Urban green spaces supply in rapidly urbanizing countries: The case of Sebeta Town, Ethiopia

Urban green space has gradually become an integral part of urban development strategies due to its important role in providing space for multiple ecosystem services for human well-being. Even though urban green spaces have multiple benefits, they are under strong pressure particularly in rapidly developing cities of sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we analyzed urban green space changes and their drivers in Sebeta town of Ethiopia from 2003 to 2016 by using three time series Landsat images of 2003, 2010 and 2016, land inventory, interview, focus group discussion, and field observation for data collection and a combination of techniques, including pixel based image classification, qualitative descriptive and GIS-based processing for data analyses. The findings of the study show that area of green space has decreased by 51.8% at the rate of 3.9% annual loss between the year 2003-2016 while the built-up area increased by 562.1% at the rate of 43.2% annual growth. Specifically, the study shows that about 1410.7 ha of green space were converted to built-up areas during the study period. The drivers for the change were physical expansion of the built-up area, population growth, high land value, laxity in the enforcement of planning regulations, corruption, lack of coordination between institutions, and limited awareness of the community about the benefits of green spaces. The study suggests strengthening of plan implementation capacity, public participation in urban planning and strengthening of the development control and urban green spaces management system as an important strategy to increases the supply of green spaces in urban centers.