The vast sprawl of Addis Ababa’s unplanned reaches is giving way to a new phenomenon: the rise of vertical expansion. As the capital’s unreliably counted population reaching upwards of five million burgeons to the doorstep of the Oromia Regional State, the skyline dominated by one-level chaos is transforming into organized multi-level designs with an eye to condensed growth.  But while these new apartment blocks sprout and leave a stark architectural footprint, their ability to cope with the annual addition of over 400,000 residents and remain affordable to their targeted low and middle income clients is questionable. A brief examination of the forces that have created their necessity provides an inkling of explanation as to how the capital has taken it current confused face.

Building Blocks That Don’t Fit

The heavy-handed paternalism of the Derg Regime where businesspeople were prohibited from undertaking investments with a capital of more than 500,000 Birr and were not permitted to construct more than a single house did not provide the forward looking policy framework to incorporate the subsequent growth following the Imperial Era’s rough beginnings in building today’s Addis. Instead, the development of dwellings in Ethiopia’s economic, political and social hub was largely left to be clogged in the wheels of bureaucracy as the Rental Houses Agency’s rocky history has left it to manage around 18,550 living units, including 6,163 apartments, mostly confiscated from the landed nobility.

Though some of the city’s more affordable housing options owe their existence to the Agency’s efforts, even in many of the hot city center locations, inability to keep up with the waves of new arrivals and questionable management capacity have brought scepticism to the point of almost dismantling this public giant. Though living in a one-bedroom apartment in the heart of Bole Road (Africa Avenue) for 250 Birr a month is surely attractive in today’s rental market, years-long waiting lists, decrepit units crying out for maintenance and unpaid dues beckon for a new approach.

Thinking Upwards

With an eye to bringing about a centralized municipal service mentality and granting a vast majority of Addis’ residents who struggle with roaring inflation the Ministry of Works and Urban Development (MoWUD) unveiled a hefty five-year condominium construction plan last year. This 24 billion Birr vision financed by the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) aims to create 83,000 units (33,000 in Addis) in 70 towns.

Though a massive undertaking, MoWUD’s efforts come against some staggering figures representing the needs of a growing contingent of low and middle-income urbanites. With a one million strong housing shortage and at least 453,000 home seekers competing in the lottery charged with doling out the units that total merely one-fourth of the official bidders, the overall effect is sure to be smaller than the Ministry would hope it to be.

Of course, there are lofty and commendable aims too this unprecedented scheme. Special consideration for residents displaced by public development undertakings and reserving 30% of the units for women-headed households are both noble causes. However, like most public undertakings with admirable targets, there are kinks in the process.

 
Formidable Obstacles

With only 9,000 units completed, and finalizing often comes a step or two before some of the cosmetic furnishings have been installed, the impact on anyone but the lucky minority winners is minimal. Moreover, reports of multiple persons with the same name contesting results, lottery winners subletting units at the exorbitant prices prevailing in the capital and setbacks in providing the huge volumes of utilities that these constructions require call into question the capacity of the implementing bodies.

Scarcity of construction inputs like cement, steel and gravel, as well as their escalating prices aside, the insufficient number of qualified contractors has jeopardized the speed of this crucial experiment in city planning and shined a spotlight on a deficient sector. Though the housing blocks thus far are more aesthetically pleasing than the shacks that dot the metropolis, the phenomenon of standardization does beg the question of how much thought was given to architectural creativity and the potential benefits such a large scale project could have brought to the development of the sector.

Changing Mentalities

Apartment living is a far cry from the isolated compounds hidden by imposing gates. Sounds, sights and smells from neighbours are much more apparent in these new constructions. Hand-in-hand the sense of ownership and responsibility outside the door of one’s rental unit is minimal. Just as most of the city is plagued by the habits of vigorously cleaning the compound at the expense of the filth on the streets, so to are the public areas, walkways, staircases and halls showing signs of the need to create a sense of partnership amongst the new forced communities. If this is not addressed the consequences of unhygienic and unappealing living may quickly turn off residents .

Not the Average Project

Addis’ new face of vertical growth is a far cry from the conceptions of public housing projects in the United States (US). While these symbols of the American ghetto transformed into cesspools of crime and poverty in the 1980s, the Ethiopian version puts concrete over the head of many who once could barely afford a poorly erected corrugated metal roof dwelling.

The possibilities for fostering a new approach to urban development are promising. Packages of improvements to the city landscape including footpaths, drainage and sewage compliment the potential of more green spaces and examples of sufficient car parking that currently seems non-existent. And with over 100,000 youth who are expected to gain employment, a dent in the massive unemployment seems to be coming.  What is sure is that this is one step that needs to be carefully monitored and meticulously implemented to become a building block for organized development.

Comments (0)