Housing as a mediator between the public and private realms; a comparison between housing tissues in Krakow and Oxford

This paper traces how very different patterns of historical development of two cities have impacted on their housing tissues as they have evolved over the last 200 years. Using cases from Krakow and Oxford, a selection of urban tissues will be investigated in relation to the way the housing unit, whether house or apartment, relates to the public realm of the city. The chosen cases exemplify the difference between English cities, predominantly of terraced, semidetached or single houses, and Continental European cities which have predominantly evolved as apartment tissues. This difference is emphasized by recent figures showing the different proportions of house types in European countries. The way these tissues have evolved in relation to broader social and political contexts is discussed. Finally the argument is brought up to date by considering ways the concepts of modernism and recent global forces are imposing similar patterns of development in both cases. The authors in addition to their academic affiliations have had considerable practical experience in the field of housing in their respective contexts.