Use the "back" button of your browser to return to the list of abstracts.
THE DEMAND FOR RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURAL PLANNING AND PRODUCTION IN RAPIDLY URBANIZING REGIONS: THE CASE OF ETHIOPIA [Abstract ID: 0214-01]
Over the past few years, compelling evidence has emerged that Ethiopia has begun its transformation in almost all spheres, revealing both potentialities and challenges. In this period of heightened dynamism, the subject of urbanisation, which has been long neglected in political and development discourse, is becoming a central agenda. For almost the first time in modern Ethiopian history, an intentional, top-down instigation of urbanisation is included among the country’s chief development programs (NPC, 2016). Leaving aside the question of whether or not the capacity of the existing political and administrative apparatuses is strong enough to handle such large-scale socio-spatial reorganisation, the sheer technical demand for the rapid production of massive architectural space is overwhelming. It entails the construction of millions of houses; thousands of schools, health centres and administrative buildings; as well as the development of numerous infrastructural projects. Furthermore, this urban transformation is expected to serve as a mechanism for economic stimulus, job creation and trade diversification. In both urban and rural areas, however, these emergent needs for large architectural/urban spaces have to sustain the complexity of local (contextual) realities in order to function as a platform for the long-term processes of cultural transformation. This article attempts to underscore the opportunity for a more creative and responsive urban future by examining the case of Ethiopia, which is one of the least urbanised nations currently undergoing a rapid transformation.