elamiskogemus

Elamiskogemus is an Estonian term describing the lived experience of housing and daily life in a dwelling. It refers to residents’ subjective perceptions of their homes and surroundings, rather than purely objective indicators like rent or floor area. The word combines elamu (dwelling) and kogemus (experience), and it is used in sociology, urban planning, and social policy to emphasize how people actually experience living conditions.

Scope and dimensions include physical environment (housing quality, maintenance, safety), social environment (neighborhood relations, discrimination, social support), economic and tenure factors (affordability, stability, security of tenure), and psychosocial aspects (well-being, sense of belonging, privacy). Elamiskogemus focuses on how these factors affect daily life, stress, and overall quality of life, complementing quantitative measurements with subjective meaning.

Applications and methods: the concept appears in qualitative housing research, user-centered design, and policy evaluation. Researchers gather elamiskogemus through interviews, life-history approaches, diary studies, or other narrative methods, often analyzing data thematically to reveal lived realities and needs that may be overlooked by standard indicators.

Relevance: in Estonia and the Baltic context, elamiskogemus is used to study housing transitions, homelessness, displacement, and social integration, as well as to inform inclusive housing design and tenant empowerment initiatives. It aligns with broader ideas of lived experience and quality of life, and with human-centered and rights-based approaches to housing.

Criticism: the subjective nature of elamiskogemus can complicate cross-group comparability and policy benchmarking; interpretations must be context-sensitive and methodologically rigorous.

See also: lived experience, quality of life, user experience, housing policy, social housing.