Urban Expansion and its Effect on the Tenure Security of Peri-Urban Landholders in Ethiopia

Urban Farm DB summary

A study of the rate and direction of spatial expansion of Robe Town, Ethiopia, into surrounding rural kebeles, and its effect on the tenure security of peri-urban landholders. It combined socioeconomic data from 202 sampled household heads with spatial data from Landsat images taken in 1987, 2002, and 2020. The town grew annually by 18.6% (1984–1994), 11.3% (1994–2007), and 9.3% (2007–2020), with its total area rising from 5.1 km² in 1984 to 80.2 km², a 40.9% overall increase. Over the 33-year period, built-up area expanded fastest southward, reaching 9.91 km from the town's mean center, and grew from 4.38 km² in 1987 to 27.9 km² in 2020; about 10.2 km² of farmland was converted to built-up land between 1987 and 2020. In peri-urban areas of Robe town, 48.9% of landowners lost around half of their farmland, leaving peri-urban landowners feeling insecure about their tenure due to fear of eviction and expropriation at minimal compensation.