Perspectives for smooth bridging of dichotomized urban–rural land development in the peri-urban areas of Ethiopia: Toward a continuum approach

Abstract

The current trend of rapid urbanization in the global south is overwhelmed by an ever-increasing demand for land. This indeed has been exerting an objectionable pressure over peri-urban land located immediately outside of urban territories. This challenge is more severe in developing countries such as Ethiopia, where the urban and rural land systems are dichotomized and understood in isolation as two distinct entities. The need to broaden and understand perspectives for smooth bridging of urban and rural areas has been gaining more attention in the current discourse of viewing urban challenges and prospects. Hence, this study seeks to broaden perspectives for a smooth transition of urban development into rural areas and across peri-urban areas in a continuity and guided by a continuum approach to development. A desk review research approach supplemented by key informant interviews was employed as a research method. The findings of this study show that the dichotomized land policy and governance systems, along with the multiplicity of actors or institutions having competing and conflicting interests in peri-urban land have been hindering urban–rural development interconnectedness and continuity in Ethiopian cities. Moreover, a more nuanced perspective and understanding on the hindering factors for interconnectedness between urban and rural areas relevant for urban land use planning and policy-making are presented in detail in this study. Concurrently, this study promotes the need for a more inclusive continuum approach to land development policy that responds equally to urban–rural contexts and across peri-urban areas.