Abstract

This paper explores the impacts of the fast spatial expansion of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, on the suburb small-scale farming community. Recently, combined with rapid population growth and booming economy, the city experienced a rapid physical expansion without proper urban planning. The sprawl of the city has dislocated small-scale farming communities in the suburbs and led to one of the major deadly popular protests against land dispossession in the modern history of the country. The physical expansion to surrounding farmlands has threatened the socio-economic life of farming communities surrounding the city through dislocation, resource dispositioning, and why the situation has received ethnic dimension. This study highlights that in addition to the natural urban growth, corruption in the government and the use of land for political leverages have played a significant role in the forced eviction of peasants.

Key words: Addis Ababa, development, displacement, Oromo protest, urban growth.