Assessment of Determinants and Modes of Access to Urban Residential Land and Housing Among Different Income Households in Jimma City Administration, Oromia National Regional State, Southwest Ethiopia

The overriding objective of this study was investigating determinants and modes of access to urban residential land and housing in Jimma City Administration (JCA), Oromia National Regional State, south west Ethiopia. To meet the intended target, a cross-sectional research design was utilized. The unit of analysis of the study was both governmental and private organization workers. To answer research questions and attain those research objectives stated earlier, both primary and secondary data sources were employed. The primary data were gathered from respondents, while secondary data were gathered through document analysis. Simple random sampling technique was employed to select institutions from which respondents were selected and to select respondents from 20 sampled institutions. To generate pertinent empirical data for the study, the schedule method (interview questionnaire), interview guide and observation checklist were employed. The findings of the study clearly showed that the JCA has a serious problem of both quality and quantity in relation to residential housing. To the contrary, the supply of residential land does not commensurate the existing need for the land. Above all, land administration and management system of the city has a pervasive problem of good governance. The study also showed that, there was a significant difference between respondents on the basis of their socio-demographic status. For instance, there is a significant difference between respondents earning different monthly income. Access decreases with decreasing monthly income. Moreover, the binary logistic regression model result showed that gender, household size, educational level, length of years of service, monthly income and duration of stay in JCA are the chief determinants of access to residential land in the city at 5 % level of significance. On the whole, Jimma City Administration has a serious problem of access to residential land, and there is a significant difference between respondents in accessing residential land by virtue of their socio-demographic status. It is likely that shortage of residential land will be one of the causes of head ache to the city government. Thus, the shelter crisis will undoubtedly be the cause of a thorny political environment in the country, in general, and in the city, in particular. To stop the problem from occurring, it is important firstly, to assign competent and efficient managers and technocrats to the city government. Secondly, urban land is a scarce resource requiring careful and efficient administration and management system. Thus, the Jimma city administration should start using the modern registration and cadastral system so that it can use its scarce resource efficiently and economically. Thirdly, regional government and the JCA must redesign new land allocation system that takes into account low and moderate income households.