Urban and regional planning approaches for sustainable governance: The case of Addis Ababa and the surrounding area changing landscape

Uncontrolled urban growth, subsequent suburbanization, sprawling, and haphazard land development are the crucial urban development problems of Addis Ababa and the surrounding Oromia special zone causing environmental degradation and rural-urban land-based conflicts. In fact, this is mainly because of the lack of proper urban and regional planning approaches and methodology. Although different research works and planning attempts were made, there are still some openings to address interregional urban land development, a choice of regional planning approaches, and its implication on the growing local interest and urban-rural synergy. The objective of this study was to scrutinize approaches for sustainable urban and regional planning, management, and urban-rural synergy. Document analysis, observation, and interviews were employed to collect the data. The study identified top-down and non-participatory approaches of urban and regional planning, problems of good governance, and weak institutional frameworks. Therefore, an eclectic smart city-region planning approach is required for the sustainable rural-urban synergistic development not only in the study area but also in the country's urban system at large.