A Call to Action: Moving Hawassa Beyond Corridor Development
Hawassa stands at a defining moment in its urban history. The city’s expanding road networks and corridor developments are visible signs of progress and ambition, and they deserve recognition. These projects have reshaped parts of the city and improved mobility. Yet Hawassa must now confront a critical truth: physical transformation alone will not secure a livable, inclusive, and sustainable future. The city deserves more than roads and corridors. It deserves people-centered development grounded in equity, good governance, and environmental stewardship. This is a call for Hawassa’s leaders, planners, and development partners to move beyond a narrow infrastructure-first approach and address the city’s most urgent structural challenges. Rapid urbanization and population growth have pushed the city into a severe housing crisis, with nearly half of residents relying on informal housing. Skyrocketing rents, weak land administration, and illegal peri-urban land transactions have created wide...