Mulatu wubneh - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mulatu wubneh

Local and urban governance, 2022

Planning for Cities in Crisis

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Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2011

This article analyzes the subjective perception and personal experiences of minority faculty in p... more This article analyzes the subjective perception and personal experiences of minority faculty in planning schools/programs with regard to racial/ethnic discrimination—whether minority faculty feel welcome and how much such experiences affect their work. The study is based on a climate survey conducted in 2009. While a majority (about 60 percent) of the faculty felt welcome, another 40 percent expressed that they have experienced and/or observed discrimination and have been subjected to offensive conduct. What can institutions such as the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) do to improve the climate? The study identifies strategies and programs that ACSP can consider to help member institutions develop effective initiatives.

educational institutions comprise some of the most successful inventions of humankind. Entreprene... more educational institutions comprise some of the most successful inventions of humankind. Entrepreneurial establishments are only momentary organizations when compared with those of higher education. Some universities and colleges count their beginnings over seven hundred years in the past. Many have failed, sometimes owing to internal weaknesses or external events. Successful colleges and universities have depended upon skilled leadership, practiced faculty, competent sta∂, financial assets, and flexible responses to the change of the years to create and foster an environment of scholarship. Institutional experiences di∂er within the framework of an encompassing pattern. East Carolina University, chartered in 1907, had determined to serve the community that created it. As the years passed, other groups and interests joined. Although based on a hundred-year-old concept, this youthful university journeyed beyond past practices and shunned ivory towers. Its motto, "To serve," reflected a commitment to change, if needed. It intended to serve as a repository of ancient learning, a laboratory for new understandings, and a projector of visions to benefit society. By 1980, the university had assembled a body of intentions-promises-to cultivate. East Carolina had been successfully desegregated. Undergraduate degree programs won new students. Fine arts had obtained essential physical plants. Arts and sciences also benefited from construction and library expansion. The professional schools-business, allied health, and education-either had realized long-standing building goals or had plans to obtain them. The medical school partnered with Pitt Memorial Hospital and completed the last touches to its core campus. Other graduate programs, while postponed by the University of North Carolina system, made their way slowly and cautiously to reality. To continue to advance required a fully supportive financial base from East Carolina's parent, the North Carolina General Assembly. Other fiscal sources included student tuition payments, patient fees, foundation grants, and individual contributions. Faculty members had carried heavy teaching x pr e fac e and service assignments for the previous twenty years so that existing resources might support new programs. To achieve many of the university's promises, individual faculty would depend on more assigned time for research. Younger members must be recruited to help reach new academic heights. Required laboratory instruments and other resources had been too long deferred. Long-range plans were shaped to lead the university to new levels of achievement. During the next generation East Carolina would hurry to keep its commitments. The university successfully spent the last third of its first century keeping promises made in the past. With the first century's conclusion, despite false starts and external interruptions, East Carolina prepared to greet its second.

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2019

The main objective of this study is to examine local communities' perceptions and use of green in... more The main objective of this study is to examine local communities' perceptions and use of green infrastructure (GI) in two case study cities: Bahir Dar and Hawassa in Ethiopia. The study employed a binary logistic regression model to identify factors that affect perceptions of GI. The result shows that people have distinct patterns of usage and positive perceptions towards GI in their respective cities. The regression results show that gender, age, accessibility, safety, education level, type of green infrastructure, level of awareness, location and opportunities for social activities are statistically significant predictors of perception. It is evident that urban GI development that addresses local communities' perceptions needs to be sensitive to these variables.

Planning Perspectives, 2020

ABSTRACT Resilience and sustainability are concepts that are widely used in socio-ecological lite... more ABSTRACT Resilience and sustainability are concepts that are widely used in socio-ecological literature to assess the capacity of social and ecological systems to cope with hardship. Lately, these two concepts have gained importance in the planning literature as they are used in evaluating the resilience and adaptability of urban systems. Urban resilience refers to the ability of an urban system to adapt and fully function to maintain its form, structure and identity irrespective of hardship. Adaptability helps to understand the historical and cultural transformation of cities as they go through recovery after a major historical crisis. Based on concepts of resilience and sustainability, this paper analyses the historical transformation of the city of Gondar (Ethiopia) including the crises it faced in the 19th and early twentieth century. In the last hundred years, Gondar has struggled to maintain its historic identity and economic significance. This paper also identifies the strategic development measures that historic cities can take to revamp their economy and build a sustainable community. With a strong leadership and a visionary plan, historic cities can resort to their distinctive cultural resources and rich natural assets as they adapt to spur their economy and maintain their historic identity.

Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 2015

ABSTRACT Ethiopia and Sudan share a common boundary of over 1600 km which was drawn through a ser... more ABSTRACT Ethiopia and Sudan share a common boundary of over 1600 km which was drawn through a series of treaties between Ethiopia and the colonial powers of Britain and Italy. To date, this boundary has not been clearly demarcated. In 2007, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, the current ruling government, entered into a secret agreement with the Sudan to make adjustments on the border. This paper identifies the major factors that have frustrated efforts to address the Ethio-Sudan boundary problem and also proposes solutions on how Ethiopia and Sudan could resolve their differences. The analysis reveals that political, social and cultural factors; the decision to adopt the western concept of the boundary; and the failure to recognise the historic and cultural constructs have contributed to the frustration of negotiations on the border. The paper proposes that Ethiopia and Sudan embrace the African Union Border Program, which encourages mutual cooperation, regional integration and the building of communities with strong economic and cultural ties.

With a decline in productivity, a rise in foreign debt, and over five million people affected by ... more With a decline in productivity, a rise in foreign debt, and over five million people affected by drought, Ethiopia is currently faced with the most serious economic crisis in its history. While the solution to the current problems is evidently most urgent, at the same time there is a ...

Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies, 2004

This empirical study examines the impact of manufactured housing (MH) on the values of adjacent s... more This empirical study examines the impact of manufactured housing (MH) on the values of adjacent site-built residential properties using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and large data samples for three counties in North Carolina, USA, for the period of 1994-2000. Both property appreciation rates (AR) and property values (PV) are examined with respect to proximity to MH. While ARs are based on a simple measure of value appreciation, PVs are estimated in a linear regression based hedonic price model, which is designed to captures the contributions of structure and location attributes to property values. Results indicate that the appreciation rates slightly decreased with distance from a MH unit in Buncombe and Wake, but the reverse is true in Pitt. The statistical analyses reveal that proximity to a manufactured home influences the value of nearby site-built residential property. Estimated property values show that the further away from a manufactured home, the higher the site-built property value, other things being equal. 1 In 1976 HUD began to require manufactured housing producers to comply with the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standard Act of 1974, generally referred to as the HUD Code. This requirement has improved substantially the quality of manufactured homes built in recent years.

Cities, 2013

As the national capital, Addis Ababa remains the economic, political and administrative hub of Et... more As the national capital, Addis Ababa remains the economic, political and administrative hub of Ethiopia. In the last 50 years, the city has gained international significance as the headquarter of the African Union (AU), UN Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) and a regional office for a number of international organizations including UNDP, UNESCO and the European Economic Commission (EEC). However, like many cities in the developing world, Addis Ababa is facing a number of problems related to population growth, lack of economic opportunities, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of housing, and large areas of informal development with major environmental problems. This profile identifies some of the strategic planning elements that the city could adopt as Addis Ababa strives to develop into a premier metropolitan area for a sustainable community and a diplomatic capital.

Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines, 1989

Wubneh and Abate have written a survey book providing useful review information about Ethiopia du... more Wubneh and Abate have written a survey book providing useful review information about Ethiopia during and after the Haile Sellassie era. The authors discuss a wide range of topics supplying clear illustrations of tables, diagrams, figures, maps, and photographs. The book is divided into seven chapters, the first and fifth chapters providing background information about geography, state, population, culture and society of Ethiopia. The information in chapter five should have immediately followed chapter one to provide uninterrupted flow of background information; but this is not terribly important. The remaining chapters discuss opposition to imperial rule, military rule, economy, international relations and prospects for change and stability. The authors provide a summary of the main points at the end of each chapter, where they also make their own observations. Regarding the problem of transition and development in Ethiopia, the book subscribes to existing explanations that ascribe Ethiopia's problems to drought, policy excesses and failures, optimistic targets, limited resources, and unfavorable political climate.

Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines, 1985

African Development Review, 2003

Abstract: This paper analyzes capacity building in Africa based on the experiences of the African... more Abstract: This paper analyzes capacity building in Africa based on the experiences of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). The ACBF was set up through a collaborative effort of African Govern-ments, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program ...

African Urban Quarterly, 1987

The study analyzes the socioeconomic characteristics of urban areas of Ethiopia by developing a c... more The study analyzes the socioeconomic characteristics of urban areas of Ethiopia by developing a composite index. The social and economic attributes of the urban centers are examined by using a principal component analysis coupled with a linear combination of the factors. The analysis reveals that there exists a significant difference among the urban areas for example middle-sized cities have begun to play a major role in stimulating rural economies; large cities are facing problems of increasing demand for more services. The significance of multivariate analysis in analyzing the dynamics of urban areas are emphasized in the study. (EXCERPT)

Land Use Policy, 2018

Ethiopia is one of the few African countries that have implemented a revolutionary land reform pr... more Ethiopia is one of the few African countries that have implemented a revolutionary land reform program that still retains the relics of the socialist ideology, specifically, the state ownership of land. Since 1975, the country has undergone a major transformation in implementing land reform policies and other major economic programs that have contributed to the development of an unsustainable land use structure that has become a burden on the national economy. The purpose of this research is to examine the current land use system in the context of the various policies and programs of the government. The analysis reveals that the land use system in Ethiopia is riddled with a host of problems including insecurity of tenure, fragmentation and diminution of farm sizes, corruption associated with land stocking by individuals and corporations with strong political ties, the displacement of farmers and poor urban residents, and the issue of expropriation and unfair compensation for land taken from land owners. The study recommends major reform programs related to right of ownership, land confiscation and compensation, institutional capacity building, protection of prime agricultural land and local environment, and addressing problems of land grabbing and land banking.

This paper analyzes trends in economic development in North Carolina to determine whether there h... more This paper analyzes trends in economic development in North Carolina to determine whether there has been evidence of per capita income convergence in the state during the period 1970-2000. The analyses reveal that (a) there has been a process of convergence of per capita income in the state in the past three decades, and (b) income convergence in NC occurred during a period of economic expansion and divergence during economic decline. However, a comparative analysis of metro and non-metro counties as well as among traditional geographic areas indicates that there was a general trend of divergence in metro areas and convergence in non-metro areas. This trend suggests that there are pockets of affluence and pockets of poverty existing side by side in the state. The regression analyses reveal that while the initial level of per capita income, human resource development and population growth had a significant impact on income growth, the impact of urbanization and investment in infrastr...

Northeast African Studies, 1991