Towards an exploratory approach to residential choices and social representations of domestic architecture. Case study: the town of El Eulma (north-central Algeria)

This study investigates the factors influencing residential preferences for detached houses in North-Central Algeria, as well as the associated social and architectural representations, in order to forecast future housing developments and impose structure on the disorder arising from the proliferation of this model nationwide. The research also examines the conceptual representations and idealized frameworks of this architectural production through a qualitative methodology utilizing a semi-structured questionnaire survey conducted with its creators. NVivo text analysis software was employed to reconstruct recurring themes in residents’ discourse, and word clouds were produced. The analysis results reveal that residential decisions are shaped by both rational and emotional factors – most notably by economic status – and by a “residential imaginary” characterized by frustration and perseverance. These findings highlight the complex interplay between socioeconomic realities and subjective aspirations in shaping housing preferences in North-Central Algeria.