Dr. Shiwaye Mersha Tesfay secures funding to advance research on peri-urban land governance

Her current project, “Revisiting Land Transformation: Understanding the Role of Actors – Perspectives from the Peri-Urban Areas of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” contributes to advancing international debates on land governance, urban transformation, and sustainable development.

Since the outset, Dr. Tesfay has pursued an ambitious research agenda that integrates conceptual innovation, empirical inquiry, and international collaboration. A key scholarly achievement during this period is the publication of a co-authored systematic review article in the journal Land, titled “Peri-Urban Land Transformation in the Global South: Revisiting Conceptual Vectors and Theoretical Perspectives”. The article synthesizes previously fragmented academic debates and sheds light on the institutional, political-economic, and spatial dynamics shaping peri-urban transformations across the Global South. It also provides a strong conceptual foundation for ongoing and future collaborative research on land governance.

As part of her research, and in collaboration with her academic host Dr. Genet Alem, she organized a two-day workshop entitled “Navigating Peri-Urban Transformations: Land Governance and Sustainable Development in Ethiopia”, that brought together researchers and practitioners. The event focused on governance challenges, actor constellations, and pathways toward more sustainable and socially just peri-urban development.

By September 2026, Dr. Tesfay will complete the final component of her Humboldt-funded project, which aims to develop policy-relevant frameworks for sustainable peri-urban land governance in Ethiopia.