Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate scheduling over multiple hops in a wireless communication network. Radio resources can be partitioned into sets of sub-frames that can be allocated statically and/or dynamically. Statically allocated radio resources can be reassigned over time based on the loading on each hop and/or throughput imbalance. In addition, dynamic assignment of sub-frames to each hop can be based on traffic or channel conditions. Moreover, the radio resources can be dynamically allocated in a distributed scheme, wherein a base station controls the scheduling of resources, or a centralized scheme, wherein a relay station controls the scheduling of resources. Furthermore the allocation of radio resources can be transparent or explicit. In the transparent case, the access terminal listens directly to the base station, and the relay station does not transmit control information, such as DL or UL assignments. Conversely, when the allocation of resources is explicit the relay station does transmit control information.