Lifestyle as a Resource for Re-Structuring Romani Urban Housing

Abstract

Solving settlement and likewise housing problems of socially vulnerable Romani in Belgrade and Serbia still has not found the right design approach. In contemporary plural society, it is a process of interaction of theoretical and practical tryouts set beyond the disciplinary limits. Insufficient awareness on Romani lifestyle elaborated in Romanypen, i.e. the Romani cultural system causes a lack of methods, techniques and tools to choose from and develop for this untangled complex problem. The intent of this article is to show that a collective lifestyle represents the essence needed for developing adequate design decisions of Romani settlements, thus fulfilling the potential for improving adequate housing solutions. The study starts on the assumption that in Romani settlements there is a strongly rooted relation between spatial and social level that enables an understanding of what this cultural group produces as its own place. The urban pattern of Romani settlements do not have an institutionally imposed organization; they are formed by the Romani themselves, by reflex rooted in needs of everyday life activities and consequently organized and built through inherited knowledge and skills. The subject of this study is aimed at recognizing and thus establishing spatial expressions of the Romani collective lifestyle in three types of Belgrade Romani settlements that, according to the differences in their inner habitational pattern, display a representative model. It is based on the field analysis of five already created and developed unplanned settlements in Belgrade through observing and residing within them and by talking and questioning to their residents. This study shows that the key to understanding existing urban and architectural patterns, as well as the potential for future design actions lies in reading out the processes of everyday life. Then, it demonstrates a tool that has a potential to divert previous housing politics towards a revitalization of design in relation to social profiles specificities. At the end, the study opens a path to creating adequate architectural and urban parameters for housing care in accordance to the lifestyle acceptable for each and every socially perceptible group.

Conceptual Urbanistic-Architectural Model of Romani Housing: Case Study Crvena Zvezda Settlement in Niš

“…A communal gathering center is located in the southern part of the site and has a direct access from the newly designed street. It is envisioned as a multifunctional facility, which could host various educational sections for children, evening schools for adults, courses, celebrations (which are an essential part of the Romani culture [9]), meetings, or perhaps the production of homemade food products out of harvested fruits and vegetables from the garden or other homemade crafts that could be further sold at the market. The communal facility is designed to be the formal center of the settlement, the main gathering and socializing place, and a hub for exchanging opinions and knowledge.…”

“…[9] threegenerational structure is the most frequent household organization in Romani settlements in Belgrade. A primary Romani family, that has five members consisting of a husband, wife and three underage children, after the marriage of children (sons) expands, being then comprised of a husband, wife, their sons and daughters-in-law and their children [9]. The division of the night zone follows the idea of separating parents with children from elderly parents.…”