To speak of 'the family' and 'housing' is akin to speaking of 'the dancer' and 'the dance'. Their ties, their oneness, and their otherness are endless. In our experience they often seem one; in our thinking they can be separated and joined in endless patterns. Intellectually, they can be expressed singly: here is the dancer, here is the choreographic sequence, or, here is the family (big, small, extended, nuclear) and here are the plans of the house. But, ultimately, to speak of one is to speak of the other. Many factors separate the two, intervene between them, and serve to make them non-coincident. There are dwellings that have nothing to do with families (or nothing obvious to do with families) and families which may be conceived of beyond, or before, any dwelling. It remains true, nevertheless, that in overt ways and overt liaisons, each is rooted in the other.