Background and rationale
Cities are at the heart of the economic opportunities that underpin global development efforts. In most countries, their contributions to national and global development are considerable compared to their rural counterparts. These contributions can be seen in a variety of ways, including factors expressed in terms of econometric expressions, such as share of GDP and level of investment attraction, which are key to improving urban employment opportunities and services. For example, according to (Mazzanti, et al., 2020), urban areas, which cover less than 3% of the earth’s surface and are home to almost 55% of the world’s population, generate more than 80% of global GDP. What’s more, the share of urban employment is on the rise. For example, according to (Xue, et al., 2014; Wu, X., et al., 2018), the share of urban employment in China rose from 26.3% in 1990 to 32.1% in 2000, 47% in 2011 and 80% in 2017. In addition, urban employment in Ethiopia rose from 11% in 1999 to 15% in 2013 (Yalew, 2020). Furthermore, as the rate and level of urbanization increases, the role that cities play in national and global development becomes more evident. Consequently, with a projected urbanization rate of 4.63% per year (Kloosterboer, 2019), much is expected of Ethiopia’s urban economy and its capital city known to house 17% of the country’s urban population, as the country’s urban population is expected to triple by 2037 (World Bank, 2015; Spaliviero & Cheru, 2017).
The Ethiopian government must therefore strive to improve the performance of urban centers while increasing the level and rate of urbanization. The performance of urban areas depends on the quality of urban planning, management and governance, which determine how well urban areas function and serve their inhabitants. In addition, the level of quality of life and associated satisfaction in cities depends on the degree of justice and equity in urban operations and services. A lower level of urban spatial justice and equity represents minimal quality of life and satisfaction. Thus, the optimum level of quality of life and satisfaction is based on ensuring spatial justice and equitable development. These achievements enable all members of the urban community to access their fair share of resources, services and facilities, and maintain the balance between affluent and low-income families.
Spatial justice is at the heart of equitable development, improved quality of life, healthy living conditions and sustainable urban communities. Spatial justice is fair and equitable access to socially valued resources and opportunities, including public goods, basic services, cultural assets, economic opportunities and healthy environments, through fair, inclusive and efficient spatial planning, design and management of available spaces and resources. One form of spatial justice in the urban planning process is spatial equity. Spatial equity strives to provide households living in different parts of urban centers with equitable development opportunities. However, it is not uncommon to encounter urban planning interventions or inactions that, knowingly or unknowingly, favor people living in certain parts of urban centers over others. By increasing the accumulation of vulnerabilities, segregation and the gap between rich and poor, this situation increases spatial inequalities and poverty, undermining efforts to ensure equitable development in urban centers.
Intra-urban spatial inequality is one of the main factors contributing to social ills in urban areas, including poverty, rising crime, loosening of social ties, gentrification, urban sprawl and so on. It’s also one of the possible repercussions of spatial injustice, and represents a growing socio-economic disparity between city dwellers, particularly between rich and poor households. For example, signs of spatial injustice and intra-urban spatial inequality can be seen in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, calling its development into question. Growing spatial injustice and associated inequalities manifest themselves in a variety of ways, including the concentration of infrastructure, facilities, investment, employment opportunities and housing units in certain parts of the city, and the dispersion of these same elements in other areas. Although various factors can be attributed to the growing spatial injustice and inequality within the city, the proliferation of informal settlements within the city and the decision to locate social housing projects carried out by the government since 2004 in response to the city’s growing housing needs are some of these factors.
This study therefore aims to assess and measure the level of spatial injustice, associated inequality and perceived poverty within the city associated with informal settlements and social housing projects in the city. Based on spatial justice and equity indices, the study will follow a comparative analysis approach at sub-city level that attempts to compare the distribution of social housing projects and associated development opportunities, as well as informal settlements and related vulnerabilities. It will use a cluster sampling method to select households that can provide the necessary information on the issue under study into two groups, with the sample size calculated at a 95% confidence level. The results of the study should help identify areas of intervention to promote spatial justice and equitable development in urban centers, and reduce overall spatial inequality and perceived poverty in cities suffering from similar types of challenges.
