Abstract:
Informal settlement can be defined as any form of illegal housing, shelter, or settlement
that falls outside of government control or regulation or is not afforded protection by the
state. Currently, an informal settlement has become a source of social, political, and
economic problems in parts of Ethiopian towns. Tercha town also has similar
characteristics as other towns of our country on informal settlement. Analyzing the
assessment of the Spatio-temporal Pattern, Causes, and Consequences of Informal
Settlement through Geospatial Techniques is the main objective of this thesis whereas
analyzing the land use land cover pattern of the study area from 2001 to 2021. To
achieve the main and specific objective of the study mixed approach that comprises
social and spatial analysis techniques was used. The pattern of settlement decreases
agricultural land and forest land areas by 23.14 %( 2651.83ha) and 3.03%, (346.27ha)
and increases the buildup areas by 9.78% (236.87) to (1356.85ha) over the last twenty
years by changing land use land covers. The cause of the expansion of informal
settlement in the study area originate from different sources; Current political situation,
population growth, weak governance, land lease expensiveness, land speculation, high
house rent at the center, the land market value increases, too weak law enforcement with
the existing policy was among listed by respondents. The consequences of the expanding
informal settlements include challenges to the implementation of the structural plan of
the town, violation land use plan, loss the revenue, encroachment of good agricultural
land, high rate of social vices, deforestation, and inadequate infrastructure.
