Ethiopia alone is one of the most rapidly growing countries not only in the continent of Africa but also in the whole world. The country is populated by almost 110 million inhabitants and only 20% of the whole population is living in the cities. Over 65% of the population from rural areas have started to follow the migration patterns from rural countryside to the urban settlements. The mismanaged urbanization processes create many problems that newcomers and urban poor face. The city of Addis Ababa urgently need a change in creating spaces of transition for migrants, that would sustain their lifestyle, but also offer a flexible way to adapt towards the lifestyle of the city, by providing flexible housing arrangements, where variety of socio-economic groups could dwell together, as the current attempts by the government are failing. Therefore, the project aims to create a model of a co-existing housing scheme between two lifestyle groups of urban dwellers and rural newcomers, as well as different income groups of economically weak income, low-income, middle-income and high-income people. The chosen location serves as prototype of creating a neighbourhood, where different, even conflicting, uses and users can live together and enjoy the convenience of junction. However, this work only if the variety of people are accommodated in an urban framework, that allows them to be good neighbours for each other.

This research booklet brings together a selection of data and spatial analysis of Ethiopia’s and Addis Ababa’s urban transformation. This booklet uses historical maps, new maps and a selection of bibliographic references, to produce a wide range of graphic outputs that trace the urban transformation of Addis Ababa in seven stages, from its foundation (c. 1887) until the current process of urbanisation under the auspices of globalization.

This graphic novel is the result of a micro-ethnographic research to Gerji, a district of Addis Ababa. Using graphic techniques borrowed from the architecture discipline, this graphic novel aims at bringing together representations of everyday life in the Gerji neighbourhood, that show how human life shapes its environment and vice versa. This graphic novel not only represents the architectural qualities and spatial relationships, but also reveals the hidden narratives of ordinary stories.