Settlement

Phenomenology is one of the outs tanding theoretical paradigms in contemporary s tudies in architecture and urban planning. However, the phenomenology of place in artworks, especially painting and drawings (visual arts), through architectural modalities could be a subs tantial attempt and a new subject that needs more s tudies. The purpose of current research is to achieve a method based on which the phenomenon of place in the visual arts could interpret and explained more accurately. For this aim, a qualitative and descriptive method is applied. In this s tudy, based on the theories of Martin Heidegger and Edward Ralph on the one hand and the ideas of Chris tian Norberg-Schultz, on the other hand, a framework for the phenomenological s tudy of the place has been proposed in three s tages of description, analysis, and explanation. Besides, the drawings of Sohrab Sepehri, one of the famous contemporary artis ts of Iran, have been s tudied as an example by applying this framework to show the efficiency of the proposed framework and method. The results of this s tudy show that the interpretation of artworks based on these three s tages consis tent with the s tage of phenomenological reduction and cons titution which is common in phenomenology. Sohrab Sepehri's drawings were well in line with the phenomenological concepts of place and its components and variables introduced in this research. The challenges of applying this framework discussed and enhancing its validity by further s tudies in the works of other artis ts, recommended. 

Migration of people to urban areas from the rural areas usually comes with its challenges in terms of infrastructural requirement and housing to cater for growing population. One of the challenge for the urban dwellers in Nigeria is that of adequate housing. The inability of the government to meet this demand has seen the people concerned seeking alternative solutions to housing need. The resulting settlements are usually unplanned hence becoming a challenge for government to manage in terms of providing infrastructure facilities. With the growing incidence of global warming and the attendant increase in flooding in most urban areas of Nigeria, especially between year 2000 and 2013, the safety of the people who live in slums have become a concern to the state governments due to issues of flooding and collapsed buildings. Government usually evicts such people and clear the settlement; however the people simply relocate to another area. The aim of this paper is to exامینe how community participation can be used to provide housing for the urban poor based on their living requirement, drawing from the experience of selected case studies from Kenya. The research method adopted for the study is a qualitative research method using case studies of selected communities in Kenya and selected communities in Nigeria. A comparative analysis is drawn with these communities. The research concludes by proposing how community participation process should be incorporated into provision of housing for the urban poor.