home relate to household characteristics, activities, and indoor environmental quality, might result in better designs for these commonly small dwellings. To explore the views of temporary occupants about their home environment, we designed and conducted a survey directed to young people in the Netherlands, likely to be familiar with living in temporary accommodation (141 university students, 58 refugees who have received a permit to stay; henceforth named permit holders), 23 persons who were working 4 days and studying 1 day; henceforth named starters). Through factor analysis, six meanings of home were found to be statistically significant: Representation, privacy, sociability, rootedness, future, and appropriation. Multiple regression analyses and analyses of variance indicated that meanings of home were related to some household characteristics and the presence of light and cleanliness. Our study showed that measuring meanings of home might help understand not only how dwellings are used but also how to improve the design of small temporary dwellings. For instance, more possibilities for good or natural light, storage, and the display of personal possessions should be incorporated into the design of these small dwellings.

居住在短期租赁住房（即临时住房）中的人们很少会咨询参与设计过程的专业人士，无论是关于新建筑还是翻新建筑。了解临时居民需要什么才能有宾至如归的感觉，以及他们对家的意义与家庭特征、活动和室内环境质量之间的关系，可能会为这些常见的小型住宅带来更好的设计。为了了解临时住户对其家庭环境的看法，我们设计并开展了一项针对荷兰年轻人的调查，他们可能熟悉临时住所的生活（141 名大学生，58 名获得居留许可的难民；以下称为许可证持有人），23 人工作 4 天，学习 1 天；此后称为启动器）。通过因子分析，发现家的六种意义具有统计学意义：代表、隐私、社交、扎根、未来和占有。多元回归分析和方差分析表明，家的意义与一些家庭特征以及光线和清洁度的存在有关。我们的研究表明，衡量家的意义不仅有助于了解住宅的使用方式，还有助于了解如何改进小型临时住宅的设计。例如，在这些小型住宅的设计中应考虑更多良好或自然光、存储和展示个人财产的可能性。多元回归分析和方差分析表明，家的意义与一些家庭特征以及光线和清洁度的存在有关。我们的研究表明，衡量家的意义不仅有助于了解住宅的使用方式，还有助于了解如何改进小型临时住宅的设计。例如，在这些小型住宅的设计中应考虑更多良好或自然光、存储和展示个人财产的可能性。多元回归分析和方差分析表明，家的意义与一些家庭特征以及光线和清洁度的存在有关。我们的研究表明，衡量家的意义不仅有助于了解住宅的使用方式，还有助于了解如何改进小型临时住宅的设计。例如，在这些小型住宅的设计中应考虑更多良好或自然光、存储和展示个人财产的可能性。