The three-decker : structural correlate of Worcester's industrial revolution

Roger A. Roberge

Abstract

It has been said that the dwelling provides a concrete indication of the manner of man's adaptation to space. According to this view, the distribution of farmhouses, city tenements, suburban and single family homes can only be understood in terms of a complex interrelated elements. The nature of the economic base, attitudes towards environment, the distribution of economic activities, the level of technology are but a few of the elements to be kept in mind when using this approach.

The object of this paper is to explain, in the manner explained above, why the city of Worcester has relied to an unusual degree on a dwelling form known as a three-decker to supply the housing needs of a large proportion of its population.