Designing for Belonging: Cultural Sustainability as a Framework for Rethinking North American Suburbia

Abstract

Suburban tract housing in North America was built on the promise of the “American Dream,” yet its rigid, standardized forms continue to exclude the cultural practices and spatial needs of immigrant communities. This thesis reimagines the suburban home through the lens of transnational domesticity, asking: What if housing could adapt to the rituals, rhythms, and relationships of those who live across cultures?

Focusing on the Indian diaspora in Canada, the research investigates how immigrant families actively reshape their homes—through spatial layering, generational adaptations, and hybrid uses that reflect cultural continuity. Drawing from theories of cultural sustainability, transnational identity, and spatial production, it highlights these transformations not as informal exceptions, but as vital design knowledge.

In response, the project proposes a flexible housing model built from a “kit of parts”—a system that supports growth, co-authorship, and cultural belonging. It calls for a new suburban paradigm—one that sees home as a living framework, not a finished product.