Date of Submission
Spring 5-12-2026
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Robin Puttock
Abstract
Global displacement has reached unprecedented levels, with over 114 million people forcibly displaced worldwide (UNHCR, 2024). Although refugee camps are intended as temporary emergency responses, the average duration of displacement has extended to approximately 17 years. During this time, displaced populations are typically housed in rural, border-adjacent settlements with limited access to infrastructure, economic systems, and social services. Designed for short-term survival, these environments often fail to support long-term recovery, resulting in prolonged dependency and continued exposure to instability.
This research defines this condition as temporary permanence: refugees remain in camps for years or decades in environments not designed to sustain stable, healthy, or self-directed lives. The study investigates how both location and spatial organization influence access to opportunity, social integration, and recovery outcomes.
Focusing on Sudanese refugees in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this research examines the role of the city as an enabling system rather than a distant resource. Although Ethiopia’s 2019 Refugee Proclamation permits refugees to live and work in urban areas, most remain in peripheral settlements disconnected from urban infrastructure and opportunity networks.
This thesis proposes that refugee settlements should not only be relocated closer to cities, but structurally integrated with them. The project introduces a spatial framework organized through a central civic spine, informed by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, connecting housing to health services, community spaces, education, and livelihood programs. This spine mediates between the settlement and the city, linking daily life to broader urban systems.
By embedding refugee settlements within the urban fabric and aligning spatial progression with human needs, this research positions the city as a platform for recovery, participation, and mobility. The findings suggest that integration with urban systems can support pathways toward independence, social inclusion, and long-term resilience.