Urban Development• Induced Displacement: Prospects And Challenges of Real Estate Development on the Livelihoods of Rural Communities. The Case of Lega
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Date
2009-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In the last few decades, the Ethiopian urban centers have experienced very fast rates of
urban growth. This rapid urbanization has resulted in the horizontal expansion of these
centers towards rural areas. This expansion is at the expense of prime agricultural lands
and has affected the livelihoods of farming communities dwelling in the urban fringes.
Communities and individual households have been displaced from their lands to give way
for economic development interventions. The main objective of the study is thus to assess
the major prospects and challenges that the development of real estates has on rural
livelihoods. A structured questionnaire was prepared and eighty household heads were
randomly selected from the displaced households and filled the questionnaires.
Moreover, data was also collected through focus group discussions and key person
interviews. The findings of the study showed that the participation of the community in
the planning and implementation of the program was negligible. Moreover, the
household vulnerability of the affected households had increased after their
displacement. The establishment of the real estate a/so mainly negatively affected the
livelihoods of the households as reductions occurred in their access to land and number
of livestock possessed. Meanwhile, the real estate also contributed to the betterment of
the people 's livelihoods as it created employment opportunities and increased their
access to basic infrastructure. Different livelihood strategies were employed by the
displaced households to cope with the changes in their livelihoods. Capacity building,
skill trainings, micro-credit services and helping the community to build their own houses
were also identified as areas in which development actors can intervene to support the
affected households.
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Urban Development