Wubshet Berhanu (PhD)Abebe Hambe2024-04-042024-04-042023-12-01https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/2713Urban expansion is a phenomenon that most countries with a lower urbanization level are faced with. Ethiopia is among the least urbanized but rapidly urbanizing countries in Africa. Urban centers are encroaching onto peri-urban areas and the pressure is greatest in towns surrounding Addis Ababa. This study focused on urban expansion and its impacts on the livelihood of peri-urban farmers in Burayu Town, Ethiopia. The town has been subjected to rapid urban expansion due to its location close to Addis Ababa and its designation as one of the towns for industrial development. The research sought to understand three distinct but very much related issues: historical trends of spatio-temporal LULC changes, expropriation and compensation laws and their implementation modalities; and the impact of land and property expropriation in the setting of public ownership of land on the livelihoods of households at the urban fringe of Burayu. The research employed a mixed research approach where qualitative and quantitative methods were intertwined with focus on descriptive methods to understand real phenomena of the research. Software including GIS, Erdas Imagine, CA-Markov, Auto CAD, Ms-Word, and SPSS-26, were used to analyze spatial transformation and household surveys. In the first case Landsat satellite imagery was used to analyze land-use change from 1980 to 2020 and the lesson was used to predict changes in type and magnitude for the years 2030 and 2050 using Markov Chain and Cellular Automata models. The analysis revealed that over the study period the proportion of built up area to total urban area changed from a mere 1.7% in 1990 to close to 48% in 2020 and to 68% by 2050. The areas of other major land uses decreased appreciably. Secondly, expropriation and compensation laws and practices in a public ownership context were analyzed in depth. Descriptive and analytic approaches were used in the research. The techniques employed for selecting case study kebeles was the purposive sampling techniques and a systematic sampling method was used for selecting households. Instruments used for data gathering include questionnaire survey, focus group discussion and observation. The findings indicated presence of discrepancies between the expropriation laws and how property valuation and compensation is practiced in Ethiopia. Thirdly, the research investigated the relationship v between land expropriations for urban functions on the livelihoods of project affected persons in Burayu town. A mixed research approach, sample t-Test model, regression analysis and a framework for sustainable livelihood development were used as analytical tools. The analysis showed that the socio-economic status of expropriated households has deteriorated due to the expropriation of their landholding. In conclusion, the findings of this research indicated the need to use modern technology for tracking LULC changes and the necessity to make urban expansion orderly and sustainable, development policies to be comprehensive; the expropriation process to be transparent and participatory and livelihood restoration plans to be part of the urban expansion scheme. Key words: Urban expansion, Land use land cover, expropriation, compensation, livelihood impact, farming communities, Burayu town, Ethiopia.enThesis