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Research Article
Hinterland Ecosystem Services Supply for Urban Residents: Application of Heckmans Two Stage Model for Contingent Valuation Study in Mekelle City
Shishay Kiros Weldegebriel
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, April 2024
Pages:
1-11
Received:
27 May 2023
Accepted:
26 December 2023
Published:
11 January 2024
Abstract: Ecosystems provide a slew of benefits, ranging from supporting social and economic growth to mitigating and adapting to climate change. Hinterland ecosystem services are vital for rapidly urbanizing areas, and the people who live within them. The ecosystem services used up in Mekelle city are provided from the adjacent hinterlands. The current situation indicates that the hinterland ecosystem services supply sources and willingness to pay for its sustainable provision of ecosystem services remain unknown. This study was conducted to offer policy decision making and achieve an improved understanding of the causal relationships between the urban residents' willingness-to pay and hinterland ecosystem services sources. Household survey with 384 urban residents from seven Mekelle’s sub-cities was conducted. The study applied Heckman’s two stage model using STATA to analyze the factors affecting the residents’ WTP. To study hinterland ecosystem services satellite images were used and were analysed using ERDAS imagine 15 and ArcGIS 10.5.1. The results exposed that 91.7% of the studied respondents are willing to pay for hinterland ecosystem services supply and had an average WTP of 2.21 USD per month. This could additionally enhance the perceptions of urban residents on ecosystem services. The factors that significantly influence WTP include variables M1 (years of stay in Mekelle city), M2 (Sex), occupation (M9), income (M10), family size (M11), water quantity (M12), water reliability (M13) and ecosystem services value recognition (M15). With regard to payout levels, the influencing factors include M1 (Years of stay in Mekelle city), M2 (sex), M9 (Occupation), M10 (Monthly income of your household), M11 (Family size), M12 (Water quantity), M13 (Water reliability) and M15 (Ecosystem services value recognition) are significantly related to WTP and payout levels. The results of this empirical study could help policy makers to understand better the ways to enhance ecosystem services supply for urban areas from hinterland ecosystem services and to identify effective policy instruments.
Abstract: Ecosystems provide a slew of benefits, ranging from supporting social and economic growth to mitigating and adapting to climate change. Hinterland ecosystem services are vital for rapidly urbanizing areas, and the people who live within them. The ecosystem services used up in Mekelle city are provided from the adjacent hinterlands. The current situ...
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Research Article
The Effectiveness of Land Use Administration and Governance on Controlling Urban Spatial Forms in Nairobi
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, April 2024
Pages:
12-23
Received:
15 November 2023
Accepted:
6 December 2023
Published:
18 January 2024
Abstract: It is recognised that in developing human settlements, the use and tenure of land should be subject to public control, since land is limited in supply. The demand for housing by the middle-income group in Nairobi, as in many other cities of the global south, is of a significant size, and growing at an alarming rate. This article demonstrates that this group is not only an engine of economic growth, but also a driver for new urban spatial forms, including residential developments. However, housing developers for the middle income group, in pursuance of high investment returns, are not necessarily concerned about complying with planning laws and regulations; they have found ways to negotiate with land administration and governance to realise returns from their investments. This phenomenon of non-compliance with planning laws and regulations is an on-going issue of concern for sub-Sahara Africa cities; it creates informality in urban development in that the resulting developments have aspects which are perceived to be outside formal planning stipulations. This article investigates the effectiveness of land use administration and governance on controlling middle-income housing developments in Nairobi. Qualitative interviewing was aimed at understanding perceptions of the planning system by both planners and developers, and how and why their interests differ. It was of interest to this research to find out why non-compliance in land use planning is tolerated or ignored. The study argues that even though developers defy the planning system, their contribution to the production of habitable space is commendable because they bridge a large gap in urban housing provision – they play an important role and planners would do well to embrace this. Non-compliance in land use planning, and informalities in housing developments thereon, does not necessarily produce inappropriate housing for the residents. Resulting residential developments have a niche in the housing market and serve a housing need, affirming that local perceptions and realities are not in sync with formal planning requirements of the state.
Abstract: It is recognised that in developing human settlements, the use and tenure of land should be subject to public control, since land is limited in supply. The demand for housing by the middle-income group in Nairobi, as in many other cities of the global south, is of a significant size, and growing at an alarming rate. This article demonstrates that t...
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Research Article
Participatory Issues on Urban Upgrading Projects: The Case of 35 Meda LDP, Addis Ababa
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, April 2024
Pages:
24-34
Received:
13 December 2023
Accepted:
3 January 2024
Published:
18 January 2024
Abstract: The Addis Ababa city government has taken urban upgrading as one of the major interventions to improve and maintain infrastructure and services for the benefit of the community and to make the city economically vibrant, socially equitable, and environmentally viable without relocating the local residents. It requires the need and interest of inhabitants and stakeholders' involvement in the planning and decision-making process because participation is the heart that pumps the community’s lifeblood—its citizens—into the community’s business; it is a condition for success. The government will only achieve many of its objectives if it fully involves citizens and communities. Therefore, the general objective of the research is to assess participatory issues in urban upgrading in Addis Ababa in the context of community participation by taking the 35 Meda LDP upgrading project as a case study. The researcher used both a qualitative and quantitative approach to a descriptive type of research. The data sourced for the study were primary and secondary data sources, including interviews, group focus discussions, desk reviews, and archival research of official records. The study employed 46 sample sizes, which consisted of 38 in-depth interviews with key informants and 8 participants in FGD through purposive sampling methods. The data was collected from kebele and private land owners’ residents, youths, traditional peacemakers, gender, technical experts, woreda, and sub-city leaders, as well as archival and desk reviews. The findings were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The findings of the research showed a low level of participation that did not involve the integration of different stockholders during the planning and decision-making processes of local development projects, resulting in less demand responsiveness, less efficiency, less effectiveness, and less coverage due to structural, administrative, and socio-economic factors such as political influence, bureaucracy, weak governance, and barriers to information dissemination that were the main factors influencing community participation in the project area. Based on this, the study recommends promoting capacity buildings, ensuring active participation by all groups of community and stakeholders, ensuring integration and cooperation among different stockholders by the lead agency, and ensuring good governance.
Abstract: The Addis Ababa city government has taken urban upgrading as one of the major interventions to improve and maintain infrastructure and services for the benefit of the community and to make the city economically vibrant, socially equitable, and environmentally viable without relocating the local residents. It requires the need and interest of inhabi...
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