Intraurban residential preferences in the city of Sana'a, the Republic of Yemen

This study examines intraurban residential preferences in Sana'a, the capital city of the Republic of Yemen. Other aspects of the city's urban development related to the study topic are also discussed.;Outer peripheral areas of the city received the highest positive preference rankings compared to inner-city zone areas. The strong residential preference for such outer and lower-density areas implies a preference for high land space consumption which will result in a scattered urban development. In this Third World city, some areas of the city core and those areas nearby still play a significant role in the residential preference patterns of certain segments of the urban population. Among such segments are some of the higher status socioeconomic groups, particularly those engaged in commercial activities who have shown significant preferences to some of the transitional zone areas immediately located around the central zone of the city. Also, some of the other socioeconomic groups, such as the unskilled and semi-skilled workers, tend to show some central orientation for their residential preferences.;Some important relationships have been established by this study, especially those regarding: (1) the inverse distance-decay function in residential preferences, (2) the negative relationship between residential preferences and population density, (3) the home area proximity effect in residential preferences, (4) the sectoral orientation in preferences, and (5) the growing significant socioeconomic variations in residential preferences.;The dissertation has also discussed the perception of the land use patterns by the respondents in relation to the residential preferences of various areas of the city. Generally, the study found that this variable of the perceived land use intensity tends to be negatively correlated with the variable representing distance from the city center. Meanwhile, the variable "perceived intensity of land uses" tends to be positively associated with the areas' population density.;The study also revealed that people's urban image varies with their socioeconomic background. The level of educational attainment was found to be the most important component which tends to have more influence in that regard. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).