Characteristics of Squatter Houses in Burayu Town Adjoining Addis Ababa, Capital City of Ethiopia

Abstract

Expansion of squatter settlements and burgeoning of slum are among the challenges being posed by rapid rate of urbanization especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. Burayu town is one of the fastest growing towns in Oromia National Regional State of Ethiopia. The town is located about 15 kilometers from the center of Addis Ababa metropolis, the capital of Ethiopia. The population of Burayu town was 4,138 in 1984; 10,027 in 1994; 63,873 in 2007 (Census) and has grown to 150,000 in 2014 (estimated), showing that the population of the town has increased by more than 36 folds within the past 20 years. The town is characterized by many land related problems like proliferation of squatter settlements, expansion of slums and other illegal land developments. This article tries to identify characteristics of squatter houses in Burayu town in relation to location of the houses in environmentally sensitive areas, construction materials of the houses and accessibility of the houses to public utility services and facilities. By random purposive sampling method, 246 squatter households were selected from different social segments of the squatter households in the town and quantitative data and qualitative information were collected from primary as well as secondary sources and analyzed. The finding indicates that the characteristics of squatter houses in Burayu town are not different from characteristics of other houses which are developed in legal manner in the town. But, 58.1 per cent of the squatter houses are located in environmentally sensitive areas which are prohibited by the Structure Plan Preparation Manual prepared by Ethiopian Ministry of Urban Development and Construction, 2012. The common characteristic is the lack of ownership of the residential land on which the squatter houses have been built.

Key Words: Squatter and squatter houses