Guide to participatory analysis of local habitat (and local building cultures)
SEVILLANO GUTIERREZ, Enrique, CAUDERAY, Elsa, MOLES, Olivier, 2026. Guide to participatory analysis of local habitat (and local building cultures). Villefontaine : CRAterre. 59 p.
Abstract
Understanding the context is an essential step in any housing project. The participatory methodology for analyzing local housing proposed in these guides aims to document, together with communities, the modes of production and management of housing. It can be used both at the start of a project and throughout its implementation, in order to update field information and strengthen links with local partners.
This analysis then serves as a basis for the design of shelter and housing projects built with communities, adapted to the climate and to the diversity of ways of life, grounded in existing practices and locally available resources, and incorporating an inclusive approach attentive to social, cultural, and economic inequalities.
The guide Assessing Local Building Cultures for Resilience and Development (Caïmi & Moles, 2015), developed as early as 2010 and tested in several countries, constitutes the first reference for this approach. A simplified version, produced in 2019, facilitated its dissemination across numerous contexts. In 2025, a complete revision of the methodology and its tools was carried out, drawing on more than a decade of feedback, in order to improve practices, processes, and outcomes.
To adapt to different operational contexts and to the time available to field teams, this new edition is available in both a full version, allowing for in-depth analysis, and a shortened version designed to meet the time constraints that field teams may face.
The revised guides are accompanied by templates for interviews, surveys, and focus groups, as well as a report framework to support the structured presentation of the collected information. They also integrate a cross-cutting gender perspective, making it possible to better address inequalities related to gender roles and to highlight the diverse experiences of women, men, and marginalized or underrepresented groups in housing and construction contexts.
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OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
CRAterre (31 mars 2026). Guide to participatory analysis of local habitat (and local building cultures). CRAterre. Consulté le 16 mai 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/15zb6
