Exploring the Relationship Between Occupant Aspirations and Post-Occupancy Residential Modifications in Middle-Income Group Housing of New Delhi

Owning a residence is one of the main overarching ambitions of one’s life. Aspirations to improve or modify one’s home to attain a fulfilling lifestyle constitute another important life goal. However, little research has been conducted on occupant home aspirations related to residential modifications. This paper analyses the results of a three-phase post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of residential transformations in government middle-income group (MIG) housing in New Delhi. The POE is phased as indicative, investigative, and diagnostic to establish clear attribute variables for analysis. The first two phases of the POE, set the objective predictor variables as ideal room sizes and count, and the subjective predictor variables as “aspire to expand or reduce” and “desire to follow” rules. The study proved that these modifications have a detrimental effect on building and human health. The article presents the third phase POE statistical analysis of the predictor variables with demographics, of a questionnaire survey, of a purposive random sampling of MIG residents in different residential typologies like, detached houses, government and private, low-rise and high-rise housing, in 2024. The variables of ideal bedroom size and ideal toilet size were found to be significant across various housing typologies. The findings are that humans aspire to transform their residences, regardless of residential typology, gender, income level, or ownership type, but age and family size are significant drivers. Housing policy makers can incorporate occupant aspirations with design for resident satisfaction and have rules to deter rampant residential modifications, which are harmful to building and human health.