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A different Africa : Spatial information design for a safer refugee settlement

The aim of this thesis was to explore the spatiality’s affect on refugee’s sense of safety in the Osire refugee settlement in Namibia. The gathered empirics together with previous research and theories should lead to a design for a spatial information system. The system should contribute to peoples’ understanding of their environments’ whole structure as well as showing the way to the health centre and the police station, thus increasing their sense of psychological and physical safety. A wish was also to breathe life into the point of intersection of spatial information design and human science. The methods used to enable this were first and foremost a field study in the settlement to experience and acquire first-hand information. In addition observation, introspection and several interviews were conducted. As a result I established safety to be an issue that could be solved with spatial design. Refugees expressed that not knowing your environment or finding your way leaves you scared, uncomfortable and confused. With the use of a spatial information system safety can literally be created, as demonstrated in the design proposal. The conclusion is that much could be done to spatially solve complex issues as long as it’s addressed from that perspective.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mdh-24176
Date January 2010
CreatorsAntonsson, Sandra
PublisherMälardalens högskola, Akademin för innovation, design och teknik
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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