Abstract:
Urbanization is one of the most impactful human activities across the world today affecting the quality of urban life and its sustainable development. Horizontal expansions of developing countries urban centers have significant impact on the peri urban communities. Impacts of horizontal urban expansion include not only the loss of agricultural land but also displacement of peasants and change of their livelihood. This study investigated the effects of the expansion of the city on the livelihood of the dislocated farming community in Jimma city. Out of 13 gandas of Jimma city three of them were included from which 200 respondents were selected using different sampling techniques. Jimma city is one the largest of urban centers in southwestern part of Oromiya in which its expansion has changed peri urban community’s livelihood by changing peripherals agricultural land of the city into built up area. Consequently the small landholders were lost their land. . This process has negative impact on the livelihood of peri urban communities. The livelihood of per urban communities before land expropriation and after land expropriation is different. This study assured that these communities led better livelihood before they lost their agricultural land due to Jimma city expansion. They faced various socio economic problems such as unemployment and loss of agricultural land. Their participation in the process land and land tenure are insignificant. Because of which they seek economic support as well as new land policy that assure the right of peri urban landowners.
