Aspects of Building Typology and Their Influence on the Location of Economic Enterprises in Obunga Informal Settlement, Kisumu City
Publication Date
2019Author
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ArticleMetadata
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Abstract/ Overview
In a rapidly evolving settlement, finding an ideal location which satisfies all the factors an entrepreneur would consider in locating an economic enterprise isn’t an easy resolve. A business owner would like to have guarantee of maximum returns considering various factors and therefore, the analogy of comparative advantage comes to play. The study explores aspects of building typology and its impact on the location of economic enterprises in Obunga Informal Settlement in Kisumu city. It was guided by the systems theory, cross-sectional survey research design, multi-stage and stratified sampling techniques. The target population comprised of 211 economic enterprise owners (operators) which included 106 operators of retail shops, 39 operators of M-pesas, 30 operators of food kiosks and 36 operators of barbershops and salons. The corresponding sample size included 176 economic enterprise operators which included 80 operators of retail shops, 36 operators of M-pesas, 28 operators of food kiosks and 32 operators of barbershops and salons. A multilinear analysis results were presented using a model summary table, analysis of variance (ANOVA) regression model was used to test the corresponding hypothesis. Findings indicated a significant relationship between aspects of building typology and location of economic enterprises (F=10.824, critical value=2.094, α=0.05). This relationship was contributed by: house rent (β=-0.435, p=0.00), construction materials (β=-0.239, p=0.021), cost of building construction (β=-0.209, p=0.049), tenure status (β=-0.96, p=0.375), room size (β=-0.104, p=0.339), building accessibility (β=-0.129, p=0.270) and access to basic amenities (β=-0.07, p=0.095). The study concluded that the investigated aspects of building typology serves a key role in determining the location and resulting spatial pattern of economic establishments. The study recommends recognition of informal settlement’s economic enterprises for spatial planning in respect to the various aspects of building typologies.