The urban paradox and the primacy of good governance in Ethiopia: a systematic review

While urbanization is often portrayed as a pathway to economic growth and improved living standards, evidence from Ethiopian cities reveals deep inequalities and governance failures that challenge this view. This article reviews literature on the interplay between the urban paradox -the contradiction between cities’ overall access and growing internal disparities - and the role of good governance in Ethiopia. It applies a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) following PRISMA standards, analyzing fifty-six empirical studies from 2000 to 2025. The review integrates insights from governance and urban development frameworks to explore how governance mediates the urban paradox, either mitigating or exacerbating it. Findings indicate that Ethiopia’s rapid urbanization has not yielded equitable outcomes due to weak institutional capacity, limited citizen participation, political capture, and inadequate transparency and accountability. Governance gaps persist in land administration, public service delivery, and participatory planning, although practices like performance-based grants, participatory budgeting, and emerging digital governance tools have led to localized improvements. The analysis concludes that good governance anchored in inclusiveness, transparency, responsiveness, and accountability is essential for transforming urban growth into broad-based development. Without structural reforms, effective decentralization, and institutional integrity, the ‘urban advantage’ will remain out of reach for many. This study recommends strengthening the legal and fiscal autonomy of city governments, institutionalizing participatory planning, enhancing digital transparency systems, and integrating traditional mediation structures into formal governance mechanisms. Achieving equitable and sustainable urban transformation in Ethiopia requires embedding good governance principles across all levels of urban policy and administration.