Abstract
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) has rapidly evolved from a small military outpost to a sprawling metropolis and has doubled its population to over 4 million in recent years (and counting). This unprecedented demographic boom has brought uncontrolled urbanization to the city and is also testing the administration’s ability to provide basic services to the population. If these urban issues are not addressed at present, climate change will be added to the continuous growth of the population, and both will exacerbate the already present issues. The main objective of this academic research is to design a holistic urban resilience and regenerative strategy, where its main elements are the more than 50km of river tributaries. For that, the project proposes a new “ecological infrastructure” that uses the rivers as the main element to tackle the city’s most urgent challenges. The methodology of the project is organized into three different scales. The first analyses the city’s development in terms of history, ecology, economics, and culture. The second scale proposes solutions through a comprehensive master plan. Finally, the third and smallest scale includes specific architectural interventions at the most urgent and significant sites. Therefore, this paper elaborates on the methodology and results from the process outlined above. In this case, we show a specific intervention focused on the use of green and blue infrastructure to control urban flooding and to show how this infrastructure can work as a public space for the citizens at the same time.
Presenters
Rubén GarcíaAssistant Professor, Architecture, Tulane University, Louisiana, United States Sonsoles Vela
Lecturer in Architecture, Architecture, Tulane University, Louisiana, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Human/Nature: Toward A Reconciliation
KEYWORDS
ADDIS ABABA, SUSTAINABILITY, INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC SPACE, RESILIENCE
