Poor Romans lived in "insulas" the roman equivalent to flats. They usually had 3 or more floors and had many little rooms. The rooms got light only through windows which had no glass in them. On the ground floor there were shops. The bottom 3 floors were made of stone and the further up ones were made of wood. When Augustus ruled the maximum height was 20 metres, later was reduced it to 17 metres. It was reduced because the insulas would often collapsed or catch fire, but they were still dangerous.
Insula is the Latin word for Island.
The higher the floors were, the cheaper and less likable the rooms were.
Insulas were mainly unpleasant places to live in because of poverty and violence so only lower class and some middle class Romans lived in them. Most of the Roman population would come under this category.
Random Fact: Romans also had graffiti, it was found in similar places as today and was usually about elections.
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