Resumen
In Ethiopia, the flourishing of industrial parks in the suburbs of major urban centers is a recent phenomenon. The outbreak of COVID-19 has had an adverse impact on the emerging industrial parks and prospects of cluster cities. The aim of this article is to explore the different urban planning measures employed during the pandemic and to propose sound planning methods for the development of sustainable industrial-oriented urban centers. In Ethiopia, industrial-oriented urbanization started in the 1920s with the advent of the railway line. Currently, more than 25 industrial park-based cluster cities have flourished adjacent to cities. A number of initiatives have been undertaken by major stakeholders in these cluster cities to combat COVID-19. Their efforts, however, were made difficult because urban planners were not proactive and did not have foresight in the selection of sites that can mitigate the impact of COVID-19 or other similar pandemics. The researchers believe the problem could have been addressed if the planners used a science-based, human-focused, computer-aided decision-making approach, i.e., space syntax. Therefore, this article recommends that planners become proactive and work in collaboration with different stakeholders for the creation of resilient and livable industrial parks-oriented urban centers.