From the ground up, reclaiming the Akaki river as a place of transition for the rural-urban migrant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

The current housing programs are too expensive and fixed or rigid to answer the changing needs of the rural-urban migrants. The design answers these questions in a way that it can function as a pars-pro-toto. The design provides the rural-urban migrants in Addis Ababa a basis which facilitates adaptability, flexibility and income generation with their present skills based on the underlying processes of urbanization. Key components in the design are the hierarchical system of acces, the gradient of a more public to a more private sphere; a collective way of living build on sharing knowledge and production, which gives the migrants a better chance of survival in the city; teaching the migrants new skills in self-building, providing them with a building technology based on local materials and skills. This project can be read as an urban strategy for the fringe areas where the migrants normally settle, on harsh geographical places, near the ‘natural sewage system’ of the city.