International Journal of Environment, Ecology, Family and Urban Studies (IJEEFUS) ISSN 2250-0065 Vol. 3, Issue 1, Mar 2013, 45-58 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd. SOCIAL INTERACTION IN COMMUNAL OUTDOOR SPACES OF RESIDENTIAL HOUSING ESTATES IN BISKRA-ALGERIA NACEUR FARIDA Department of Architecture, University of Batna, Algeria ABSTRACT This study tends to examine the relationship between the communal outdoor space design in a residential housing estate and the residents’ social interaction. For the purpose of our study we chose a housing project situated in a Z.H.U.N of Biskra, a middle city in the south of Algeria, namely “Cité des 1000Logts”. The study is based upon observations of the ways in which the residents use their neighborhood spaces. Observations are supplemented by interviews with the residents, about the perceived adequacy of these spaces for social interaction. Findings showed that the high degree of openness of “la cite des 1000 logts” and the bad quality of its communal outdoor spaces discouraged all form of use and reduced it to a transit area. These results revealed that the layout of buildings, the arrangement and the quality of common outdoor spaces in residential neighborhoods have profound effects upon the use of the area and social interaction among residents. KEYWORDS: Communal Outdoor Space, Social Interaction, Design Layout, Housing Estates INTRODUCTION In Algeria, the fast population growth in the past 50 years has resulted in rapid urbanization all over the country. Algerian cities experienced continuous population growth because of migration from rural areas and natural growth of urban population and thus are faced with the problem of rapid housing production. Unfortunately, there was no governmental housing policy to face this galloping growth. Government involvement in public housing did not come about until the 1974. To deal with housing shortage, “Z.H.U.N” (Zone d’habitat urbaine nouvelle), great public housing projects funded by the Algerian government were launched throughout the country. This international model of housing, based on the process of prefabrication and standardization was intended to provide Algerian urban population with modern, decent and affordable housing. Most of the Z.H.U.N have been built on peripheral extensions and conceived in blocks of apartments arranged freely on vast open spaces. Initially, it was foreseen to endow them with all necessary facilities in order to satisfy the needs of the residents. Nevertheless, they remained incomplete, badly finished and deprived from all facilities for many years. The question of whether this model of housing leads to more anonymity has been an issue of concern to many social psychologists and environmental designers. Researches revealed the negative effects of such living environments which tend to be unfavorable to social relationship. (Lobout ,1968; Kaminski,1978; Keane, 1991; Coleman,1999) Common areas between the houses are important features that afford social activities in neighborhoods. Nevertheless, much of urban research seems to indicate that the decline of social life in housing estates is closely related to the design of their communal outdoor spaces. It is the spatial arrangement of the blocks that have been found to reduce the chance of social interaction among residents and influence the activity pattern. (Chombart de Lawe, 1952; Abu-Ghazzeh, 1999).