Regulating Urbanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa through Cluster Settlements: Lessons for Urban Managers in Ethopia

Abstract

1. INTRODUCTION Urbanization per se is a process, and can not just, be understood only in terms of the number of rural-urban migrants, but also the functional relationships among and between the actors. It is a process that takes into account human, economic, social, amenities.., etc agglomerations, which translates an area of country side or village, into a town or part of one or the further growth and expansion of already existing urban centers. The increase in the proportion of urban vs the rural population, the continuous life style changes we observe in every day, the adoption and consumption of new technologies, and innovations of various issues, including, economic, social, cultural, administrative, political and many more, and the general gradual transformation of the traditional life into modernity, the relinquishing of the rural life by the urban, etc are all the phenomena where urbanization can be explained. Therefore urbanizations is a positive development factor, capable of enhancing access to adequate shelter in a built environment, and through a gender sensitive and participatory approach, enable communities to have infrastructure access, governance, security, and employment opportunities (Yachan, 2005). The process has several positive and negative multiplier effects; a managed urbanization provides opportunities for development, and if it goes in the wrong direction, urbanization can result in a number of malfunctioning particularly for the urban economy, an area where the veins of the national economy is anchored. Economic activities in urban centers, depending on the level of development, account for between 50 to 80% of the nations GDP, with the clear trend that, the quality of life for most people in the future will be determined, to a large extent by the quality of urban centers in their region. The increasing contribution of urban centers to countries' gross domestic product (GDP), globally, has made urbanization and urban development an attractive tool for economic development and poverty alleviation. This arises from the population threshold advantage, making urban centers the domain of trade and consequently employment. Strong urban economies in such conditions can serve as the engine rooms of production, and sustainable urbanization (Adelman and Morris, 1971; Jacobs, 1984). The potential benefits of urbanization are, nevertheless, threatened in sub-Sahara African countries by the fast pace of urbanization with the uneven spatial spread of urban centers. This has occasioned a situation of accelerated urbanization without an accompanying economic growth to produce the public and private goods necessary for housing, infrastructure, and urban employment at the required scales (UN-Habitat, 2004). With urbanization level of about 40% and annual growth rate of 3.9 %, Africa's urbanization experience is unprecedented both in time and space(African Development Bank, 2005). This fast pace of urbanization especially in SSA, has created many problems which urban managers must grapple with. This is in addition to the spatial patterns; which depicts primate city structure an indicator of a lopsided urban system. Primate city example can be found in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ghana just to mention a few. However, well managed urban growth and development can contribute not just to economic advancement but also to reduce poverty and improved quality of life for all citizens, including the poor(Un-Habitat, 2002). Ethiopia, a predominantly agrarian country, has the lowest urbanization level- (16%) with and highest urban growth rate. The national urban growth rate is over 4.1%, higher than, the average African growth rate of 3.9%. The country is enmeshed in the circumstances of high prevalence of urban poverty, rapid increase in urban population, with the poor facing vulnerability in various issues: poor sanitation, inadequate shelter, overcrowding, high proportion of vulnerable women, youth, children, elderly and destitute with very low incomes, high risk of disease and poverty trap for many residents (Ministry of Works and Urban Development, 2007). …

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