Increasing number of residents in rapidly urbanizing cities of sub-Saharan African are experiencing growing exclusion. This study aims to examine socio-spatial exclusion in housing markets and seeks to understand policy and market-based trajectories of exclusion in Hawassa City, Ethiopia.
A mixed-methods approach was used, combining primary and secondary data. Interviews, document reviews and housing price data were gathered. Tender-based data for 1,927 plots over a 10-year period was obtained from the city’s land development department. In addition, 120 Global Positioning System-based housing price data points were randomly collected, considering location in X-Y coordinates, housing types, distance from the central business district (CBD) and sale repetition. Data were analyzed thematically, and spatial patterns of housing prices were mapped using techniques like inverse distance weighted interpolation and Moran’s clustering in ArcGIS.
The study revealed a growing trend in housing prices driven by policy and market forces, leading to spatial exclusion. Gaps in housing policy drove demand for peri-urban areas, fueling black markets and gentrification, which exacerbated socio-spatial exclusion over time. Housing prices in formal and informal markets show a converging trend, driven by neoliberal policies and market forces prioritizing urban land values. Housing prices exhibit spatial disparity, with significant hikes observed at 4 km from the CBD, reflecting the impact of location and policy. The findings demonstrate an evolving polycentric urban hubs driving socio-spatial exclusion in housing markets.
Based on the findings, this study calls for further research on viable housing policies to promote a socio-spatially inclusive housing market in rapidly urbanizing sub-Saharan African cities. This requires analyzing robust housing market data (both spatial and nonspatial) across inner-city and peri-urban areas, exploring innovative land management approaches and understanding the housing realities of low-income urban residents using ethnographic approaches, including deeper socioeconomic and political forces.
The study has implications for promoting inclusive housing policies and market options in rapidly urbanizing cities of sub-Saharan Africa, supported by robust housing/land market data, primarily targeting on the housing realities of households at the lower end of the market. Rapidly urbanizing cities could also promote urban entrepreneurialism by advocating policies that create markets to drive socio-spatial inclusivity.
This manuscript presents a scientific case on the social and spatial dimensions of housing markets within the context of embedded housing policy frameworks and market forces in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on a case study from Hawassa, Ethiopia, it also provides empirical data and sheds light on the exclusion/inclusion literature and urban rent theory. Based on the findings, the study also emphasizes the emerging implications – growing gentrification and socio-spatial exclusion – reflecting neoliberal urbanism in the housing markets of Hawassa City.
