Urban Expansion and the Changing Socio-economic Life of the Surrounding Rural Community: The Case of Woreda 03 Lami Kura Sub-City, Addis Ababa City Administration
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Date
2021-10
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Addis ababa university
Abstract
This study has examined urban expansion and the changing socio-economic life of rural communities surrounding Addis Ababa with special reference to woreda 03 of Lami Kura sub-city. It emphasized the impacts of urban expansion on job opportunities of the households, and assessed the impacts of urban expansion on educational participation of the rural household members, the health condition of rural households and community after urban expansion, attitude and perception of rural households on urban expansion, social relationships and resource of rural households before and after urban expansion. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In-depth interviews, FGDs, observation and survey methods were used as tools of data collection. In addition, secondary data were also collected from different sources. To analyze the urban expansion and the changing socioeconomic life of the surrounding farming or rural community the study used economic growth and sociological urban expansion theories. The study exhibited mixed findings. On the one hand, it was found that majority of the rural households lost their individual farming plots, communal grazing lands and subsequently the possibility of holding large livestock population due to lack of space. Consequently the peasant households were forced to change their livelihood orientation from mixed farming to specialized urban agriculture, employment in service sector jobs, construction works and manufacturing sectors jobs. Incorporation into urban setting also resulted in social disarticulation wherein the displaced farming community‟s social fabric was torn apart due to changing patterns of social organization, and scattered interpersonal and kinship ties. Likewise, life-sustaining informal networks of reciprocal help, local voluntary associations, and self-organized mutual services were disrupted resulting in loss of social capital. On the other hand, the study revealed that despite the initial economic disarticulation due to loss of traditional livelihood basis educational participation of peasant children has significantly improved due to construction of new schools in the area and easy access .Improvements in terms of access to healthcare and other urban social services have also been observed in the course of the study. Taking into account the above stated mixed results, the current researcher came up with a conclusion that if the process is properly planned and managed, it is possible to offset the losses incurred by farmers during initial displacement and loss of key assets, by benefits accruing to the same families due to access to improved economic and social infrastructures, and better employment opportunities.
Keywords:-urban expansion, household social and economic change, unemployment.
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Keywords
urban expansion, household social and economic change, unemployment. v