Multigenerational living: the housing experience of Lebanese Australian families

ABSTRACT

Housing diversity, which refers to the existence of a variety of housing options tailored to accommodate diverse lifestyles, cultural backgrounds and financial capacities, remains conspicuously deficient in Australian cities. In recognition of the imperative to investigate the housing needs of various family types, this study undertakes a qualitative analysis of the housing experiences within multigenerational Lebanese Australian families. The paper analyses data collected through in-depth interviews and household tours of 20 participants from 15 different households situated in Western Sydney’s and Greater Brisbane’s metropolitan areas. The study documents the housing experiences of four sub-types of multigenerational families and elucidates the processes by which domestic architectural configurations are adapted and formulated to meet the needs of diverse multigenerational family arrangements. The study reveals that housing designs play a central role in shaping both positive and negative experiences for Lebanese Australian families, many of which parallel the experiences encountered by broader mainstream Australian society.

KEYWORDS:

• Multigenerational families
• housing diversity‌
• Lebanese Australian
• suburban housing
• Sydney
• Brisbane

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Participant B04 (see Table 2).

2 This is common among Muslim and Christian Lebanese people; see Hyndman-Rizik’s (2010) study on Maronite Christian Lebanese perceptions of multigenerational families.

3 This aligns with Hyndman-Rizk’s (2016) observation of the Lebanese Hadchite ( حدشيت ; a Maronite Catholic Lebanese village located in Mount Lebanon) community in Sydney. Pre-settled family members sponsored other family members for months or years until they established themselves in Australia and were able to move out, usually in the same suburb as their extended families (Hyndman-Rizk 2016).