Abstract:Sustainability of urbanization requires planned development of urban centers, competent institutional frameworks in place and proactive management and governance strategies. In light of this, the paper examines the practice of master planning and the extent of its implementation and challenges of land management in Arba Minch as emerging regional town in the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR). The data for the study were generated by household survey of 340 household heads selected through systematic sampling, key informant interview with individuals actors in planning, management, informal land transaction in the town. Personal observation and extensive review of various policies, plans, and directives was made in order to assess the issues planning and management of urban land. The paper revealed that the master plans prepared so far for the town have been implemented; however, could not adequately achieve the primarily intended goals such as joining the two settlements i. e. Secha and Sikella in the first master plan, for instance. The study also showed that archaic land information management system, informal land acquisition, corruption, land speculation and land related conflicts have become the challenges of land management in the town. These problems are associated with topdown planning process and, weak institutional frameworks. These all imply that there is an urgent need for giving adequate attention to the planning approaches and management systems of urban land before things get out of control as it is the case with the oldest urban centers of varying size in Ethiopia. Therefore, the concerned bodies who are responsible of planning, implementation and management of land have to be curious whether what is being carried out is intended to bring sustainability or otherwise. This is mainly because the growth of the town is irreversible and the town is continue to expand spatially, socially and in economic spheres which all together will pose unforeseeable challenges.

This study investigated groundwater potential in the Western escarpment of the Ethiopian Rift valley, taking Dijo catchment as a case study, an area that is known for its critical shortage of water. Different thematic layers were used to determine the groundwater potential of the catchment. PCI Geomatica and Rockwork were used to automatically extract lineament and lineament orientation, respectively. Weights of parameters were computed using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Rank was assigned to each feature class for each thematic map according to their characteristics and interrelationship with groundwater. Once the mapping was done, validation of the estimated result was done. Accordingly, the result indicates that there is a matching between the analysis results and samples taken from boreholes with an accuracy result of 79.2%. The results revealed that nearly half of the catchment was found to have high-to-very-high groundwater potential while the remaining exhibiting limited potential for groundwater. Despite the high potential, there is a critical shortage of water. This is partly attributed to poor planning and limited capacity in identifying water resource potential. Thus, we suggest that efforts should be made to exploit the available water resources thereby to solve the societal problem.

This article assesses the motivations for participation in the informal economy in general and street vending in particular and explores vendors’ livelihood dynamics in Dire Dawa city, Eastern Ethiopia. Data were collected from fixed and itinerant vendors who were found vending a variety of goods and services in the city during data collection. A descriptive survey design was employed in this study. Time location sampling procedure – a new method of two-stage sampling that has been widely used to select the hard-to-reach segment of society – was employed to select 198 street vendors. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews and observation during 2016/17. The study revealed that the majority of vendors report that they engaged in street vending for survival. But some consider it is an opportunity for income, employment and growth, and livelihood improvement in the city. The majority of vendors indicated that there have been improvements in their lives since they started vending. Thus, this study points to the need to employ multiple perspectives to capture the reality underneath livelihoods in the informal economy. Policy approaches that recognise the vitality of public spaces for street vending activities, the integrality of vendors to the socio-economic fabric of the city, and their modest contributions to the socio-economic development of the city are necessary.

No abstract