Emerging trends of urban expansion from 1993 to 2023

Urban expansion has an impacts on socio-economic and environment condition. The enormous growth in population has a substantial influence on the land as a result of human-related sustaining activities, such as shelter, infrastructure development, food production, and natural resource extraction. However, continuing exploitation and mismanagement land resources are becoming increasingly scarce. The aim of this study is to analyze emerging trends of urban expansion from 1993 to 2023 the Case of Dire Dawa City, Ethiopia.Both Primary and secondary data were collected. The primary data collected by using questionnaires, interview, focus group discussion and observation. The secondary data also collected from published and unpublished sources. These chiefly include: books, encyclopedias, previous research work, academic journals, and public documents. A multistage stratified random sampling and purposive sampling applied to determine the sample size. The study was employed descriptive-explanatory research designs. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in terms of frequencies, percentage, graphs, and pie-charts. The findings showed that the agricultural land which covered more than half of the total LULC area in 1993, declined due to land degradation or construction-related land clearance. Vegetation cover saw fluctuations trend that could attributed to deforestation, urban encroachment, or land conversion for other uses. These changes highlight a clear trend of increasing urbanization at the expense of agricultural and vegetated areas, underscoring the need for sustainable land management strategies. On the other hand, built-up areas experienced a dramatic increase due to rapid urbanization and infrastructure development, likely driven by population growth and economic expansion. Therefore, the city administration should give due attention for integrated land use planning, sustainable resource management, and environmental conservation strategies. Without proper intervention, the continued expansion of built-up areas and the decline of productive land may threaten ecological balance, food security, and the long-term well-being of communities.