Distinguishing Households from Families
ABSTRACT The study of the relationship between all families, whether marital or non marital, and households, is underdeveloped, despite extensive study of the mismatch between family law, which is still focused on marriage and parenthood, and family practices. Often, in an effort to update the discourse, discussions of non marital families seem to deploy households or living arrangements as a substitute classification in the place of the old marital family. This Article argues that we need to resist the tendency to substitute the idea of "household" when the boundaries of legal family fail us, because households are not necessarily familial, and because core familial ties exist across multiple households. Household membership is characterized by churn, both because of changes in intimate attachments and because of life cycle changes. This Article argues that housing design and housing policy should accommodate that churn in a way that minimizes disruption to individuals' attachment to building, neighborhood, community, and family members living in separate households. It should offer options for stability that are economically realistic for people whose households will change. No single policy intervention can resolve the disruptions associated with fluctuating household membership. Rather, properly understanding the needs of families as distinct from households provides a lens for evaluating particular attributes of housing policy. Two housing principles in particular would better serve the needs of today's households. First, housing policy should prioritize the family ties of non householders to a household. As family members exit a housing unit, housing policy should seek to stabilize their ties with the household, particularly valuing proximity. Second, the design of the unit itself should reflect the inevitable expansion and contraction in household membership. This means that the unit would allow for proximity with privacy for linked households. This Article seeks to marry insights from the emerging literature on multi generational household design, accessory dwelling units, and micro units, with insights from the literature on the new normative family, in the hopes of producing an improved housing policy lens. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1072 I. "Normative" Families Are Not the Norm 1074 A. The Old Normative Family 1075 B. The New Normative Family 1076 II. Family Law Is Mismatched to Current Familial Arrangements 1080 III. Households and Families Are Distinct 1083 A. How Do Adults Live? 1084 B. Multigenerational Households 1085 C. Fluctuating Household Membership 1087 D. Can the Negative Consequences of Fluctuations Be Reduced? 1089 IV. Implications for Housing 1090 A. Preserving Proximity 1091 1. Public and Section 8 Housing 1091 2. Zoning 1093 3. Accessory Apartment Zoning 1095 4. Micro Unit Developments 1097 5. Combining the Wisdom of Accessory Dwelling Units with the Urban Needs Addressed by Micro Units 1099 B. Flexible Housing Design 1100 Conclusion 1105 INTRODUCTION What is the relationship between families and households? How should housing design and policy meet the needs of both households and families? This Article explores the points of divergence between legal family definition and household composition.