Crowding research is periodized taking into account the expansion of the presence of this concept in the social sciences: social psychology (late 1970 s – 1980 s); economic and environmental sociology, social geography (1990–2000); socio-political and medical sociological research (2010–2020). A set of indicators is systematized, with the help of which foreign researchers conduct empirical studies of household crowding. Objective and subjective indicators are considered in the context of the methods used by the authors to evaluate both crowding itself and its consequences. Typological groups of the population are distinguished, which are most often considered by researchers as the most vulnerable in terms of the quality of the housing situation itself, as well as its negative consequences. In contrast, groups are named that have certain advantages from objective overpopulation and do not suffer from perceived crowding and are even able to experience it in a positive emotional way. It is concluded that there is a lack of methodological integrity and uniformity of approaches to determining the level of housing stress associated with overdensity of living space and human crowding, and the prospects for further research necessary to increase methodological elaboration are determined.
living space; residence; house; dwelling; tightness; density; overpopulation; crowding; indicators.