Determinants of Peri-urban Land Use Management Practices in Case of Assosa City, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Peri-urban areas are today's metaphors for several rapidly changing and competing socioeconomic aspects of urban and rural power. Suburban areas are facing the challenge of active, illegal, and unauthorized spatial transformations. The division between the institutional and legal frameworks also exacerbates the issue. Robust and holistic land management are prospects for today's peri-urban areas to become tomorrow's huge cities. This study aims to examine determining factors of peri-urban land management practice in Assosa city peri-urban areas to support the design of effective land management systems. A mixed method study was used to collect primary and secondary data sources. The sample of peri-urban households was selected using simple random sampling techniques. Both descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis methods were utilized. The findings demonstrated that the bifurcated and ineffective legal and institutional frameworks, limited public-private organizational support and participation influence awareness and motivations of peri-urban landholders land management practice in suburban settings. Following this, the majority of peri-urban landholders consequently lack access to the land management practice. The estimated results of the binary logit model show the following variables: awareness, motivation, participation, institutional setup and land disputes were found to be factors determining peri-urban land management practice. The study recommends an all-in-one robust institutional framework to promote sustainable land management.