The Role of Migration in Driving Urban Horizontal Expansion: The Case of Woldia Town, North Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
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Date
2025-05-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Ethiopia is still one of the least urbanized nations in the world, despite the fact that many of its urban areas including Woldia, are expanding quickly. Due to its rapid horizontal expansion, Woldia has recently encountered major urban challenges. A significant problem linked to this expansion is the growing demand for urban land and space, which is primarily caused by migration-related population pressure. The annexation of agricultural land at the rural periphery as a result of this migration has further contributed the town's horizontal growth. Development in both rural and urban areas is impacted by migration. This has been significant challenges to Ethiopia's development in general and Woldia's urban growth in particular in recent years. The study aims to identify the main drivers and effects of migration, as well as the contribution of remittances to the horizontal growth of Woldia, and evaluates the trends of land use and land cover changes of the town from 2000 to 2020. To achieve the study's objectives, information was gathered from a randomly selected sample of 395 respondents using questionnaires. Besides, interviews, focus group discussions, personal observation, and GIS tools were employed. Secondary data sources were also used and both qualitative and quantitative analyses were employed. Apart from the utilization of percentages, tables, and averages, the discussion was enhanced by the use of diagrams and photographs. The results show that the main driving forces behind migration are inadequate social services and poverty in the places of origin of migrants. On the other hand, the primary pull factors are better social infrastructure and employment prospects at the destination. As a result, peri-urban areas where housing supply and accessibility are still limited are under a lot of strain due to the migration inflow. Additionally, the findings indicated a disparity in socio-economic development between rural and urban areas. The result showed that there was remittance driven spatial growth at the periphery. Additionally, the LULCC findings showed that migration-driven population growth alters the town's land use patterns with a decrease in agricultural, forest, and barren lands, and an increase in built-up areas which has a significant impact on the prime agricultural land nearby. As a result, migration has driven the town's horizontal expansion in the peri-urban areas by increasing its population which consequently creates more space for various socio-economic developments. It is remarked that without a workable and suitable policy solution in place, the town's horizontal expansion cannot be reversed in the future. Therefore, planners and policymakers at the local, regional, and national levels must have a thorough understanding of the dynamics of the growth occurring in order to effectively support migrants. Furthermore, in the context of fast urban population growth, effective urban expansion planning should be employed to build inclusive, productive and orderly urban areas by allowing space for additional urban inhabitants at the appropriate scale in places where migrants are likely to dwell.
Key Words: Driving, Horizontal Expansion, Migration, Remittance, Woldia