Activities of common places in informal settlements: The case of selected streets and shared compounds of Abnet area, addis ababa
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Date
2016-12
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Addis Ababauniversity
Abstract
Researches were conducted on the housing issues such as physical condition,
transformation, identity and so on. The importance of common places and their use as part
of the activities that takes place and the significance of these activities for inner-city
neighborhoods of Addis Ababa, however, were not given much weight. Thus, the main
objective of the research is to explore activities of common places in one of these
neighborhoods.
To investigate this, a case study approach was selected, as it is the best fit for descriptive,
explanatory and exploratory questions. Moreover, it is the most appropriate to collect data in
a natural setting. Accordingly, qualitative data is collected in the form of semi structured indepth
interviews, mapping, photography and notes from personal observations. The case
area, Abnet, was chosen based on the fact that it‟s a dense inner-city informal settlement.
The research focuses on streets and shared compounds of a neighborhood. The streets
based on activities taking place and other geographical features, are sub divided into two
main categories, namely access and nodal streets, and small neighborhood streets, which
are more intimate serving mostly residents of immediate compounds. A total of ten streets
and seven compounds were studied.
Accordingly, the main findings are: activities can be classified into four major categories
namely, business activities, recreational activities, household activities and Social/cultural
activities. It was revealed that, overlap of different types of activities is a common scenario.
The type of places the activities occupy are found to depend on the types of activities. The
research strongly suggests that overlap of activities is useful for maximum utilization of
space with other socio-economic and recreational advantages and that it should be fostered.
When planning and designing common places there should be hierarch of common places
and they should be planned in a way that they can accommodate layers of activities
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Keywords
shared compounds