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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Villagization in a Growing Ethiopian Town: Kossoge, 1963-1998 |
Authors: | Carlson, Andrew J. Carlson, Dennis G. |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | Northeast African Studies |
Volume: | 5 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 117-133 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Ethiopia |
Subjects: | urban society villagization urban planning Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Politics and Government History and Exploration Development and Technology Urbanization and Migration Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment |
External link: | http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/northeast_african_studies/v005/5.2.carlson.pdf |
Abstract: | This article presents an analysis of the transformation of Kossoge in northern Ethiopia near the city of Gondar from a relatively isolated village to a full-fledged town from the early 1960s to 1998. Although population growth and educational opportunities contributed to Kossoge's development, the national villagization policy of 1986 and 1987 was the primary factor in the acceleration of the process of urbanization. In addition to improved living conditions, educational opportunities, commerce, and security, villagization, i.e. the forced resettlement of scattered households in planned urban settings, and the resulting urbanization, have fostered the emergence of a pluralistic culture which holds new possibilities for interethnic cooperation. The reasons for the selection of Kossoge among several possible locations were its roadside location and the villagers' previous efforts to develop their resources, especially the school. Villagization also brought together ethnic groups, notably the Amhara and the Kimant, which had previously lived at greater physical and social distance from one another. Most of Kossoge's residents seem to view villagization positively. The article tells the story of the new dynamism of Kossoge, giving attention also to population data, occupational structure, and housing. Notes, ref. |