Alley houses were prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; their small size made them less expensive in high demand property markets.
They have often housed working-class people, immigrants, and/or young families in industrial towns who may have otherwise been excluded by these property markets.
[1] Alley houses have declined in their prevalence due to demolitions enacted by governments which were often driven by class prejudice.
For example, in urban Canada numerous alley-facing homes (known as laneway houses) have been constructed in recent years to meet increasing demand.
[4] Archaeological studies of Dilmun settlements in Bahrain, structures which were built in Eastern Arabia some time between the 4th and 1st millennia BCE, have demonstrated examples of alley houses in an ancient society.