Abstract:
This thesis intended to explore the economic and spatial potentials of the old kebele houses at the
downtown of Arba Minch. Redevelopment of these settlements is under practice where relocation
of kebele settlement and erasing all the socio economic chain are eminent leading to gaps of
delivering housing for the low-income. This research zoomed in to the economic and spatial
potentials of kebele houses. It assessed characters, types and sizes of income generating activities
affecting the spatial aspects of kebele houses studying trends and similar cases in the reviews of
literature. Methodology continued by collecting qualitative data through photos, maps, interviews
and sketches which are then analyzed by: appropriate excel diagrams and modeling at BIM
software like autodesk revit and auto-cad. While quantitative data are collected by questionnaire
deployed to random sample of 70 kebele households and administrative bodies. In-depth spatial
and socio-economic data are collected from non-randomly selected 4 households. Study area is
chose by selecting a site that is prone to such development in the downtown which perform income
generating activity. Mesgid Sefer under Kulfo Ketena administration (previously known as Kulfo
Kebele administration) is selected as it is located in the downtown and many old kebele houses
exist with higher income generating activity. It is found out that low-income households�۪ great
asset is their labor, their ability to provide services and get daily income. Activities they perform
to sustain their livelihood sometimes go parallel with the domestic space requirements while some
other times go against. These relationships are summarized by 5 models. It is also found out that
social values are supported by street side open spaces�۪ spatial quality which connects with the
active economic potential of the site. Finally, design of kebele house is proposed that can sustain
the individual family and the town at bigger scale.
