Cities of Change – Addis Ababa

Book excerpt: Addis Ababa is one of the fastest transforming environments on the globe and a prototype of an emerging territory. What can architecture and urban design as disciplines contribute to such transformation? According to which criteria can processes of the kind encountered in Addis Ababa be evaluated? And, how can all of this be steered? Aiming to identify sustainable strategies—rather than upholding an a priori vision of an ideal city—the publication acknowledges the heterogeneous conditions of urban territories. The book highlights questions of method and procedure that can be transferred to other ‘cities of change’. This revised edition covers recent developments, such as the increasing influence of China in African countries or the chances of high-density, low-rise developments.