RESIDENTIAL PATTERNS AND FAMILY NETWORKS (I)

Changes in rules of residence have been shown to trigger a series of other changes in kinship systems and. social organization. These changes cannot, however, be said to indicate changes in the strength of larger kinship networks. Nor do housing statistics indicate what role kinship rules play in the allocation of housing and what role housing conditions have on living arrangements among relatives. Before ex ploring these issues with survey materials collected in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, this first part of a two-part paper indicates that rules of residence have been too narrowly linked to a spatial concern with a single physical dwelling unit and, also, that inappropriate house-based definitions of kinship units have been used to describe changes in urban kinship systems. To understand family developments in less developed countries, as well as in the west, it is necessary to adopt new spatial and kinship referents, and, also, to consider how demographic processes affect oppor tunities for involvement in large family networks.