Analysis of Residential Function Spatial Variation of the City of Rwandz

Abstract

                One of the most fundamental human requirements is a place to live. Through a variety of architectural and socio-economic factors, this role became a significant function that cities provide and an essential feature that caught the interest of urban scholars. The paper aims to disclose the spatial variation of the characteristics of the Rwandz city's residential function by utilizing a questionnaire, statistical analysis, and GIS tools to classify the residences into areas within the city and evaluate and clarify the specific aspects of each region. Besides, using a suitability model to select the best residential locations in the city. The paper was separated into three major sections: the study area, methods, and results and discussion. The paper was able to classify Rwandz city into four residential regions: the old and dilapidated houses region, which occupies 10% of the total housing units; and the regions of medium-quality houses, good-quality houses, and layout houses, with percentages of 43.8%, 36%, and 10.2%, respectively. The paper tested the correlation between the criteria to determine the spatial relationships of the residential function, it found that the central parts of the city differ from the relatively newer periphery, in terms of residential characteristics. Through the suitability model, the highly suitable categories do not live up to acceptable levels, it occupies 7.3% of the city. In addition, the paper found that the levels of suitability do not match the reality of land values in many areas of the city.