Baidoa

Baidoa has experienced strong urban pressure linked to drought-related displacement. UN-Habitat’s urban profile records a sharp increase in population and corresponding pressure on settlements, resources and livelihoods, making the accommodation of displaced people a defining part of the city’s recent growth rather than a temporary condition.

The city-wide strategy responds by setting a spatial framework for future development and identifying a northern extension area where growth can be structured more deliberately. It combines longer-term planning with proposed demonstration and fast-track infrastructure projects, connecting land development to service provision and the integration of displaced communities. Baidoa’s current urban agenda is therefore centred on how to convert emergency-driven expansion into a more legible and serviced city structure.