REGULATING URBANISATION IN SUBSAHARAN AFRICA THROUGH CLUSTER SETTLEMENTS: LESSONS FOR URBAN MANGERS IN ETHIOPIA

Against the backdrop that urbanization in sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries, including Ethiopia, has occurredwithout the attendant growth and development spillovers; and that the inherent benefits of urbanization arethreatened by the fast pace of urbanization, unparalleled speed and the uneven spatial spread, This paper positsthat this challenge and indeed urban management can be address through a proxy regional planning tool; clusterformation. Settlement cluster formation that focuses on the potentials of small and medium towns. Small andMedium towns are supposed to represent a necessary link between the complex, sophisticated urban life and thesimple, undiluted rural existence. They tend to combine the attributes of the two space-economies (Urban andRural). They are, therefore, instruments through which the much desired rural-urban linkages can be strengthenedfor sustainable urbanization. The focus of the paper is on Regulating Urbanization in Ethiopia through Clustering ofSettlements as a tool in Urbanization and Urban Management. Information and data assemblage was carried outthrough a review of urbanization issues; such as trends, local economic development opportunities, andurbanization options amongst others. This was further strengthened with a desktop analysis of pertinentgovernment documents. The findings reveal that economic and settlement clusters within the framework ofexisting urban dynamism (small and medium town) can be formed in Ethiopia. It can serve as a reliable instrumentfor settlement stabilization and consequently sustainable urbanization. The paper recommends deliberatedispersal of mini-industrial and commercial corridors via Cluster formation as a major instrument for deflecting thearmy of migrants.