7.

7 settlement type and pattern

 Settlement are places where people have come to live in common where people carry out
varieties of activity such as agriculture, manufacturing, commerce …
 Settlement type mainly developed by the response of some physical and human factors

7.7.1 types of settlement

Based on dominant economic activity ,population density and availability of socio-economic and
infrastructural facility settlement can be rural or urban. urban centers have non-agricultural activities
as dominant , while the rural center have agriculture based activity.

 Rural settlement
 The majority of Ethiopian population lives in rural settlement consisting of
hamlets and villages
 It involves activities like farming ,minning,forestry, pastoralism etc.
 It can be temporary and permanent depending on frequent change in the site
of settlements
 Temoorary /mobile /settlement

The low land in most part of the rift valley are being genraly hot and dry characterized by pastorial
herding and mobile settlement . settlements are mobile because pastorialists have always been
searching for new site for water and pastor for livr stock

The major problem of mobile settlement are providing social service like water , hospital ,school etc

 Permanent settlement

Settlements are considered as permanent if there are no frequent changes in their locations.

Mostly permanent settlements are involved in rural high land areas where crop cultivation are
participated
It can be scattered (dispersed ) in which home steeds are separated by relatively long distance and can
be grouped settlement which is characterized by large concentration of home steed and house hold at
one place.

 7.7.2 Urban settlement and urbanization in Ethiopia

urbanization refers to the increase in the percentage of the population living in urban center.

The process of becoming urban, changing from agriculture to other pursuit of life are indicates of
urbanization.
Urbanization is crucial to sustain the pace of economic development and improve the qualities of life
for both urban and rural population in which the linkage between urban and rural foster agro
industrial development, However unemployment, housing shortage, infrastructural and service
shortage become communal unless urbanization is not managed properly.

The major criteria used to classify settlements as urban in Ethiopia are:

i. Minimum of 2,000 people;
ii. Two-thirds of the population engaged in non-agricultural activities;
iii. Chartered municipality;
iv. The presence of social services and amenities

The number of settlements meeting these criteria in 1984 was about 322. These settlements

had 10.23 percent of the total population of the country and this is one of the least urban

population sizes in the world. The number of settlements with greater than 2,000 people in

1994 had increased to 539. These have 12.8 percent of the country's population. In 2007, the

number further rose to 927. Today, the urban population is about 20 percent of the country‟s

population.

An over view of the history of urbanization in Ethiopia

Before the foundation of Addis Ababa as a capital city, the earliest capitals and other towns

did not have a permanent population exceeding 6000. These centers were not capable of

acting as centers of the rural hinterland in their years of existence. .

The only prominent urban centers were Axum, Lalibela and Gonder.

Modern urbanization in Ethiopia is associated with the establishment of Addis Ababa as a

capital by Emperor Menelik II in the late 19th century. Unlike earlier capitals, there had been

different factors that contributed to the growing and permanency of Addis Ababa as a capital

city that are indicated as follows.

 Introduction of the fast-growing Australian eucalyptus tree which satisfied the firewood

needs of the ever-growing urban population.

 Water supplies improved due to the introduction of wells and reservoirs.

 Introduction of modern schools, hospitals and health centres, hotels, cafes, bars,
bakeries,
 butcher‟s shops, cinema, post office, modern cathedrals, telephone and telegraph system,

bank, printing press etc.

 The construction of roads that radiate from Addis Ababa; and the arrival of the Franco

Ethiopian railway at Addis Ababa in 1917.

 The Italian occupation had also intensified the establishment of small-scale industries and

institutions, road construction thereby contributing to the growth of the city.

However today, Addis Ababa is not only the capital of Ethiopia; rather the diplomatic capital of
Africa.

Numerous embassies and consular representatives cluster in the mountainous city where the

Organization of African Unity, now the African Union, and the UN Economic Commission for

Africa have their headquarters. Addis Ababa is geographically at the very heart of Ethiopia which has
congenial climatic condition.

For the past several decades, the country has experienced a very low level of urban development,

despite its high rate of urbanization. Ethiopia is a least urbanized country even by African

standards. In the words of some writers, Ethiopia is regarded as a „vast urban desert‟. The

country‟s low level of urbanization can be attributed to

 The self-sufficiency of agriculture which reinforced rural peasant life;

 Low level of industrialization, low level structural transformation and economic development
 The morphology of the country that hindered transportation and communication

 The continual warfare for centuries between kingdoms in to which the country is divided; and the
frequent changes of the royal residence
 Lack of employment, and housing shortage in urban areas that discourage in migration;
 Political instability, ethnic conflict and social unrest during the late 1970s and 1980s;

Derives of and opportunities for more urbanization in Ethiopia

These days, urbanization is proceeding at a much faster rate in Ethiopia. The urban

population is growing at about 5% a year, primarily driven by migration to urban areas. The

proportion of the urban population of Ethiopia in 2015 (20%) is projected to mount to 37%

by 2035.Some of the conditions which have been contributing to expansion of urban areas
are (drivers of urbanization):

 The establishment of Addis Ababa as a centre of expansion, and its permanency

thereof.

 The construction of the Ethio-Djibouti railway line along which many stations have

developed into important towns.

 The five-year Italian occupation which has contributed to road building, the

establishment of small-scale industries and service giving institutions.

 The integration of the provincial capitals and major administrative centres found in all

directions by all-weather roads radiating from Addis Ababa.

 Political decentralization and provision of administrative status of some urban

settlements

 Proximity to existing cities and main transportation corridors trigger new urban

development through agglomeration and metropolisation effects

 High Population density and growth rates in the populous highlands of Ethiopia

facilitate the emergence of towns

 Presence of new and large commercial farms, mining areas, and agro-industries such

as sugar factories; as well as mega projects like fertilizer factories, cement factories

that attract people

 Large infrastructure investments such as airports and highways, and dry ports that
attract investment and create jobs encourage urbanization
 Opening of Universities that support entrepreneurial activity and innovation in their

local economies

 Tourism assets and attractions such as parks, resort centres, and heritage cities and

sites contribute to urban expansion.

 Development of border towns with strengthened inter-country trade