En bostad för hemmet idéhistoriska studier i bostadsfrågan 1889-1929

Sammanfattning: The purpose of the present dissertation is to examine the placing of the housing question on the agenda of social policy, the implications of housing for society, and the possibilities for simple shelter to be transformed into real family homes. The debate emphasizing the dwelling as the smallest social component and the home as the most important place for the raising of citizens has been studied.The dissertation consists of four essays, each of which can be seen as a separate study yet at the same time as interrelated due to the overall theme of the dissertation, housing and the home. The period under investigation is 1889-1929 and the place is Stockholm.The first section deals with philanthropic building activities, described through four representative examples: Föreningen för Välgörenhetens Ordnande, Stockholms Arbetarehem, Govenii Minne and Ella Heckscher's home for tubercular female workers. This section opens with two introductory chapters treating the philanthropic attitude toward housing and the relation of the family to the housing question, respectively.The theme of the second section is the significance of aesthetics for the home. This section also opens with two introductory chapters, whereof the first describes the aesthetic ideals of the epoch and the second presents the so-called "aesthetic educators". A number of pamphlets written about the home are discussed, as well as a selection from the home exhibitions of the day. In a closing chapter, the entrance of the architects into the housing-question arena is presented.The third study deals with politics in the broad sense of the term. The interest of social reformers for the housing question is traced by examining organizations like Studenter och Arbetare and Centralförbundet för Socialt Arbete. The second chapter deals with the contributions of academics to the housing question. The social democratic women belonging to the Stockholm's Women's Club are heard from, and the engagement of women in this question is further delineated through studying periodicals like Morgonbris and Tidevarvet. In the closing chapter, the establishment and treatment of the housing question within the municipal council of Stockholm is discussed.The fourth and final section treats the HSB. First, the origins of the HSB in 1923 via the tenant's movement and guild socialism are discussed. Thereafter the organization and membership of the HSB is described. A brief biography of Sven Wallander, the leading figure of the HSB is provided, followed by a chapter on the periodical Vår Bostad. The final two chapters discuss the materialized ideas themselves: the buildings built by the HSB and the homes which were set up in them, stimulated by the actual physical buildings and discussions about the right way of living in them.The story of the home has solid empirical grounding. This study has been conducted from different perspectives in order that a more nuanced knowledge might be acquired. Vision and practice have proven to be so closely interwoven that it is not always possible to distinguish between them.