Statement of the problemy
The rapid increase of the world’s urban population coupled with the slowing of rural population growth has
led to a major redistribution of the population over the past 30 years by 2007 one half of the world’s
population will live in urban areas compared to little more than one third in 1972, and the period 1950-2050
will seen a shift from a 65% rural population to a 65% urban (United Nations Population Division 2001:2).
According to recent U.N. estimates, the urban population of Ethiopia is now expected to triple between
2010 and 2040, growing at an average rate of 3.5% per year. Ethiopia is now one of the most rapidly
urbanizing countries in the world (EUEI, 2013). Among the 80 countries that had more than 10 million
people in 2010, it had the 15th highest rate of projected urban population growth between 2010 and 2040.
Urban development is dependent on rural development and vice versa. The main challenges facing urban
areas in the country, Ethiopia are poorly developed social and physical infrastructure; shortage and
deterioration of housing; lack of recreation areas, inadequate municipal waste management; absence of well
integrated urban-rural linkage; unbalanced urban growth and weakly developed national and regional urban
systems. The situation in Hosanna town is not different from this Scenario. The problem may arise from
inadequacies of unplanned urban growth and neglected environmental prevention activities. However, to
the knowledge of the researchers there are no enough study on the nature, strength and situation of the
regional interaction of hosanna town, internationally, nationally, regionally and locally (hinterlands).
In case of Ethiopia, Rural-urban interactions are important elements of the livelihood strategies of both rural
and urban communities. This may be in the form of flows of people (migration), natural resources, products,
goods and services, information and money, or in the form of income diversification and others (Getnet,
2007). However, except some studies, for instance, (Mohammed, 2007, Tegegne, 2001) studies about the
rural urban linkages are limited in Ethiopia. Moreover, there is a variation in rural urban linkages both over
time and place (Lynch K., 2005). Thus, there is still a gap which needs further investigation since linkages
differ from place to place and over time.
The subject has attracted a lot of attention of geographers, economists, regional planners and sociologists. No doubt vast volume
of literature is available on the subject, but it is still required to study the nature and extent of rural-urban linkages of a particular
region. The present study was undertaken with the aim in mind to identify the determinants and factors that can help in achieving
socially and economically desirable linkages.
Therefore, this study focuses on the rural urban linkages in Hossana town and its hinterland.