On January 15, 1790, the French National Assembly decreed that the old provinces were to be carved up into 85 departements. But the new districts were soon to be criticized both by those who contested any idea of uniformity and those who claimed the new set up was irrational. There were heated arguments in 1851 about a new division, the region, which is still a hot issue. The word came from geography, then geographers became involved. To define the boundaries of new districts and to make sure these corresponded to permanent features of landscape, several elements were selected, among them rural housing. Geographers had to face the folk arts experts and architects. According to the evolution of architecture, geography, folk studies, the approach to the issue varied from purely scientifk to ideological, but it was never quite proved that housing could help define both an area and its people.