Interviewer instructions
2. Basic definitions
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2.2 Concepts about dwelling, households and population
Below the characteristics of dwellings are defined, so you can identify which you should visit during your job.
Dwelling
Place delineated by walls and covered by roofs, with independent entrance, where people generally eat, prepare food and are protected from the environment.
It is important to point out that the independent entrance permits its occupants to enter and leave the street, field or even a common space with other dwellings, like hallway, patio or stairwell, without passing through the rooms of another dwelling.
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Dwellings are divided into two large groups, according to their occupation characteristics.
Private: are those where one or more people inhabit who form households.
Collective: those used to lodge people subject to the norms of coexistence and behavior for reasons of health, education, discipline, readjustment, religion, work, or legal or military causes.
- Hotel, motel, inn.
- Boarding house, guest house, house of assistance.
- Hospital, sanitarium, house of health, center of medical treatment.
- House for minors, orphanage, cradle house.
- House for older adults, nursing home.
- Lodging for victims of domestic violence.
- Lodging or public rooms for indigents.
- Boarding school, student residence.
- Convent, monastery, religious congregation, seminary.
- Jail, prison, penitentiary, penal colony.
- Rehabilitation center for juvenile delinquents, correctional center.
- Work camp, work barracks, petroleum platform, medical residence.
- Barracks, camp, military, naval or police detachment.
- Refugee camp and lodging of victims.
It is your job to get information of all private dwellings that are located in your work area. Getting the information of the collective dwellings will be done by another team of interviewers.
On your route you can find different classes of private dwellings, such as:
- Independent house.
- Apartment in a building.
- Dwelling or tenement house
- Dwelling or room on the roof.
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- Premises not built for inhabitation.
- Mobile dwelling.
- Shelter.
Independent house
It is a private dwelling that does not share walls, roof or floor with another dwelling and has an independent entrance to a street, road or field.
Apartment in a building
A private dwelling that forms part of a building of many floors or levels; shares any wall, roof or floor with another dwelling and has an entrance from a common hallway, stairwell, etc.
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Dwelling or tenement house
A private dwelling that forms part of a collection of dwellings grouped in the same plot of land; it can share a wall, roof or floor with another dwelling; it has an independent entrance from a space or common area: patio, hallway or stairway. Generally its inhabitants share the sanitary services and access of water.
Dwelling or room on the roof
Room located on the roof of a dwelling or apartment building
Each room on a roof belongs to or is assigned to a dwelling or apartment; nevertheless, people can live here who do not share expenses for eating with the people who occupy this apartment. Only in this case is it considered a separate dwelling.
In some cities, like Mexico City, they are known as service rooms and are located on the roof of buildings.
It is not considered a dwelling when people who sleep in the room on a roof are domestic workers or members of the same household that occupies the apartment, or also when no one lives in the room.
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Premises not built for inhabitation
Building that was built for any economic or specialized activity, like factory, store, storage, lighthouse, workshop, wine cellar, office, school, but at the moment of the interview is used for living.
The space used for living can be the whole premises, or only part of it.
If during the visit, the premises or building is not inhabited, it is not considered a dwelling.
Mobile dwelling
A vehicle or instillation that can be transported from one place to another and that at the moment of the interview is used for living. For example, trailer, rolling house, railroad car, boat, camping tent, circus tent, or similar things.
It is only considered a dwelling if it is used for living at the moment of the dwelling.
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Shelter
An improvised or adapted place that at the moment of the interview is used for living. For example, a cave, sewer, drainage pipe, tunnel, etc.
It is only considered a dwelling if it is used for living at the moment of the census.
Uninhabited dwellings and of temporary use
During the route of your work area, it is possible that you find private dwellings like an independent house, apartment in a building or tenement house, where no one lives or are only occupied temporarily.
The Counting has a special interest in identifying and counting these dwellings; because of this it is important that you keep in mind the following aspects.
Uninhabited dwelling
Independent house, apartment in a building or tenement house, that is available to be inhabited, but that at the moment of the interview does not have residents and is not used for any economic activities, for example, commercial, industrial or service.
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If any independent house, apartment in a building or tenement house is used only as an office, school, or store etc, but no one lives there, it is not considered an uninhabited dwelling.
Dwelling of temporary use
Independent house, apartment in a building or tenement house that is available to be inhabited, but at the moment of the interview does not have residents and is only used at certain times or days of the year, for reasons of vacations, breaks or work.