DEGREE PROJECT IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT,

SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2021

The Word on the Street

An investigation of rationalities expressed
regarding streets and streetscapes, and the
production of the action space in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia

REBECKA KJELLSTRÖM

KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Abstract
The cities of Africa and Asia are projected to account for 80 % of the future urban growth.
Challenges brought forward by motorization and lack of accessibility; urban streets take a
central position in the discussion of the sustainable city. This offers a considerable challenge
in shaping cities while addressing climate change. Meanwhile there is lack of theorizations
stemming from global South research. Planning models used for street planning comes from
contexts far removed from the urban realities of the South. Sub-Saharan Africa has relatively
low road network densities while experiencing a strong urban growth. The object of the study
is Addis Ababa, a future megacity where street development is one of the central topics in the
city’s planning.
This thesis investigates the rationalities expressed by experts around street planning in Addis
Ababa and how that shapes the planning discourse in the city. Methods employed are semi-
structured interviews, desktop study and participant observations. The study uses conceptual
tools from a wide range of literature on rationalities, research in the global South, extraversion,
acting and action space of professionals.
The results show how rationalities expressed can be understood as four rationality groupings
1) rationalities expressed regarding visions of the city, 2) rationalities expressed regarding the
functions of streets, 3) rationalities expressed how to process a project and 4) rationalities
expressed regarding relationship and power dynamics. Through the interplay between the
rationality groupings a perceived space of action emerges. The rationalities influence what
actors see as possible and desirable courses of action. The study concludes that all rationality
groupings are not equal, instead visions of the city and relational rationalities seem to hold
larger influence on shaping the streetscapes of Addis Ababa. Further, less rigid formulations
of what constitutes the formal action space, allows third sector actors to influence and diffuse
their rationalities into the city’s street planning process.
Keywords: action space, perceived action space, streets, streetscapes, rationalities, global
South, Addis Ababa.

Svensk titel: Ordet på gatan – en undersökning av rationaliteter kring gator och gatulandskap,
och produktionen av det professionella handlingsutrymmet i Addis Ababa, Etiopien

Front page image: author’s own collection, 2017.

2
Acknowledgements
“Who knows? You may be one of those who will make a mark on the new city!” reads the
greeting written on the first page of my copy of “Old Tracks in the New Flower: A Historical
Guide to Addis Ababa” (Batistoni & Chiari, 2004). It feels serendipitous reading it in
retrospect. I would like to thank everyone who supported me during this thesis process and my
master studies.

First, I would like to extend a great thank you to all interviewees and participants of my study
who kindly shared their time, reflections and knowledge.

Thank you, all colleagues at the World Resources Institute Africa office, for welcoming me
with open arms. Special thank you to Aklilu Fikreselassie, Elleni Ashebir and Iman Abubaker,
for providing me the opportunity to intern at WRI during the thesis period.

Thank you to my supervisors Jenny Lindblad and Maria Håkansson. Your encouragement, the
ability to capture the essence of what I am doing, and advice have been of great help during
these months. Thank you to my examiner Andrew Karvonen and opponent Britta Josephson
for the insightful comments.

To my fellow SUPD students and teachers for the past two years, thank you. It has really been
an amazing time, learning and evolving with a great group of people. Thank you to Aura,
Lamia, Marre, Tarek and Otto for making this time a blast!

Special thanks to Aura J. Soriano for support, edit and brainstorming during the thesis writing.
Spending hours on zoom discussing research in the global South was always exhilarating.

To my family members and friends, thank you for always being curious with what I am up to,
providing support, love and encouragement. To Wessen, without you this would not have been
possible. To Alfio, for always coming to the rescue, remarkably so when my computer died on
me in the last stages of writing.

Rebecka Kjellström
September 2021, Stockholm

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Table of Contents
List of Figures 6

Glossary 7

1 INTRODUCTION 8

1.1. Aim 9

1.2. Terminology 10

1.3. Structure of the Study 11

2 RATIONALITIES, ACTORS, AND ACTION SPACE 12

2.1. Rationality in Planning 13

2.1.1. Circulation of policy and programs .......................................................................................................... 14
2.1.2. Theorizing the global South...................................................................................................................... 15

2.2. Calls for development and sustainability introduce new actors 17

2.3. The perceived action space 18

2.4. The conceptual framework 20

3 METHODOLOGY 22

3.1. Research Approach & Design 22

3.1.1. The examples: programs, projects & interventions ................................................................................ 23
3.1.2. Data collection & sampling ....................................................................................................................... 24
3.1.2.1. Document review................................................................................................................................... 25
3.1.2.2. Participant Observations....................................................................................................................... 26
3.1.2.3. Interviews ............................................................................................................................................... 26
3.1.3. Data analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 29

3.2. Limitations 30

4 INTERFACE: ADDIS ABABA AND ITS STREETSCAPES 32

4.1. Historical overview 33

4.2. Addis Ababa today 37

4.3. Governance 39

4.4. Streets of Addis Ababa 39

4
4.5. Examples of street projects and programs 43

5 CONFLICTING RATIONALITIES 50

5.1. Visions of streetscapes 50

5.2. Functions of the streets 53

5.3. Process a street project 58

5.4. Negotiation, collaboration, and conflict between actors 60

5.5. Formulating the rationalities 62

6 DEFINING THE PERCEIVED ACTION SPACE 64

7 CONCLUDING REMARKS & FUTURE RESEARCH 68

8 REFERENCES 70

9 APPENDIX: TIMELINE ON POLITICAL SUCCESSION, LANDMARK PROJECTS AND KEY

HAPPENINGS 83

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List of Figures

Figure 1. A visualization of the action spaces (Strömberg, 2015, p.40) ................................................................... 19

Figure 2. Conceptual framework (source: author) ................................................................................................... 21
Figure 3. Overview: Ethiopia (source: Patassini, 2018 [adapted by author])........................................................... 32
Figure 4. Some major capitals in Ethiopia’s history (source: (Horvath, 1969) ......................................................... 33
Figure 5. Sketch of Empress Taitu's plan (Mahiteme, 2007 in UN-Habitat, 2017). ................................................. 34
Figure 6. De Marien's plan for Addis Ababa (source: Mahiteme, 2007 in Kloosterboer, 2019).............................. 35
Figure 7. Five-Tier National Urban Planning Scheme (source: Kloosterboer, 2019) ............................................... 36
Figure 8. Addis Ababa today and historical growth (source: Patassini, 2018) ......................................................... 38
Figure 9. Construction of the Addis Ababa-Addis Alem road in early 1900s (source: Batistoni & Chiari, 2004) .... 40
Figure 10. Aerial view of Arada and St. Ghiorghis Church in ca. 1936 (source: Batistoni & Chiari, 2004) .............. 40
Figure 11. Addis Ababa, a view from Meskel Square over the bridge leading to UNECA building in 1966 (source:
Cartocci & Cosulich, 2012) .............................................................................................................................. 41
Figure 12. Percentage of area (km2) devoted to paved roads, 0.5 km2 grid cells (source: (Lall et al., 2017) ........ 42
Figure 13. Views of Bole Road, 1989 (left) v 2020 (right) (source: Abbas Shash, 2020).......................................... 42
Figure 14. Timeline of case studies (in color) and city planning documents (source: author) ................................ 45
Figure 15. Project locations (source: author) ........................................................................................................... 46
Figure 16. Part of the Le Gare transformation. Top:before. Middle: one-day transformation. Bottom: 6-month-
transformation (NACTO-GDCI &TPMO, 2017) ................................................................................................ 47
Figure 17. Churchill Ave., view towards city hall 1968 (Calvert, 1968) .................................................................... 49
Figure 18. Churchill Avenue being redeveloped March 2020. View towards the City Hall encircled in white
(source: author) ............................................................................................................................................... 49
Figure 19. Bole Road (left) and Churchill Ave. (right) (Source: Getty Images, 2018; Office of the Prime Minister –
Ethiopia, 2021) ................................................................................................................................................. 53
Figure 20. Conceptual results (source: author) ........................................................................................................ 64

List of Tables

Table 1. List of example projects, programs and interventions ............................................................................... 24

Table 2. List and description of interviewees ........................................................................................................... 29
Table 3. Comparison Addis Ababa's and Copenhagen's modal share ...................................................................... 43
Table 4. List of examples ........................................................................................................................................... 43
Table 5. Rationality groupings ................................................................................................................................... 50
Table 6. List of interviewees ...................................................................................................................................... 50

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Glossary

AACA ADDIS ABABA CITY ADMINISTRATION

AACRA ADDIS ABABA CITY ROADS AUTHORITY

AACPPO ADDIS ABABA CITY PLANNING PROJECT OFFICE

AATB ADDIS ABABA TRANSPORT BUREAU

ADDIS OFTEN USED EVERYDAY TERM FOR ADDIS ABABA

BIGRS BLOOMBERG INITIATIVE FOR GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY

BOLE ROAD COMMON NAME USED FOR THE ROAD ALSO KNOWN AS AIRPORT ROAD
OR AFRICA AVENUE

BRT BUS RAPID TRANSIT

EIABC ETHIOPIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

& CITY DEVELOPMENT

ITDP INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY

NACTO NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CITY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS

NACTO-GDCI GLOBAL DESIGNING CITY INITIATIVE PROGRAM BY NACTO

NMT NON-MOTORIZED TRANSPORT

LDP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

LRT LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT

ROW RIGHT-OF-WAY: THE STRIP OF LAND OVER WHICH IS BUILT A PUBLIC ROAD

SIP SAFE INTERSECTIONS PROGRAM

SSA SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

TMA ADDIS ABABA TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT OFFICE

TPMO ADDIS ABABA TRANSPORT PROGRAMS MANAGEMENT OFFICE

WRI WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE

UNFPA UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND

UN-HABITAT UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME

7
1 Introduction
”The battle for sustainable urban development will be won or lost in cities [...]
there is a need for a radical paradigm shift in the way cities and human
settlements are planned, developed, governed and managed” (United
Nations Habitat III Conference, 2016, p. 1).

The majority of the world’s population are urban dwellers, and urbanization is projected to
continue to grow, with 68 percent living in cities by 2050 (UN-Habitat, 2020). Most of this
growth is happening in the global South (Ibid.), with Africa and Asia projected to account for
80 percent of this growth (UNFPA, 2007). By 2050 Africa is expected to have more than 1
billion urban dwellers (Pieterse, 2011a). Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), often thought of as a less
developed region, already has an urban population the same size as North America’s (UNFPA,
2007).

Urbanization and urban areas have been linked with the environmental impacts the world is
experiencing. Developing the infrastructure of the global South is projected to use 35-60 % of
the available carbon budget before 2050, assuming that global warming will not exceed two
degrees Celsius (UN-Habitat, 2017). This adds to the challenge of global South’s cities, both
in terms of how to grow sustainably and as many of these cities are vulnerable to the effects of
climate change. Africa’s urban transition, meaning most of the continent’s population moving
to cities, is concentrated over 80 years compared to the global North, which experienced this
transition over 200 years (Pieterse, 2011a).

Meanwhile, it is widely accepted that cities must become more sustainable (Cervero, 2014).
Cities in Africa face a different set of challenges than their global North counterparts, needing
to provide urban infrastructure and services at a rate unpreceded in human history (Cervero,
2013). Global South cities are often their country’s primate city and have a monocentric
morphology (Ibid.). The benefits urban agglomeration traditionally yields risks being
diminished in global South cities as they face the struggle of producing well-planned cities
(Ibid.). The cost of building up these existing cities of the South would emit four times the
amount of emissions that it took to build today’s existing infrastructure (Nagendra et al., 2018).

Part of building these cities requires taking a closer look at streets. Streets, the most prevalent
public space in a city (Barker, 2009), are spaces of multiplicity. Depending on which
understanding one takes, streets can take many forms and shapes. They can be understood as
the structure of our cities and the spaces to move around, places of social interaction and public
life, spaces for power manifestations and control (cf. Gehl, 1987; Graham & Marvin, 2002;
Grünow, 2016; Jacobs, 1961; Leon Guerrero, 2007; Speck, 2013). Compounded with the
challenges brought forward by motorization, urban streets take a central position in the
discussions of what is the sustainable city. With still low road densities compared to their
Northern counterparts (Cervero, 2013), African cities develop their streets in parallel with these
discussions. It offers a considerable challenge and opportunity in understanding how streets
are conceptualized. This while the African urbanities are concurrently trying to shape the
streets and streetscapes of their cities. How the planning linkage between the streets (as
8
networks and streetscapes) and urban form is understood can render different realities for a
city’s residents (Ibid.).
“Addis Ababa is the place where one can meet the strangest things. Old and
new co-exist. It is not difficult to see an old, bearded shepherd leaning on his
stick, under the arches of quartz lamps against a background of modern
buildings. The shops have signs in many languages and sell things from
electrical appliances to little pictures of the Emperor”
(Cartocci & Cosulich, 2012, p. 21)

A place of contrast, Addis Ababa is a future megacity in Ethiopia, one of the least urbanized
countries in the world (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021; UN-Habitat, 2017). The country as
well as the city have a significant commitment to infrastructural development and have over
the past 20 years more than doubled the road coverage (Lall et al., 2017) and have one of the
highest infrastructure expenditures in Africa (World Bank Group, 2016). The GDP growth
numbers support a narrative of ‘Africa rising’ and the ‘last development frontier’ (Watson,
2014), with an average of 10% GDP growth yearly between 2010-2020 (World Bank, 2020).
Amongst high-rises and SSA’s first light-rail transit system also lies a city that is struggling to
keep up with the public transport demand, high rates of road fatalities and city fragmentation.
Amongst the fuming cars, you see cyclists weaving their way through traffic, the sidewalks
filled by street vendors ready to sell their goods, commuters patiently standing in-line to take
a minibus and the occasional goat, horse, lamb, or donkey making their way through the
streetscape. The temporary is intermingled with the permanent structures of the city as all
navigate the physical realities of the street and each other. While Addis Ababa has more streets
than ever before, accessibility in the city has not necessarily improved. In recent years there
have been several programs, projects and interventions aimed at changing this course of
development, trying to navigate what constitutes developing a city while understanding the
changes that need to happen in terms of sustainability. For streets, this adds another layer to an
already complex space. Moreover, the planning models used for street planning are often
introduced from cities experiencing different sets of challenges than Addis Ababa (Watson &
Agbola, 2013). Based on this multiplicity of streets and the position of Addis Ababa in a global
setting, this thesis investigates how experts within the field of planning understand streets and
their function and role in a city.

1.1. Aim

This thesis aims to investigate the rationalities existing around street planning in Addis Ababa
by experts and how that shapes the planning discourse in the city. This to understand how
rationalities held by government (national and city) and international organizations’ shape the
planning discourse of the city, the actual action space of planning and what is constituted as
suitable planning solutions for the city. This is an effort in trying to illuminate “the link between
society, politics and the shaping of cities and regions” (Yiftachel, 2001, p. 252). To
comprehensively capture this, case studies are chosen to anchor the thesis and offer some
delimitation to the term ‘street planning’ as it can be elusive due to its multifaceted nature. To
answer global South scholars’ requests to take a view from the south (cf. Pieterse, 2011b; Roy,

9
2011b; Watson, 2009a) this thesis uses theory as conceptual buildings blocks but lets the
empirical material drive the theorization.

The research questions driving this inquiry are:

1. What are the rationalities behind the planning of streets and streetscapes in Addis
Ababa?
2. Who are the actors involved in formulating rationalities around streets in Addis
Ababa?
3. How do those shape the perceived action space for street and streetscape planning
in Addis Ababa?

This paper identifies key stakeholders and how they envision, implement and contest street
project-making in Addis Ababa, through desk study, observations and interviews. The
identification of the interviewees and questions asked, builds upon the document review, which
ventured into the city's historical, socioeconomic, political, and geophysical profile. Interviews,
participant observations, and document review provided the data for the study. The highest
possible level of confidentiality was awarded to ensure that the interviewees could speak freely.
The study had several limitations. Due to the COVID-pandemic, the study was designed only
to include experts and professionals within the field so interviews could be executed remotely
if needed. Second, the focus of my internship at World Resources Institute (WRI) influenced
my choice of study, as WRI was potentially developing a Complete Streets program.

1.2. Terminology

The thesis uses several terms which can hold widely different connotations depending on how
and where they are used. To avoid confusion below are some key terms listed and explained
how they have been treated in this study.

§ The words ‘streets’ and ‘roads’, can be used similarly but they hold different
qualities. A road is often understood as a path connecting two points, while a street
is a public space placed in the built environment. Hence streets can be a road but
not all roads are streets. Because of a lack of usage of the term ‘street’ in research,
official documentation and more in Addis Ababa, ‘road’ is used as a substitute
when needed. Further, ‘streetscape’ is also used to highlight spatial qualities of
the street.
§ A wider term of ‘examples’ is used to describe the projects, interventions,
programs, and planning documents used in the interviews and in this study.
§ A mix of ‘experts’, ‘practitioners’ and ‘professionals’ are used to describe my
interviewees, including those connected to civil society and university as they are
actively engaging in the discussions around streets, streetscapes and planning.
§ This study uses a mix of the terms, ‘urban planning’, ‘street planning’ and
‘planning’. Essentially, ‘street planning’ is viewed as an integral part of urban
planning and urban planning as a subset of planning in turn. The terms are used
interchangeably here.
10
 § The global South is used to describe places in the Southern Hemisphere in lower
income countries (excluding Australia and New Zealand from the term).
§ ‘State’ is widely used to describe national and local (city) government. Used by
its own it refers to both levels of government. National state refers to the Federal
State of Ethiopia. Regional state refers to the nine regions under the federation.
For Addis Ababa this is the same as the city administration (also referred to as
local government) as it is a chartered city.
§ ‘Structure plan’, also called Addis Ababa’s master plan.

1.3. Structure of the Study

Chapter 2 outlines the discussions regarding subjects on rationalities in planning, what

constitutes planning knowledge, how planning knowledge and policies travel, actors as situated
as agents in transferring planning theory, program and knowledges. This is followed by a
presentation of the action space (for professionals). The chapter ends on a note how these
building blocks together with the data suggests a conceptual framework which finds four
rationality grouping encircling the perceived space of action for planning professionals.

Chapter 3 describes the research approach and design of the study. It details the methods of
data collection used and how analysis of the primary material was handled. Finally, it discusses
how the sampling of respondents was made, examples and how the document review was
handled. It closes off with a note on research ethics and choices made regarding the
confidentiality of the study.

Chapter 4 situates the case, Addis Ababa, its planning history and development. It also shortly
describes the different examples used in the interviews. The chapter shows how streets were
present in the city formation from the outset but how the function of streets has shifted over
time. It also shows how planning in the city has had, for a long time, global influence and
involvement. Finally, the chapter paints a general picture of the city's governance and shows
how this is the first hint of the tension between planning as outlined in official documentation,
strategies, and laws versus planning as practiced by professionals and stakeholders. It ends with
a brief description of the project and program examples used to frame the interviews.

Chapters 5 and 6 present the results, analysis, and discussion of the study. The presentation
follows the order of the research questions. Chapter 5 amalgamates the data into themes and
answers the question who or what is involved in formulating rationalities found. Chapter 6 aims
to connect the results to possible theorizations regarding rationalities and action space,
limitations and possible implications. The final chapter 8 summarizes the findings and insights
and offers final remarks on the material. It also outlines possible future research within the
field.

11
2 Rationalities, actors, and action space
The extensive net cast in this chapter suggests how (conflicting) rationalities of the planning
process in the global South might shape the perceived action space for actors (understood both
as organizations, institutions, and professionals). The theories presented below are the
conceptual building blocks. The shaping is understood as the power struggle for whose
rationality is recognized by other actors and which interpretative rationality defines actors’ line
of perceived action the most. Power here is understood as discursive and relational.

In planning a city’s streets, its networks, and streetscapes, there is a global circulation of
planning knowledge (Peyroux et al., 2012) which highly influence choices made by
professionals and city officials forming the streets of a city (Grünow, 2016). This has
stimulated an increase in the notion of planning universalism and international benchmarking
in the making of cities (Noureddine Tag-Eldeen, 2012). Historically, this circulation has
happened in a global North to South pattern and still does to some degree today (Ibid.).
Nevertheless, much of the challenges global South cities face today are far from the realities of
the global North, rendering the knowledge from the North only partially relevant, or in some
cases, not at all (Nagendra et al., 2018). Still, there appears to be a global confluence on the
similarities of urban issues (cf. Rose, 2004; Watson, 2009a) creating a tension between the
acknowledgment context-specificity of place-making and universalization in planning theory
(Noureddine Tag-Eldeen, 2012).
”As a result, the common expectation is that the success of a program or the
efficiency of a model achieved in another country can be replicated at home”
(Noureddine Tag- Eldeen, 2012, p. 1).

This is based on the idea that nations and cities have somewhat similar problems, and by
looking at other places, decision-makers can learn and adopt solutions for development (Rose,
2004). This inevitability led to questions on how stakeholders, users, and actors understand and
enact urban planning interventions in the cities of the global South. The formulation of the
linkage between urban form and streets and how streets, in general, are perceived is not
detached from this general notion of planning universalism.

Watson (2003) suggests that so far, planning theory has struggled with including different
contexts and values into the knowledge base of planning. Planners continue to try to formulate
generalizable (and often normative) positions which can be used in practice while
acknowledging the contextual diversity which is so central to placemaking (Ibid.). This,
coupled with planning theory’s starting point in a Northern context, leads to difficulty
transferring said knowledge to other places. Today, this is often performed by international
development agencies and their portfolio of best practices that are being transferred between
different contexts (Edelman & Haugerud, 2005). Hence, the act of transferring planning
knowledge is in itself an illustration of the planning’s struggle with the question of
universalism, cultural- and place-specificity (Noureddine Tag-Eldeen, 2012).

12
What constitutes the knowledge base for planning eventually forms rationalities about
planning. Through the “regime of truth,” knowledge outlines what discourses around planning
are accepted (Foucault, 2000, p. 131). What we ‘know’ about planning is essentially used by
experts and actors to rationalize the planning process (Beauregard, 1998). Hence, we need to
critically study the formulation of rationalities commonly found in the literature on the global
South and understand how these frames perceived space of action for organizations and
professionals.

2.1. Rationality in Planning

In its base form, rationality is the understanding that through tactical choices, there is a
possibility to understand which choice is rational for a given situation and how it can be reached
(Ernste, 2017). On its own, rationality is commonly understood as expert, scientific or technical
rationality (cf. Healey, 2003). Essentially, to claim rationality in planning is to void any self-
interest in a situation and is the act of pursuing knowledge-based decision-making (Beauregard,
1998). Hajer and Wagenaar (2003) claim it is the act of removing a sense of irrationality from
decision-making. Focault’s real-life rationality argues that choices are constructed and guarded
by power (Harrison, 2006), which means that rather than being justified by meeting a criterion
according to an ideal or trying to, rationalities are defined by the struggle for power (Ibid.).

Because of the perception that planning as a profession and activity is based on principles of
rationality and technicality (Ernste, 2017), it strongly links to constructions of what is true and
what constitutes knowledge. In addition, planning professionals’ knowledge often blurs the
lines between knowledge and practice (Uitermark & Nicholls, 2017). Hence, through shaping
a discourse, one can also shape the reality of planning (Flyvbjerg, 2002). Discourses of what
an actor perceives as a project’s conditions can provide insight into what rationalities are
driving its development. As Flyvbjerg (2002) notes it is not a question about whether held
interpretation of reality is true or not. Rather it is how an interpretation frames what is
understood as the best choice and logical way forward for a project (Ernste, 2017). The very
ideas which are the foundation of planning theory – those on state, citizenship, and participation
– were based on political and social theory from the global North (Watson, 2003).

By default, rationality, as expressed in planning, will pursue the interest of whoever expresses
and holds them (Özdemir, 2021). In the conceptualizations of planning as something expert-
driven and technical, rationality in itself becomes a method of decision-making (Ibid.). As
rationality has moved away from something technical to conceptualizations based on relations,
they also become a valuable tool in studying urbanities in Africa, as these urbanities hold
multiplicity and shifting spatial and social networks (Harrison, 2006). Instead of talking about
few cohesive rationalities shared by professionals alike, Watson (2003) uses the concept of
conflicting rationalities to provide insights into planning realities that are situated in
contestation instead of consensus. Watson argues that in some planning contexts, the world
views of different actors are fundamentally different, and seeking consensus for planning
proposals might not be the most conducive logic to practice. Ngwenya and Cirolia (2020)
extend Watson’s argument and add conflicting rationalities within groups.

13
Ngwenya and Cirolia (2020) find in their study on land occupations in Cape Town, South
Africa, that different groups have conflicting rationalities regarding housing and that there
might be conflicting views within a group. This means that “planners operate in a complex
interface between power and powerlessness” (Ngwenya & Cirolia, 2020, p. 2). The concept of
conflicting rationalities enables one to see the differences underpinning choices and priorities
in urban planning that shape outcomes (Ibid.). Makhale and Landman (2018) draw similar
conclusions in their study on gated communities. However, they add that planners are highly
aware of the conflict but lack the means to address them (Ibid.). For a heterogeneous state, this
might be the norm as those types of states continuously have to deal with multiple objectives
and requirements, leading to “an incoherent operational environment with misaligned targets
and goals” (Ngwenya & Cirolia, 2020, p. 11).

Côté-Roy and Moser (2018, p. 2403) illustrates this is in their discussions on ”new cities”1, the
fundamental issue they claim here is that the framing of new cities is based on a skewed
assumption of what the original problem is. Skewed assumptions in what constitutes the
problem and leads to solutions that do not solve anything. Most illustrations of rationalities in
the planning process have shown how rationalities are used in decision-making. However,
Özdemir (2021) claims that rationalities can also help to understand the decisions made.

Flyvbjerg, in his in-depth study ”Rationality and Power” (1998), demonstrates how
rationalities expressed in a planning process are context-dependent. Therefore, the following
sub-chapters discuss the global circulation of knowledge and best practice, theorizations on
African cities and the global South, and acting space for planning professionals.

2.1.1. Circulation of policy and programs

Planning ideas and ideals are bound to travel (Haid & Hilbrandt, 2019) and is not a new
phenomenon (Montero, 2016). However, the acceleration of the circulation is what many
researchers have noted in recent years (cf. Healey, 2013; McFarlane, 2011; Peck & Theodore,
2015).

In their writings on policy mobilities, Peck and Theodore (2010) explore how policy travels
and transforms. They understand the mobilities of policies as socially constructed and
contested, where ideas are embedded within translocal and trans scalar knowledge networks
(Ibid.). These networks are built up by planning professionals, multilateral international
organizations, and other stakeholders. On the global urbanism area, policies and programs can
gain additional legitimacy by promoting “famed experts” (Stehlin, 2015, p. 127). Peck and
Theodore’s (2010) theorizations on policy mobilities rose as a critique of the policy transfer
approach (cf. Dolowitz & Marsh, 2000; Rose, 1993; Simmons et al., 2008). They argue that

1
”New urban residential developments and new master-planned cities have begun to spring up across Africa”
(p. 2392)

14
the traditional views on policy transfer assume the policymakers to be rational, where policies
travel because they essentially are good policies.

Looking into policies connected to urbanities, academics propose to understand urban policies
as “co-constituted by both connections to other places and situated political contestations”
(Montero, 2016, p. 115). Planning scholars also highlight the situated-ness of policies and
urban policy actors’ complex dynamics and interactions (cf. Healey, 2013; Healey & Upton,
2010). Often presented as a rational process, policy and program mobility are power-laden
processes that are socially constructed and irregular (Montero, 2016). This thesis argues that it
is here that the urban policy mobility discussion meets urban planning’s understanding of
rationalities. Healey (2013) calls for an actor-based perspective in studying these mechanisms,
which move beyond verdicts whether a policy is good or bad. Here, based on Özdemir’s (2021)
approach to rationality as an exhibition of the interest of whoever expresses it, there is an
opening of understanding urban policy mobility as stimulated by rationalities.

Moving beyond the historical perspective of planning policy as moving North to South
(Noureddine Tag-Eldeen, 2012), there are many examples of how projects, best practices, and
policies move South-to-South or even South-to-North (cf. Montero, 2016; Whitney et al.,
2020). As projects, programs, best practices, and policies travel, they inescapably transform
based on the contexts they are placed in (McCann & Ward, 2012; Temenos & McCann, 2013).
Some level of contextualization is bound to happen when a best-practice or similar is placed in
a new context (González & Healey, 2005). In addition to the roster of critical perspectives on
policy, transfers are ‘worlding practices’ (Roy & Ong, 2011).
“All seek to position cities within a global frame. In some cases, the
coordinates used to put cities in their (global) place are ’aspirational’;
highlighting certain characteristics or features that cities should exhibit: the
tallest building, the most creative “types,” the most sustainable industries, the
highest growth rates, or the most progressive social policies. In other cases,
these metrics can be ’disciplining,’ highlighting absences that are defined as
problematic: high crime rates, prevalent disease, large informal economies,
’corruption,’ failing infrastructure, etc.”
(McCann et al., 2013, p. 581)

Roy and Ong (2011) argue that these worlding practices drive city-making strategies, especially
in Asia. The circulation of planning ideas essentially becomes a circulation of planning ideals
legitimized through global (world) recognition (Ong, 2011). The quote's criterion above
exemplifies how these are essentially normative and evaluative (McCann et al., 2013). Roy
(2011a) argues that planning in itself performs worlding practices.

2.1.2. Theorizing the global South

“Often imagined as unruly megacities, the urban formations of the global

South can thus be described, diagnosed, even reformed and fixed, but rarely
do they become the evidentiary material for theory, for a universal system of
generalizations”
15
 (Roy, 2011a, p. 9).

While the practical side of planning, programs, projects, and best practices have moved beyond
the binary perspective of North-to-South, theory has not been able to keep up. Instead,
descriptions of urbanities in Africa are of chaotic and hopeless cities beyond redemption
(Myers & Murray, 2006). This, as Roy (2011) poignantly points out, creates a prescriptive
approach to planning in the South. Planning’s strong connection to a specific geo-culture is
still prevailing and intrinsically intertwined with ideas of universalism and understandings of
what a city should be: more often than not, rational and modern (Côté-Roy & Moser, 2018;
Noureddine Tag-Eldeen, 2012; Watson, 2003). An illustrious example is an ambition to
‘rationalize’ African cities by providing rational master plans with a clear spatial structure.
This is in clear contrast with the high degree of informality often found in African cities
(Watson, 2003). For large parts of the global South, everyday life is characterized by
“informality, multiplicity, marginality and dispersion” (Parnell & Pieterse, 2016, p. 237).

For African city-makers, this leads to notable stress, as the definitions of what constitutes
modernity and urbanism are too narrow to include the continent’s realities (Côté-Roy & Moser,
2018). Africa as a continent is often portraited as the ‘last development frontier’ (Watson,
2014). What is usually conceptualized as the first phase of planning, the urban plans are in
many of Africa’s large cities non-existent or made worthless by being stowed away on some
shelf (Ibid.). When they exist, they rarely correspond with the reality on the ground and usually
only cover land-use zoning (Ibid.). With a fear of being left behind or even moving backwards,
the African urban elite is planning Africa’s future cities. Côté-Roy and Moser argue that the
stress felt by Africa’s urban elites lead to a reduction of “the diversity of potential ‘urban
futures’ and instead of paving the way for one form of urban change broadly framed as Africa’s
only way forward” (2018, p. 2403).

Although African cities have a glaring need for new approaches towards urban planning, the
systems have proven to change very slowly (Watson, 2009b). While other continents, mainly
South America, have been very successful in exporting planning projects and programs
(Montero, 2016; Whitney et al., 2020), albeit not necessarily theory, African cities have not
had the same impact.2 Instead, many plans, strategies, and policies still reflect the planning
ideas transferred from the North through a complex web of colonialism and globalization,
mismatching the formal planning systems to the realities they aim to plan (Watson, 2009b).
Cirolia and Berrisford (2017) show how planning instead has become a tool to exhibit power
for the state and gain legitimacy.

Ghertner (2015) claims that it is not necessarily a lack of urban planning we see in the global
South, but rather that the state has other mechanisms of rules than maps and data. Political
power (rule) can also be secured through aesthetic normativity. Ghertner calls this to “rule by
aesthetics, a mode of governing space based on codes of appearance rather than through the

2
Examples exist of course, such as Kigali, which has been celebrated for the increasingly planned and modern
city by UN-HABITAT (Goodfellow, 2013)

16
calculative instruments of map, census, and survey” (2015, p. 4). There seems to be a
consensual idea about how a world-class city looks like, without the need of the
technoscientific knowledge evaluating and confirming it. This holds some close similarities to
the ambition of the African elite to build world-class cities to emulate the perceived success
stories of the Asian Tigers or Dubai (Watson, 2014). Here, streets are understood as conduits
of power (Dovey in Grünow, 2016) and offer an opportunity for those who seek to reform their
city. Streets, seemingly ordinary, can materialize spatial power through directing the movement
of people in the city, framing the built environment, and transforming the urban space (Grünow,
2016). Hence a governing space unlike cities in the global North is potentially present
(Ghertner, 2015). The technoscientific procedures in building modern cities are complemented
by additional procedures, creating expectations on what a space should look like. This enables
actors and the public to (through the case) understand what belongs and not in the contemporary
streetscape. This thesis claims that this can be represented as conflicting rationalities, one
building on the traditional fundamentals of planning and ideas about the modern city and the
other one which uses the gaze as its logic.

Traditionally managed and governed by state actors, a new global trend calling for urban
sustainability further multiplies the possibilities of streets, complimentary to calls for
development. Not only places to manifest a city’s modernity but also the discourse of urban
sustainability enables new actors to engage in the urban planning arena of the city. One of the
most direct links between streets and the climate change challenges we face is how the planning
of streets affects our movements, i.e., transport. For the cities of Africa, this is mainly a
discussion about how we shape the future, as many of these cities (and countries) are emitting
not even a fraction of their North counterparts. However, with increasing wealth comes
increasing motorization rates (Cervero, 2014), and it can quickly snowball as Africa is also a
dumping ground for second-hand vehicles and technology (UN Environment Programme,
2020). With these calls for urban sustainability in the global South and even hopes of
leapfrogging, new actors get introduced to the realms of planning.

2.2. Calls for development and sustainability introduce new actors

Following the ‘decade of independence,’ the cities on the African continent saw a general surge
in urban planning by states and international sponsors (Goodfellow, 2013). However, that was
followed by a long period where planning fell out of trend with the international development
community (Beall & Fox, 2009; Goodfellow, 2013). Instead, the narrative of urban planning
in Africa became one of failure (Cirolia & Berrisford, 2017). Both Cirolia and Berrisford
(2017) and Goodfellow (2013) highlight that this view is simplistic as across the continent, the
traditions and success of urban planning vary greatly.

With a strong state presence in both urban development and infrastructure investments, Addis
Ababa is far from the depiction of a failed state city (Goodfellow, 2015). This does not mean
that Addis Ababa is without its problems; the power of the state does go contested at times
(Cirolia & Berrisford, 2017). Nevertheless, the “state in Addis Ababa has a strong ability to
forward plan and the resources to invest in both infrastructure and property development”
(Cirolia & Berrisford, 2017, p. 77). With a strong presence of the federal government in city

17
politics (Bridonneau et al., 2012) and extensive regulation and planning (Kloosterboer, 2019),
both the local and federal governments are active actors in the planning of the city.

The general trend of backing away from planning on the continent happened parallel with a
shift towards a functionalist perspective within developmentalism (Myers & Murray, 2006).
This led to a focus on infrastructure investments by international development actors, namely
the World Bank (Myers & Murray, 2006; Schindler & Kanai, 2021). For streets and cities, this
makes a critical distinction in how international actors might approach space. Urban spaces are
understood as nodes that have to be connected to produce a specific value-added activity
(Schindler & Kanai, 2021). With limited access to resources, some claim that Southern actors
actively use the narrative of being marginalized to get access to these kinds of development
projects (Bayart & Ellis, 2000). Concerning planning, this becomes interesting as Bayart (2006
in Pommerolle, 2010) argues that the international is embedded within the national political
space. For urban spaces, this adds a potential additional layer to the discussions on the
globalization of planning, as this layer is rarely found in global North’s planning contexts. It
might invite actors who have a completely different raison d’être logic than a private
consultancy firm or the planner working in the municipality. Potentially, it makes the urban
planning space in Africa more sensitive to global trends on what constitutes development (and
inexplicitly modernity). The range of actors goes beyond planning officials and developers in
the global South (Cirolia & Berrisford, 2017).

This can be understood against the conceptualization of the urban crisis in Africa. Policy
recommendations aimed at addressing this crisis have focused on sustainable development and
poverty alleviation (Myers & Murray, 2006).
“These policy recommendations for making cities in Africa more workable,
sustainable, and livable—and for reversing the slide into further decay—have
largely been framed through the narrow lens of the conjoined discourses of
modernization and development /…/ calling for remedial intervention to
offset the urban crisis by filling in what cities lack”
(Myers & Murray, 2006, p. 2)

As an added layer to the already developmentalism often found in the Sub-Saharan African
context comes the calls for sustainability. As the world realizes that we have to create other,
more sustainable ways of living in our cities, new actors are introduced onto the planning scene
to address this call for sustainability. Just as with the planning profession and knowledge,
studies of various sustainability experiments and projects have shown a strong international
presence (Berkhout et al., 2017; Hansen et al., 2018). The international linkages are actively
shaping the policies of the global South in areas such as mobility (Sengers & Raven, 2015).
However, outcomes can vary from success stories to failed processes (Hansen et al., 2018).

2.3. The perceived action space

Actors, state and third sector alike, act within a formal set of institutions, laws, and regulations.
Mukthar-Landgren and Smith (2019) define this as the ‘actual space for action’ created by
policy and the formal regulation relations between actors. However, action spaces are not only
18
defined by formal policies and regulations but also by the interaction between actors
(organizations and individuals) (Ibid.). Actors’ understanding of their ‘perceived action space’
affects their perception of possibilities and subsequently their action in given situations (Ibid.).
Mukthar and Smith argues that the 'perceived' can have as much effect as the 'actual' action
space in how process, discourses and actions are produced.

The concept of perceived action spaces was coined by Strömberg (2015). Strömberg’s theory
is that the actual action space constitutes all possible actions available to actors (Fig. 1).
However, actors also need to understand the actions available for them to act upon them,”the
perceived action space” (Strömberg, 2015, p. 39). Hence the action performed is defined by
knowledge of available actions and alternatives (Ibid.). “For an action to pass through a
process, it must fit within all three action spaces” (Ibid.). For Strömberg, the subjective
constraints (Fig. 1.) are formed by
identity, values, and competing
needs.

For Kågström and Richardson (2015),

Strömberg’s action spaces offer a
possibility of bridging the gap
“between the ideas for change, its
institutionalization, and the resulting
practice” (2015, p. 110). They argue
that when faced with new demands
and challenges and lacking clear
guidelines, environmental assessment
practitioners might interpret the
situations differently than expected
and take different paths of action
(Ibid.). As in urban planning, the
environmental assessment field is
perceived based on rational planning
tradition (Morgan, 2012). Hence it is
expected that planners experience
similar situations.

Coined differently than Strömberg’s

perceived action space, but with
similar underpinnings is Healey and
Underwood’s (1978) definition of
‘action space’ of planners. The action Figure 1. A visualization of the action spaces (Strömberg, 2015,
space of the planner is defined by 1) p.40)
action space a planner has, 2) action
space the planner ’claims’ to have, 3) power, and/or 4) possibility to influence the definition of
what the appropriate action is and decisions. The difference between what the planner ‘claims’
to have and ‘actually’ has is related to what a planner sees as ‘appropriate’ in a given situation.

19
In turn, what is understood professionally as ‘appropriate’ is closely related to knowledge
within planning and aspirational ideas. Interestingly, in their case studies, Healey and
Underwood found that planners occasionally adapted or changed their suggestions to increase
their space for action. Hence, planners did adapt how they communicated their expert
knowledge according to the organizational context. (Healey & Underwood, 1978)

Grange (2012) explores planners’ ‘acting space’ by connecting actions to theorizations on

power. Starting with the concept of planners’ possible actions given a specific situation, Grange
argues that “hegemonic power struggles and processes of identification are deeply
interconnected and how they interact in the shaping of planners’ acting space” (2012, p.227).
For Grange, possible actions are discursively constructed through articulation, conflicting
meanings, and identification. The discourse of one’s practice (here, planners) heavily
influences an actor’s actions. Through Grange’s connection to power in her writings on acting
space, there is a connection to rationalities within planning. By reading Healey and Underwood
(1978) and Grange (2012), there are two important conclusions to make. Healey and
Underwood (1978) show how planners are driven by a strong professional identity and
influence what one does. In turn, the professional aspirations of planning can correspond to an
organizational context. Grange (2012) illustrates how these acting spaces are not static; they
are shaped through relational interactions.

As these writings on ‘acting space’ and ‘action space’ focus on processes shaping actors’
identity and discourses about the planning profession and knowledge base, this thesis suggests
that these can also be conceptualized as the rationalities of planning. Following researchers’
encouragement of taking a global South perspective, the focus is on the perceived action space.
Engaging in the planning process of the global South is defined by bargaining and negotiation,
as illustrated by Goodfellow (2013) and Cirolia and Berrisford (2017). Goodfellow (2013)
shows how this bargaining is not necessarily defined by formal policy and regulation. Instead,
a planning process holds strong elements of what is understood as both formal and informal
processes, even within formal government institutions (Ibid.). According to Goodfellow,
project implementation is completely contingent on a place’s ‘political bargaining
environment’. Although at face value planning in the global South seems messy, and a process
without rhyme and reason, Cirolia and Berrisford (2017) wish to showcase how that is not the
case. Instead, they show how the process of planning is under constant negotiations between
the myriad of actors (Ibid.).

2.4. The conceptual framework

Taking inspiration from the conceptual building blocks above, this thesis results suggests that
rationalities frame and shape the perceived action space in Addis Ababa. As presented and
discussed in chapters 5 and 6, rationalities of the actors of this study drive how they perceive
what is the possible ways of action. Deeply connected to what planners perceive and present
as rationalities are identities about the trade, the formal structure and what is viewed as the
desirable. Steering all this are the power struggles which both Grange (2012) and Flyvbjerg
(2002) discuss. For Flyvbjerg (2002) the power struggles are shaping the rationalities, for
Grange (2012) it is shaping what experts see as their venue of action. Here, this study finds that

20
action space and rationalities can be understood as connected, as they both stem from a power
perspective. Further, the literature shows that research in the global South needs to allow for
flexibility, i.e. the formal structures of planning might not be the most important for the
planning professions in certain contexts. This thesis suggests that rationalities held by actors
influence how actors behave, choose to realize their projects and undertake planning. Hence
the research questions intention is to capture how rationalities and action space interact in a
global South context.

1. What are the rationalities behind the planning of streets and streetscapes in Addis
Ababa?
2. Who are the actors involved in formulating rationalities around streets in Addis
Ababa?
3. How do those shape the perceived action space for street and streetscape planning
in Addis Ababa?

Through asking the three research questions, the results of the study find four major groupings
of rationalities present (see chapter 5). The groupings are interconnected and interdependent,
influencing how actors choose to act. These are found not to be static, instead the rationality
groupings are constantly getting (re)evaluated and contrasted against each other and
happenings in the context. In these negotiations, possible actions (and non-actions) rise to the
surface. These rationality groupings encircle the perceived action space (fig. 2).

Figure 2. Conceptual framework (source: author)

21
3 Methodology
This chapter explores the research approach for the study, its design, and methods.
Additionally, it outlines the cases chosen and sampling of the interviewees. It closes on a note
on limitations.

This study adopts an ontology stemming from idealism, as the focus of the study is the
construction of rationalities i.e. discourses, logics, power and identities. An idealistic approach
places the mind as the first place of inquiry, and how that constructs our physical reality
(Sprigge, 1998). As Mol (2003) argues in the “The Body Multiple”, applying one ontology does
not render other ontological approaches invalid. Instead, depending on what one aim to study,
ontologies can be changed. The idealistic ontology here is appropriate as this thesis is interested
in the construction and discourses around physical phenomenon. Epistemologically, here
(social) constructivism is employed. The study starts from an understanding of knowledge and
truth as created (Schwandt, 1998). This as the study focuses on the construction of planning
knowledges and the discourses around it.

3.1. Research Approach & Design

The study starts in qualitative methodology to understand the complex reality within a specific
given context (Queirós et al., 2017). The context-based research approach is an essential
component of planning research as it is riddled with so-called ‘wicked problems’ (Rittel &
Webber, 1973). This research aims to expand current theorizing on African urbanism by
collecting empirical data through interviews and observations. The limits on general
applicability is clear as per the high level of sensitivity to context shown in the study; any
findings are not exhaustive or conclusive (Barnes et al., n.d.). Instead, results are aimed at
painting a picture of conditions and rationalities with which planners work and how this in turn
affects what different stakeholders can and aim to do in street-related projects.

At its heart, this research has an inductive approach as it uses the primary data as the basis of
making more general propositions (DeCarlo, 2018). This is used to construct a conceptual
framework on how different rationalities shape the action space for planners and planning
organizations. However, Bryman (2012), noted that the differentiation between inductive and
deductive research is rarely clear-cut. Instead, the inductive process often holds elements of
deduction within itself. As is the case here, an understanding of rationalities and action space
is needed as a theoretical background as well as employed during the analysis process making
the study overall abductive. Chapter 2 offers a presentation and review of the conceptual
building blocks.

This study employs a cross-sectional design with case study elements (Bryman, 2012). The
examples (chapter 4.5.) are used as an inventory to guide the semi-structured interviews and
observations. Usually employed in quantitative research, cross-sectional design can and has
been employed in qualitative research (cf. Beardsworth & Keil, 1992; Leonard, 2004). The
study’s ambition is to understand what the action space of the stakeholders is through exploring
different stakeholders’ experiences of different types of street-related projects. As the inquiries
22
about the projects span conceptualizations of knowledge, functions, visions, regulation, and
more, the action space is highly connected to its context. It would be impossible to conduct the
inquiry without reference to Addis Ababa’s specific characteristics (Bryman, 2012).

The data collection is framed around the examples due to two factors. First, this allows me to
understand the underlying reasonings from a variety of perspectives and, in that, construct a
thematic analysis. Second is the lack of research of stable situations and materials in African
urban research (Parnell & Pieterse, 2016). As Parnell and Pieterse (2016) point out, this
requires an inquiry that can work around quickly changing conditions and institutional stability.

The main area of study is the city of Addis Ababa and several street-related examples. I have
chosen Addis Ababa based on several factors. When preparing for the final thesis before
graduating, I knew I wanted to do research in the global South. This is because the majority of
our future cities are based in the Southern hemisphere, but we still lack the knowledge
cornucopia that we have on global North cities. Further, many of these cities are currently being
built while trying to form a sustainable future for our planet. Addis Ababa was my first choice
based on my personal experiences of living in the city and working there. I deemed this would
allow me to understand better underlying contexts and mechanisms in the urban planning
process. The limitations are set around streets and streetscapes and how those are dealt with by
professionals and organizations actively engaged in the planning process.

A combination of qualitative research methods is used: desk study, semi-structured interviews,

and observations (Seale, 1999). The results are based upon empirically gathered evidence,
“pure data” (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2009, para. 3). This is a common approach in case studies
(Sáez, 2013) and place-based research (de Vos et al., 2019). Further, for problems that dodge
singular and straightforward solutions, multiple methods are preferable. This will allow the
biases of different methods to balance each other out (Seale, 1999). The methods used for
primary data collection are semi-structured interviews with experts (Table 2. p. 29) involved
in different stages of planning processes in the city and with connections to the projects.
Participant observation offered additional primary data and was mainly used to triangulate the
findings of the other methods. The secondary data comprises material from desk research that
involved academic literature, planning documents, and other material relevant to the case and
examples. The secondary data offered necessary contextual background to the case and
examples and allowed the interviews to be more in-depth.

As mentioned above, triangulation has been used in the study to increase its validity.
Triangulation offers a way to increase a study’s validity and provide a more extensive
understanding of a phenomenon (Carter et al., 2014). The usage of multiple methods allows
for triangulation during the data analysis, which is widely accepted to improve the results of
the findings. Each finding highlighted in the results has been reflected upon by two or more
interviews. Further, echoes of the findings are cross-referenced with the literature review and
desk study materials and findings from the observations. By touching upon the examples from
several different angles, nuance is ensured (Denscombe, 2017).

3.1.1. The examples: programs, projects & interventions

23
To navigate the complex reality of planning research, this study grounds itself in looking at
streets and streetscapes through the lens of a certain number of examples (see Table 1). The
usage of examples allows for the study of very abstract questions in a tangible way
(Denscombe, 2010). The approach is that the city examples are essentially sites of global action
(Patel et al., 2017). It also allows for bridging the gap between practice and theory (Perry et al.,
2018).

As the study focuses on how global influences on urban planning processes affects the
discourse and development of streets and streetscapes in Addis Ababa, the examples chosen
(Table 1) all involves international and national organizations. Additionally, the examples
needed to have the initial goal of either producing something to be used in the everyday practice
of street planning or the physical transformation of a streetscape. A variation is sought in regard
to the examples’ permanence (temporary to permanent) represented as well as projects at
various scales (point, corridor, and city-wide). Infrastructural elements within chosen examples
are discussed, but projects singularly focused on infrastructure were excluded. These examples
were chosen based on their differences rather than by their similarities. This is based upon the
logic that if similarities between how the stakeholders understand the project and strategies
taken in the transferring process are similar, they are more likely to be more commonly applied
across the board as the examples are different.

Table 1. List of example projects, programs and

interventions

Example Type of intervention: Scale

Bloomberg Global Road Safety Road Safety City-wide interventions
Initiative (BIGRS)
Transport Systems Improving transport Corridor intervention (5 locations)
Improvement Project systems
(TRANSIP)
Safe Intersections Program Tactical urbanism Point interventions at two crossings
(SIP) intervention turned program
Addis Ababa’s Non-motorized Strategic planning Strategy document/Policy
Transport (NMT) Strategy document
Menged Le Sew/Open-street Once a month closing of Temporary corridors (7 locations)
day streets for NMT
Churchill Avenue Redesigning of a street Corridor intervention
Redevelopment corridor
Transit-Oriented Development Including TOD principles in City-scale
(TOD) Agency Set-up transport and urban
planning
Lebu-Jemo bicycle corridor Implementing a bicycle Corridor intervention
corridor

3.1.2. Data collection & sampling

Data collection was mainly conducted online to take necessary COVID precautions. During
much of the research period the study was undertaken in Addis Ababa. As the internet at times

24
can be unreliable in Addis Ababa, this allowed for the interviewees to choose phone interviews.
Document review and participant observations were done entirely online.

The methods were sequenced as per the below order having each research step inform the next
one. Even though the methods were sequenced, during the analysis the findings from different
methods were revisited as needed. For the data itself, the interviews were the focus of the study,
while the document review and participant observations were supporting material.

3.1.2.1. Document review

The document review provided secondary data (Smith, 2008) to form an understanding of
context-specific elements which affect street planning in Addis Ababa, the examples
themselves, and findings on themes related to street planning from SSA. The document review
helped with a contextual understanding and informed me what questions to ask in the
interviews (Flick, 2015). Understanding the context-specific landscape reduces the risk of
arbitrary generalizations and a high level of subjectivity (Smith, 2008). Materials included:

§ Documents on the geophysical, historical, political, administrative, and

socioeconomic profile of Addis Ababa
§ Literature on street planning in the global south with a specific perspective on
SSA and Addis Ababa in particular
§ Literature on extraversion with special focus on Ethiopian politics
§ Planning policy documents related to street planning in Addis Ababa, including
strategies and plans
§ Reports and studies conducted by international actors on topics related to streets
in Addis Ababa

Noteworthy is that these sources in themselves present a certain perspective depending on the
author. Different sources are used from various authors around the same themes and events to
ensure creditability further.

Documents have proved an essential addition to the interviews, especially to understanding the
chronological events and how different projects relate to each other. Plans and strategies have
provided insight into the current city government's ambitions and priorities, as well as insight
into previous governments’ goals and visions. The official documents used have been a mix of
national- and city-specific documents, as often, national policy is implemented on a city level
in Addis Ababa.

Most documents have been accessed online through search engines (Google, KTH library
search tool) and/or directly on organizations’ websites. Previously owned literature, especially
regarding Addis Ababa’s history, also provided insights. This offers a possibility for the
findings to be verifiable by others than me, the researcher (Denscombe, 2017). Documents on
the TRANSIP project (namely information on where the corridors are located), the Addis
Ababa structure plan 2017-2027, and draft version of Addis Ababa transport plan (unpublished)

25
(Ramboll et al., 2021) were all shared with me directly by professionals who had those
documents available to them.

3.1.2.2. Participant Observations

The two participant observations conducted were in the context of my internship at World
Resources Institute (WRI) Africa. The two meetings used for observations were meetings
regarding the Complete Streets program, which WRI Africa is potentially undertaking. As the
program is still under formation, the professionals participating in the meeting discussed
geographies and the scope of a Complete Streets program. Professionals participating were in
Kampala, Uganda, Nairobi, Kenya, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Washington D.C., USA.

The meetings took place on the 18th and 26th of March 2021, respectively. Both meetings were
conducted at 9:00 am East African time, on Microsoft Teams (online), with a duration of
approximately one hour each. During the meetings, I had a dual role, as observing in contrast
to partaking in the discussions on how potentially to design a Complete Streets program. The
observations were happening in a defined social setting with clear boundaries on who could
partake(Guest et al., 2013). I was in parallel taking notes for my research. This was followed
up by extensive field notes from memory as soon as the meetings finished. All participants
were aware that I was using these meetings as observations.

Doing observations allows for a detailed and rich insight (De Munck & Sobo, 1998) into how
East Africa professionals regard streetscapes, the perceived challenges, limitations, and
possibilities. Further, even though they were practicing street planning (in the broader sense,
which includes transport) in different contexts, the professionals shared similar insights and
experiences, which indicates that there are commonalities to be found regarding streets and
streetscapes in East Africa.

The observations also provided insight into how one international organization (research
institution and think tank) reasons around the question of what is possible to do within the
scope of a project. Observations are compelling in unveiling insights that professionals view
as routine actions and just ‘the way we do things’ (Guest et al., 2013). Additionally, the
observations helped me gain insight into what questions to ask during the interviews and a
deeper understanding of my data (Ibid.).

3.1.2.3. Interviews

According to conventional research methods, doing research in the African context offers a
particular challenge as African cities offer a very different urban context compared to where
the research methods originally were formulated (Parnell & Pieterse, 2016). Parnell and
Pieterse (2016) highlight the importance of situating the researcher into professional networks
as well as using these as a resource. Further, they encourage the research to be locally grounded
and site-specific. Therefore, an integral part of this study is semi-structured interviews. The
interviewees were sampled both based on the desk research as well as by snowball sampling.

26
The components functioned in an iterative way to close the gap of unavailable data often found
when researching in the global South (Ibid.).

The method of sampling relied on purposive and snowball sampling based on non-proportional
quota. The study categorizes each stakeholder by state and third sectors (Avelino & Wittmayer,
2016). For the research, the third sector encompasses many actors such as international non-
governmental organizations, multilateral organizations, civil society organizations, research
organizations, institutes, and more. The identification of potential interviewees was made
through the document review, personal contacts, contacts from WRI, and further suggestions
by interviewees themselves (snowball sampling). In my initial contact with the interviewees,
my internship with WRI awarded me some additional credibility. However, for each of the
interviewees, it was clearly stated that WRI was not privy to the data (recordings and
transcripts), and the primary purpose of the interviews was to provide insights for this study.
As defined by Glaser and Strauss (2006), interview sampling saturation was met when the
interviewees provided similar instances again and again.

The choice to focus on state and third sector actors limit the scope of the study. In Addis Ababa,
the main actors around streets and streetscapes are state and third sector actors, whereas
community and market hold a little role in the planning process. In addition, the study focuses
on professionals in the field, which are primarily found in these two sectors. These two sectors
also frame the discourse around street planning in Addis Ababa through the production of
materials, projects, strategies, and plans. Based on the questions asked in this study, I
purposively chose to keep a focus on the state and third sectors. However, I note that this
perspective risks re-enforcing the notion the planning of streets as something that exclusively
concerns the state and third sector.

The semi-structured interviews were conducted either online (Zoom or Microsoft Teams) or
by phone. The main purpose of the interviews was to collect primary data on the logic and
reasonings on streets, and streetscapes stakeholders have in Addis Ababa and how that
influences their actions. The inclusion of experts solely in the interview study is since they are
the study's focus group. Being aware of the situation with COVID-19, the research was
purposefully designed to be focusing on experts from the start as they are easier to get a hold
of online.

The general themes discussed during the interviews were as followed:

§ Introduction of the interviewee and their background

§ What is your/your organization’s role in relation to streets and streetscapes?
§ Who are the stakeholders you work with?
§ How is the collaboration with stakeholders?
§ What are the most important issues to discuss regarding streets and streetscapes?
§ Example specific questions and discussions
§ What are the past and future challenges and opportunities with street planning in
Addis Ababa?

27
Further, the interviews were framed by the examples listed above to bring a specific context to
the discussion.

Often the internet was not stable enough to have live video calls. As a solution, I had my camera
on when presenting myself and greeting the interviewees. Then during the interview portion,
we had our cameras off. Each interview was between 60 to 120 minutes in length, except one,
which was 25 minutes in length due to poor connection. The interviews were semi-structured,
allowing me and the interviewee to deviate and let the conversation flow naturally. This ensures
that the data gathered during the conversations is reliable and can include previously non-
identified themes and challenge assumptions of I, the researcher (Barriball & While, 1994).
The level of credibility, reliability, and validity is often questioned for interviews (Kelle, 2006).
Here, however, the stakeholders’ own understanding of the examples and the contexts are the
focus of the study, not what is out there in terms of objective reality. The questions and themes
were not shared ahead of the interviews unless requested by the interviewee. Two out of eight
interviewees requested questions to be shared ahead of time. Most of the interviews were
conducted in English, but I mixed in Amharic as needed. Both used in a conversational way.
By consent from all the interviewees, the interviews were recorded for transcription purposes.

Before starting the interviews, the interviewees were informed about the purpose of the study
and, if they approved, that the meeting would be audio recorded. I informed the interviewees
about the level of confidentiality I planned on providing. They were also informed that if they
wished to amend or omit any statement at the end of the interview, they could do so and have
the right to review any direct quotes if they wished. As some interviews shared sensitive
information, some direct quotes used in the study have been abstracted to preserve the
anonymity of the interviewee.

A total of eight stakeholders were interviewed from state and third sectors, with relation to
street and streetscape planning. The list of interviewees can be seen below (Table 2. p. 29). The
interviewees are purposefully kept fully anonymous. The aim is to remove as much identifying
detail as possible (Saunders et al., 2015). Of the two competing priorities regarding interviewee
anonymity, the priority is in this study to maximize the protection of the interviewees’ identity.
As a researcher, I know this can lead to questions about the value and integrity of the data
(Ibid.). Amongst the experts interviewed, the pool of professionals engaging in this field is very
limited in Addis Ababa. Therefore, I avoid cross-referencing the participants’ potential
connection to examples, previous experiences, positions held, current job titles, educational
background, and organizations. This is a challenge, especially as some interviewees spoke of
their experience from the past when they were engaged in another sector than they are today.
With a study that anchors itself in power and rationalities, this is a challenge as it might prevent
me from convincingly depict power relations (Baez, 2002).

As I cannot cross-reference the interviewees or provide a detailed description of their current

roles, I list their mix of experiences and backgrounds in no particular order. The interviewees
share a vast professional experience that spans state, third, and market sectors. The individuals
have worked in other city administrations in the country, worked on a federal level with urban
planning policies, regional governments, lecturing, infrastructure projects (road, hydrology,

28
and railway), multilateral organizations, research, Addis Ababa Transport Bureau (AATB),
Addis Ababa Transport Program Management Office (TPMO), Addis Ababa Master Planning
Office and more. Six out of eight of the interviewees have confirmed having studied outside of
Ethiopia at some point during their education. The educational background of the interviewees
spans political science, economics, geography, transport engineering, urban planning, regional
planning, administration, environment policy, developmental policy, project management, and
anthropology.

Table 2. List and description of interviewees

Interviewee: Date of interviewee: Sector:

Urban Planner 1 April 04, 2021 Third sector: international organization

Transport Engineer 1 April 6, 2021 Third sector: international organization

Transport Engineer 2 April 21, 2021 State: city administration

Urban Planner 2 * April 21, 2021 Third sector: international organization

Mobility Expert April 22, 2021 Third sector: international organization

Researcher April 26, 2021 Third sector: university

Project Manager *^ April 29, 2021 State: city administration

Activist ^ May 05, 2021 Third sector: civil society organization

* Questions shared with interviewee ahead of interview
^ Interview conducted over the phone

3.1.3. Data analysis

The interviews were manually transcribed by me to protect the confidentiality and to enhance
analysis. The accounts were mainly written verbatim. However, in quotes used below,
explanations or revisions are added in closed brackets, and I have also omitted filler words,
repeated words, and slightly corrected grammar to make it easier to understand for the reader.
During the transcription, I made notes and highlighted quotes of themes I could see in the text.

The data was organized around themes. Initially, the themes were top-down planning
mechanisms, the importance of leadership and patron-client relationships, visions regarding
what constitutes a modern capital city, functional properties of streets, focus of examples,
process properties of the examples, planning by whom. To focus the results according to the
questions, I consolidated the initial themes further to be more specific. In consolidating the
themes, I leaned on findings from the literature review and different perspectives often found
29
amongst professionals regarding street planning. Following these, four main thematic groups
crystallized:

1. Visions about the capital city

2. Functional aspects of streets
3. How to make street projects happen (process)
4. How to pivot different rationalities towards others (relationship with stakeholders)

The leading question for these groupings was: what type of decisions, understandings, and
strategies are the different stakeholders employing to what type of street projects are happening
and needed and on what basis? To support these groups, I also made sure to align the themes
with distinctive quotes found in the raw data to ensure direct linkage to the words and thoughts
of the interviewees, as recommended by Fereday and Muir-Cochrane (2006).

Through previous research and findings, tenets and paradigms within the field of urban
planning were used as a starting point and were integral in the analysis development. Further,
the process had a strong iterative and reflexive method, although presented as step-by-step
here. I recognize that as a researcher, there will be some retroductive inference (Meyer &
Lunnay, 2013) , and the knowledge I gathered from my data is not purely based on observable
events but influenced by previous knowledge, schooling, and experiences. More importantly,
the result of the study is one of many ways of understanding street planning in Addis Ababa.

The results are organized according to the research questions and what rationalities are
expressed and who is formulating them is answered in chapter 5. Chapter 6 discusses how these
rationalities frame the action space.

3.2. Limitations

First, choosing to keep my interviewees and data confidential creates tension between
reliability and ensuring confidentiality. I have chosen to prioritize the confidentiality of my
sources. Hence, for others verifying the results is challenging. Because of the current political
situation in Addis Ababa and the limited number of people involved in the field, confidentiality
was necessary to conduct the study. In order to offer as much insight into the raw data as
possible, I have chosen to use direct quotes frequently in chapter 5, allowing the reader to
directly connect with what the interviewees said while their identities are protected. It also
offers me as a researcher more creditability as I have aimed to find as many quotes as possible,
capturing the essence of the conflicting rationalities instead of referring to the interviewees in
a more general way.

Second, by not including sectors such as community, as previously mentioned, I risk re-
enforcing the notion of urban planning as something done by professionals. However, it can
also be viewed as a true reflection of reality. For a state with a history of autocratic rules,
conceptualizing the urban planning process as done in the Global North is nonrelevant. Hence,
this study does not intend to tell how the planning process around streets should be. Instead, it
is focused on what rationalities shape what can be done as perceived by stakeholders.
30
Third, although coming from a Global North university and having grown up in Stockholm, I
am of Ethiopian background and have spent many childhood summers in Addis Ababa before
moving more permanently in 2014. Knowing one of the main languages and culture offers me
insight into social hierarchies, patronage relations, views on the city. This also affects how I
interpret the results and make value judgments.

Finally, researching while doing an internship at the World Resources Institute in Addis Ababa
offers challenges and opportunities. The most significant opportunity is that it allowed me
access to a broader range of stakeholders. It also opened doors in a way where you, whereas an
individual researcher, might have struggled. The relational aspect is essential in getting the data
you need in this research project. Through the internship, I enjoyed a highly privileged position
where my colleagues also assisted me greatly in getting in touch with material, professionals,
and much more. However, the challenge is always how to present the results without
interference from the internship. WRI was instrumental in where I chose to focus the study (on
streets and streetscapes). To decrease the overlap between the investigation into formulating
the complete streets program for WRI and this thesis, I have separated the themes. I also made
sure to be upfront with all the participants on my dual role.

31
4 Interface: Addis Ababa and its streetscapes
Chapter 4 provides a short presentation of Addis Ababa and its geophysical, historical and
socioeconomic character. Sub-chapter 4.1. is a planning history chapter which broadly paints
a picture of the formation and development of Addis Ababa. Chapter 4.2. briefly presents the
city today and more recent developments Chapter 4.3. introduces the governance structure of
Addis Ababa and of its streetscapes. The subchapter 4.4. connect the background to streets and
streetscapes more specifically. The final subchapter, 4.5. presents the examples used to frame
the interviews.

Figure 3. Overview: Ethiopia (source: Patassini, 2018 [adapted by author]).

With an estimated population of 90 million, Ethiopia (fig. 3) still has a majority of its
population in rural areas (UN-Habitat, 2017). Nevertheless, the urban population has more than
doubled since 1984 to 11.86 million in 2007, with a current urbanization rate of 3.8 percent
annually, expected to grow to 5 percent annually (Ibid.). Urbanization is happening while the
country is experiencing a modest growth in industrialization, agriculture still making up the
largest portion of GDP (Dorosh & Thurlow, 2014).

In the country’s effort to reach mid-income status by 2025, Addis Ababa, the capital, has seen
immense growth in urban renewal, investment, and development (UN-Habitat, 2017). The city
is expected to reach megacity status by 2037, exceeding 10 million inhabitants (World Bank
32
Group, 2015), and is one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities (Ibid.). Like many cities around the
world, Addis Ababa is the economic engine for the country (UN-Habitat, 2017), contributing
approximately 50% to the national GDP (World Bank Group, 2015).

Sitting on a highland plateau, Addis Ababa is located on an average of 2400 m above sea level,
with a range of 2025 to 3028 meters (Feyisa et al., 2014) covering 527 km2 of land (Addis
Ababa City Administration [AACA], n.d.) and surrounded by mountains in the north. It is
located geographically almost at the center of Ethiopia. The city is characterized by deep gorges
and hills shaped by the small rivers and streams flowing through the capital (Tufa, 2008). All-
year temperature is mild with an annual average between 10°C-20°C (Regassa et al., 2011).
The seasons are categorized by rainy or dry season. The heavy rain season (Kremt) occurs from
June to September (Ibid.), and the light rain season (Belg) in March and April (Crummey et
al., 2021). The average rainfall is 1200 mm, with 80 % falling during Kremt (Regassa et al.,
2011).

4.1. Historical overview

Addis Ababa, meaning ‘New flower’ was

founded in the late 19th century by Emperor
Menelik (Garretson, 1974; UN-Habitat,
2017). Addis Ababa became the last of the
historically ‘wandering’ capitals (fig. 4) that
had shaped much of Ethiopia’s urban history.
The country’s urban history can be traced as
early as the Axum Kingdom approx. 100 –
940 A.D., most urbanities (and capitals) in
the Ethiopian historical landscapes were
temporary military garrisons (Alemayehu et
al., 2018; Horvath, 1969). When the military
moved out, their urbanities usually dissolved
(Alemayehu et al., 2018). These military
garrisons were formed around the palace,
churches, the marketplace, and the noble
house (Ibid.).

As Addis Ababa was established close to the

natural springs (‘Filwoha’), a distinct pattern
started to take shape around the Emperor’s
permanent residence, similar to how the
military garrisons were set up (Wubneh,
2013). Urban historians refer to this
settlement pattern as Empress Taitu’s plan
Figure 4. Some major capitals in Ethiopia’s history (source:
(fig. 5, p. 34) (Kloosterboer, 2019; Tufa,
(Horvath, 1969)
2008), widely believed to be an (informal)
master plan process led by Empress Taitu

33
 (Tufa, 2008). The accuracy of this historical account has been questioned (UN-Habitat, 2017).
However, the fact remains that features claimed to be part of this plan are found in the city
today.

The

Figure 5. Sketch of Empress Taitu's plan (Mahiteme, 2007 in UN-Habitat, 2017).

earliest structure/morphology of the city placed the palace (the ‘Ghebbi’) in the center, while
nobles settled in a circular radial pattern on the surrounding hills. Diverse functions were
established around these settlements, referred to as ‘sefers’ (meaning settlement) (Tufa, 2008).
Space was allocated between each sefer to define territory and to ensure security (Ibid.). Tufa
states that through looking at the vertical pattern within settlements, one can see the hierarchical
position of the land occupier, both within sefers and in relation to the Emperor’s palace.
Another important feature of this morphology is the polycentricity of Addis Ababa. Each sefer
did eventually develop into small centers (Kloosterboer, 2019), with each sefer having a social
mix (Alemayehu et al., 2018). This is in strong contrast to the segregated plans of the colonial
capitals elsewhere in Africa (Cirolia & Berrisford, 2017). The first land charter was established
in 1907, followed by the urban administration in 1909 (Batistoni & Chiari, 2004; Gezahegn
Berhe et al., 2017; UN-Habitat, 2017).

The first masterplan was presented and conceptualized by the global North’s understanding of
planning was during the Italian occupation of Addis Ababa (Pankhurst, 1961; UN-Habitat,
2017). The occupation was the Italians’ second attempt at colonizing Ethiopia, making Addis
Ababa the capital city of ‘Impero dell’Africa Orientale Italiana’; hence the city was
administered as a colonial city from 1936 to 1941 (Kloosterboer, 2019). There were two
34
attempts to master plan Addis Ababa during the occupation, Le Corbusier in 1936 and Guidi
and Valle in 1938 (UN-Habitat, 2017). Le Corbusier’s sketch plan was built on a dual city
model (Gezahegn Berhe et al., 2017), which separated the Ethiopians and Europeans, making
the center of Addis Ababa a monument of Italy’s grandeur. Addis Ababa was to be a colonial,
rational, and green city (for the European section) (Tufa, 2008). However, Le Corbusier’s plan
was rejected as it did not consider the city’s topography. Guidi and Valle’s plan geared away
from the dual city model and focused on presenting the Italian empire’s grandeur in their plan
(Ibid.). Segregation between Ethiopians and Europeans was still essential in their plan, and
they went into detail about how to segregate Ethiopians into “Christian and Muslim sectors
and tribal blocks” (Tufa, 2008, p. 40). Guidi and Valle’s plan focused on two parallel axes; the
commercial axis and the political axis (Tufa, 2008). With the Italians being ousted in 1941,
their plans subsequently followed. Most of the plans were never realized, but the Italians
introduced European planning practices (Kloosterboer, 2019), including the basic street pattern
(Alemayehu et al., 2018).

During the Imperial regime (1941-1974), master planning of the city continued. The first plan,
prepared by Sir Patrick Abercrombie, organized the city in neighborhood units connected by
green, with the city being encircled by three ring roads (Tufa, 2008). This master plan was
followed by a proposal by the firm Bolton and Hennessey. Their plan was similar to
Abercrombie’s, but it expanded the city’s boundaries further (Wubneh, 2013) and accounted
for a higher population growth than Abercrombie. Both plans were proven hard to implement

Figure 6. De Marien's plan for Addis Ababa (source: Mahiteme, 2007 in Kloosterboer, 2019)

35
as the plans went against the street grid design already established and required a total
transformation to be realized (Tufa, 2008). As a result, a French firm led by Luis De Marien in
1965 drafted another master plan (fig. 6, p. 35) which returned to the axial pattern, but in
contrast to the Italians’, the focus was on only one axis (Ibid.). Sources differ regarding the
extent of implementation of the 1965 plan. Tufa states that considerable parts of De Marien’s
plan were implemented while others state that it was not (UN-Habitat, 2017). No matter the
standpoint regarding the level of implementation, there has been a historical mismatch between
plans and the reality on the ground.

The revolution in 1974 slowed the growth of Addis Ababa. The new regime, Derg, nationalized
all land (Wubneh, 2013). The Derg followed this up with two attempts of master plans for
Addis Ababa. The first plan, in 1978, was prepared by a team of Ethiopians led by the
Hungarian planner C.K. Polonyi. The plan sought to do two main things: first, create urban-
rural linkages (megapolis plans), and second, to redevelop the inner-city (Kloosterboer, 2019).
Except for the redevelopment of Meskel Square in the center of Addis Ababa, most of the plan
was not realized due to a lack of financial means (Tufa, 2008; UN-Habitat, 2017).

The plan from 1986, developed by a team of Ethiopian and Italian planners and architects, was
to direct the city’s development for the upcoming 20 years (Kloosterboer, 2019). Compared to
the previous master plan processes, this master plan used over 200 sectoral reports as a
reference for the planning (Tufa, 2008). The 1986 master plan focused on the regional
integration and the development of the centers in the city’s periphery (Wubneh, 2013).
However, it did not sufficiently address the shortages in housing, infrastructure, and sanitation
the city experienced (UN-Habitat, 2017). It failed to get timely approval and did not get it until
1994, after the fall of the Derg regime (Kloosterboer, 2019). During this time, the city
continued to grow and expand without direction causing sprawl and urban fragmentation (Tufa,
2008).

The Derg regime was overthrown in 1991 by Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF)
forces (Poluha &
Feleke, 2016).
Following the period
of the Transitional
Period Charter,
fundamental changes
happened. The
country was made a
federal state, and the
map redrawn
(Poluha & Feleke,
2016). Addis Ababa
became a chartered
city and was given
federal status Figure 7. Five-Tier National Urban Planning Scheme (source: Kloosterboer, 2019)

36
(Wubneh, 2013). In 1999 the new government established the Office for the Revision of Addis
Ababa Master Plan (ORAAMP) (Kloosterboer, 2019). ORAAMP was to revise the 1986
masterplan. The revised master plan became known as the Revised Addis Ababa Master Plan
for 1999 to 2003 (Tufa, 2008). As a result of the federal system, a new national urban planning
scheme (fig. 7, p. 36) was introduced in the plan (Kloosterboer, 2019). Structure Plans and
local development plans (LDP) were introduced. This was a way to more adequately address
the socio-economic problems of the city through planning (Kloosterboer, 2019; Tufa, 2008).
The EPDRF introduced a land-lease system in 2002 (Wubneh, 2013) in an effort to unlock the
nationalized land’s market value (Goodfellow, 2015) in hopes of addressing the city’s housing
shortage.

Since 1991, some noteworthy urban developments in the cityscape were the construction of the
inner ring road, national state-funded social housing developments, light-rail transit, and road
network expansion. In 2004, a development plan for Addis Ababa was launched as a statutory
structure plan which provided an overall strategic framework for the city (Addis Ababa City
Planning Project Office [AACPPO], 2019). The LPDs which were there to “enable on-the-
ground flexibility and negotiation to better manage urban growth” (Kloosterboer, 2019, p.
130) were mostly “morphological analyses with no critical understanding and interpretation
of space and development factors” (AACPPO, 2019, p. 12) with many areas still lacking LDPs
(Kloosterboer, 2019).

Inspired by global examples of regions and regional planning and with the support of the
French Development Agency and the municipality of Lyon, a plan which sought to further
integrate Addis Ababa with the surrounding Oromia region was launched as the ‘Addis Ababa
and the surrounding Oromia Special Zone Integrated Development Plan’ in June 2014 (Cirolia
& Berrisford, 2017; Kloosterboer, 2019). Fear of eviction, land grab, and longstanding political
tensions led to violent protests (Cirolia & Berrisford, 2017), and the plans were abandoned in
2016 (Samuel & Terrefe, 2021). After years of political upheaval and discontent, Dr. Abiy
Ahmed became the prime minister in 2018, forming the current ruling Prosperity Party.

4.2. Addis Ababa today

Together with the eastern-bound city of Dire Dawa, Addis Ababa is one of the two chartered
cities of the country, essentially enjoying the same status as a federal state (Abebe &
Hesselberg, 2015). The city holds several roles as an important diplomatic center hosting the
UN Economic Commission to Africa and Africa Union Headquarters (Ibid.). It is also the seat
of the Oromia Regional State government (Oromia Regional State, n.d.), the regional state that
encircles the city. Today, the Addis Ababa City Administration estimates that the city is home
to a population of 4,700,000 residents (AACA, n.d.). Densities across the city vary dramatically
based on how close you are to the city center. In Addis Ababa, the density in the city center is
approx. 30,000 people/km2 (World Bank Group, 2015) but tapers out drastically the further
from the city center you move (Antos et al., 2016).

37
Many of the changes made during EPRDF’s time are present, such as the Structure Plan and
the LDPs. Urban planning is undertaken by the municipality (the city administration), including

Figure 8. Addis Ababa today and historical growth (source: Patassini, 2018)

infrastructure, utility provision, and road development (UN-Habitat, 2017). However, as we

can see with several previous and current projects (such as the light-rail transit (LRT), Entoto
Park, Condominium social housing development, Beautifying Sheger, and more), the national
state is still highly present in shaping the city (Terrefe, 2020). The city has expanded rapidly
since the 2000s, both in population and built-up area (fig. 8), and the city is undergoing rapid
change (Bridonneau et al., 2012). Several scholars see this as symbols of the modernity
paradigm and the makings of a world-class city (cf. Abebe & Hesselberg, 2015; Bridonneau et
al., 2012; Kloosterboer, 2019).
“Ethiopian urban spaces are shaped by radicalism. The programs are
designed and implemented to allow a rapid production of a modern and
standardized city.”
(Bridonneau et al., 2012, p. 329)

However, the city is still struggling with providing its residents with basic infrastructure. By
law, the municipality must service all leased land with basic infrastructure, but the city is
struggling to keep up with the demand (Wubneh, 2013). A report from the World Bank
estimated that only 44% of the city’s population had access to clean water, and less than 30%
had access to sewage services (World Bank Group, 2015).

38
 4.3. Governance

The city is governed by the Addis Ababa City Administration, eleven sub-cities (AACA, n.d.),
and 116 Woredas, the smallest administration unit (Fana ABC, 2020; UN-Habitat, 2017).
Together with local development plans, the current structure plan is leading the development,
but inconsistent application has been noted, especially with national state-promoted projects
such as the Le Gare Development (Cirolia & Berrisford, 2017; Terrefe, 2020).

For street planning, Addis Ababa City Roads Authority (AACRA) is the main body responsible
for planning, designing, and constructing streets (roads). Originally AACRA was under Addis
Ababa Transport Bureau (AATB) (cf. World Bank, 2014). However, AACRA currently
answers directly to the mayor’s office “so they can get solutions easily regarding to the land
acquisition and the resettlement issue” (Transport Engineer 1). Although the recent Structure
Plan (2019) both set standards, regulations, and recommendations regarding the street network,
it is AACRA’s design manual that shapes the streetscapes of Addis Ababa (Transport Engineer
1; Transport Engineer 2; Urban Planner 1). Further, the interview study also reveals how the
lack of integration between the different government offices results in many issues. For
example, a road can be constructed just to be dug up again as the Water & Sewage authority
needs to access the pipelines (Transport Engineer 2). An infrastructure development integration
authority has been set up to avoid these situations, but further integration is needed in
combination with a stronger legal framework (Transport Engineer 1; Transport Engineer 2).
Finally, there is no clear mandate on who manages the built road assets, which increases the
risk of roads fall into disrepair (Transport Engineer 2). The interviews paint a very siloed
organization around street planning where road and transport, for the most part, are connected
while land use and urban planning is its own field. With AACRA being directly accountable
to the mayor’s office, another tendency within the governance structure of Addis Ababa is
shown; it is vertical, and patronage is important. This is not unique for the city; instead, a
common feature of Ethiopian politics (Bridonneau et al., 2012). The reliance on strong
leadership (and leaders) for the realization of projects and plans are re-iterated by the
interviewees.

4.4. Streets of Addis Ababa

“What we say usually in Ethiopia is we have roads we don't have streets”

(Urban Planner 2)

The first roads of Addis Ababa were what we today would call pathways connecting the sefers
(AACPPO, 2019). Emperor Menelik built the first gravel road (Terrefe, 2020) and
subsequently followed that with several roads for goods (Pankhurst, 1961). In 1902 the road to
Addis Alem (approx. 40 km west of Filwoha, central Addis Ababa) was being constructed (fig.
9, p. 40) as a way to supply the city with much-needed wood and other resources (Ibid.).

39
Figure 9. Construction of the Addis Ababa-Addis Alem road in early 1900s (source: Batistoni & Chiari, 2004)

Hence, in its earliest inception, Addis Ababa had goods roads and beaten pathways connecting
the different sefers (AACPPO, 2019). The building of modern roads intensified during Haile
Selassie’s reign in the 1930s (Ibid.). It is unclear to what degree the Italian occupation (fig. 10
is an aerial photo taken before or just after the Italian occupation of Addis Ababa May 1936)
introduced European planning practices regarding the city’s street layout (cf. Alemayehu et al.,
2018).

This is further blurred as many Italians were involved in building roads in Addis Ababa pre-
Figure 10. Aerial view of Arada and St. Ghiorghis Church in ca. reflected a conventional western
1936 (source: Batistoni & Chiari, 2004)
and post-occupation (Batistoni &
Chiari, 2004; Pankhurst, 1961).
Probably, the Italians held some
influence in planning the streets as a
network as it was an essential part of
the European way of master planning.
The fact remains that many of today’s
inner-city streets were built during the
occupation (UN-Habitat, 2017). The
earliest notions of public space (as
conceived in global North planning
practice) were in Le Corbusier’s plan
(Tufa, 2008). Interestingly enough, the
public spaces provided in Le
Corbusier’s plan were separated from
the traffic corridors, in contrast to how
many European capitals had been
designed (Ibid.). With the plans
produced post-occupation, they
perspective on street and streetscapes
(fig. 11, p. 41).
40
Some of the road redevelopments today can be traced back as far as De Marien’s plan, which
envisioned the creation of Champs Élysées by connecting Addis Ababa City Hall to the railway
station (Churchill Avenue today) (Tufa, 2008). The current Structure Plan reads as follows:
“Churchill Avenue as the ‘Champs Élysées’ of Addis with interlinked greens enhancing the
character of a promenade on the southern section by adding, amongst other amenities, a
second row of trees” (2019, p. 59).

Figure 11. Addis Ababa, a view from Meskel Square over the bridge leading to UNECA building in 1966 (source:
Cartocci & Cosulich, 2012)

Overall, the development of roads and the road network has followed various plans (Tufa,
2008). Under EPDRF (2019-2018), there was a focus on infrastructure and infrastructural
development, nationally and in the city. This is in line with the developmental state model
applied by EPDRF, which uses infrastructure investment as a driver for growth (Clapham,
2018). In 2000, the first phase of Addis Ababa’s inner-ring road was completed (Wubneh,
2013). Between 1992 to 2021, the city nearly doubled the number of roads to 3,731 km
(AACPPO, 2019). Figure 11 shows how the percentage of paved roads increased between 2003
to 2013 (fig. 12, p. 42). As a country, Ethiopia ranks the highest amongst the African countries
on infrastructure expenditure (World Bank Group, 2016).

Roads are not necessarily the same as streets (Speck, 2013), but the available material about
Addis Ababa does not offer differentiation between the two. The same goes for the linguistic
nuances, as the Amharic word ’Menged’ does not distinguish between road and street. Street
designs have generally been car-oriented in Addis Ababa (Transport Programs Management
Office [TPMO] & Addis Ababa Transport Bureau [AATB], 2018). Many of the roads within
41
the city lack walkways and
infrastructure for non-
motorized transport (Ibid.).
However, this is changing as
the latest Structure Plan
requires any street
development to allocate 30-
50 % of right-of-way
(ROW) to non-motorized
transport. AACRA is also
currently updating its design
manual to reflect this Figure 12. Percentage of area (km2) devoted to paved roads, 0.5 km2 grid
changing paradigm from cells (source: (Lall et al., 2017)
road to streets within the scope of the TRANSIP project (Transport Engineer 1). Before the
current Structure Plan launched, many streets of Addis Ababa had walkways and structures
accommodating users other than drivers. Comparatively to many other global South cities,
Addis Ababa is not doing
the worst (Researcher).
However, developments
during the 90s and 00s
clearly showed that the car
was prioritized over all else.
An example is the
development of one of
Addis Ababa’s main streets,
Airport Road finalized in
2013 (more commonly
referred to as Bole Road).
Today, it is an eight-lane
road (fig. 13) cutting
through downtown,
connecting the city with the
airport. Wide sidewalks are
provided for pedestrians;
however, the spatial quality
of the street is more
resemblant than an
expressway and a hazard for
pedestrians to cross.

Regarding transport and

modal users, Addis Ababa
has a public transport
system service by the Figure 13. Views of Bole Road, 1989 (left) v 2020 (right) (source: Abbas Shash,
Anbessa and Sheger bus 2020)

42
companies and a minibus system, often found in African cities (commonly referred to as
paratransit). The public transport sector struggles to keep up with demand (AACPPO, 2019).
Although Addis Ababa’s streets have mainly been geared towards first goods transport in its
earliest stages and cars during the 90s and 00s, Addis Ababa’s main transportation mode is
walking, followed by public transport (including the minibuses) (Table 3). Compared, for
example, with cities such as Copenhagen, which is often quoted in terms of sustainable urban
transport, Addis Ababa’s travels by privatized cars are lower (Table 3.).

Table 3. Comparison Addis Ababa's and Copenhagen's modal share

MODE Addis Ababa Copenhagen

PRIVATE CAR 15 % 26%
PUBLIC TRANSPORT 31 % 27 %
WALKING 54 % 6%
BICYCLE N/A 41 %
Sources: (TPMO & AATB, 2018) (Deloitte, 2019)

However, with increasing wealth, the number of private cars is increasing, and retaining the
modal share while also ensuring better conditions for the residents remains a challenge
(Ramboll et al., 2019).

Streets are much more than transport and road coverage, but this background reflects official
planning documents and material focus. As pointed out earlier, changes are happening, e.g.,
the Addis Ababa Non-motorised Transport (NMT) strategy compared to how historical
accounts portray streetscapes (Batistoni & Chiari, 2004; Tufa, 2008) and also how projects
have materialized post-1991. However, the documentation links to transport and streets
strongest still (cf. AACPPO, 2019).

4.5. Examples of street projects and programs

This chapter shortly presents the example projects and programs chosen to frame the interview
study. Overall the examples discussed in the interviews cover a period from 2015 to today (fig.
14, p. 45). As described in chapter 3.1.1. the programs, projects and interventions greatly differ
in manner of scale, style, and more. Below, in table 4, is a summary of the examples chosen.

Table 4. List of examples

Project Perio Partnership
Scale
focus d s
Examples Owner/initiator Type of Period: Partnerships: Scale
interventio
n:
a. Bloomberg Bloomberg Philanthropies Road 2015 – City City-wide
Global Road Safety ongoi administrati interventio
Safety Initiative ng on, WRI, ns
NACTO,
ITDP

43
b. Transport World Bank Improving 2016 – City administration, Corridor
Systems transport ongoing international intervention (5
Improveme systems (preliminar consultants locations)
nt Project y end date
2023)
c. Safe Initiated by Tactical 2016 – NACTO, city Point
Intersection NACTO urbanism 2017 administration, WRI interventions at
s Program interventio two crossings
n turned
program
d. Transit- N/A Including End date: City administration, N/A
Orientied TOD 2018 ministries, planners
Developmen principles from Lyon, WRI
t Agency in transport
Set-up and urban
planning
e. Menged Le Civic society Once a 2018 – City administration, Temporary
Sew/Open- initiative month ongoing WRI corridors (7
street day closing of locations)
streets for
NMT
f. Addis ITDP Strategic Launched: City administration, Strategy
Ababa’s planning 2019 UN-habitat, Ministry document/Polic
Non- document of Transport y
motorized
Transport
Strategy

g. Lebu-Jemo City Redesignin 2020 WRI, BIGR, ITDP, Corridor

bicycle administratio g and TUMI intervention
corridor n (TMA, implementi
AATB) ng a bicycle
corridor
h. Churchill City Redesignin 2020 -2021 Previous design: Corridor
Avenue Administrati g of a street EiABC with NACTO intervention
Redevelopm on under the corridor
ent Prime
Minister’s
Beautifying
Sheger
Initative

44
Figure 14. Timeline of case studies (in color) and city planning documents (source: author)

a. Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety

The Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) is a global program with the aim to
reduce road crash injuries and fatalities. The initiative is supported by Bloomberg
Philanthropies (Global Road Safety Partnership [GRSP], n.d.-a) as part of their public health
program (Bloomberg Philanthropies, n.d.). Addis Ababa was chosen as a program city in Phase
II, 2015-2019 and then again for Phase III (2020-2025) when Ethiopia was also chosen as a
program country (GRSP, n.d.-a). BIGRS covers a wide range of interventions regarding road
safety, from safe design guidelines to enforcement strategies and mass media campaigns (
GRSP, n.d.-b). The program also functions as a donor for some of the projects, programs and
interventions below. Importantly, BIGRS is set up within city administration institutions
(Ibid.), and in Addis Ababa’s case they were also instrumental in restructuring the Addis Ababa
Transport Bureau (Mobility Expert). In Addis Ababa they have several implementation
partners: World Resources Institute (WRI), Institute of Transport and Development Policy
(ITDP), the World Bank and more. (Global Road Safety Facility et al., 2019; GRSP, n.d.-a).
Because the program is city-wide, no specific spatial interventions are highlighted in the map
(see fig. 15. p. 46). On the timeline, the arrow indicates that the program period stretches
beyond 2023 (fig. 14, p. 45).

45
 Sebategna

Figure 15. Project locations (source: author)

b. Transport Systems Improvement Project

In June 2016 the World Bank committed USD 300 million over a period from 2016 – 2023 to
improve the mobility in selected corridors under the Transport Systems Improvement Project
(TRANSIP) (World Bank, n.d.). The aim is to improve mobility and road safety through
improving conditions in five selected street corridors (World Bank, 2016b). Additionally the
project aims to strengthen the operations and capacity of Addis Ababa public transport
agencies, strengthen federal transport institutions, improve driver training and testing,
strengthen traffic law enforcement through technology and establish a database for licensing
(Ibid.). For this study, the focus was on the two ‘Complete Streets’ corridors the World Bank
is implementing in Addis Ababa (fig. 15). In total there are five corridors selected for
improvements and the World Bank is providing technical and design assistance for the
remaining three corridors (World Bank, 2016a).
c. Safe Intersections Program

46
The Safe Intersections Program (SIP) started as a
tactical urbanism intervention lead by NACTO-
GDCI in July 2016 to build capacity amongst local
stakeholders in street designs at the Le Gare
intersection in central Addis (NACTO-GDCI &
Addis Ababa Transport Programs Management
Office [TPMO], 2017). In December, a more long-
term (six months) design was completed, which
built upon the designs of the one-day trial in July
(Ibid.). In October 2017, the transformation was
made permanent (Ibid.). The Le Gare
transformation (fig. 16) served as a starting point
for SIP, and in 2017, a complete program was
launched as part of the Road Safety Strategy
Implementation Plan (RSSIP) supported by
NACTO (Hirpa, 2017). Within the scope of
RSSIP, the goal is to transform ten intersections a
year (Ibid.). The first transformation within the
scope of the program was the Sebategna
Intersection in November 2017 (NACTO-GDCI,
2017). The program is funded by BIGRS (Ibid.).
Used for framing the discussion in the interview
study were the two interventions Le Gare and
Sebategna intersection. The project is marked on
the timeline (fig. 14, p. 45) represents these two
interventions and not how the SIP took shape
afterward. The same goes for the map (fig. 15, p.
Figure 16. Part of the Le Gare transformation.
46).
Top:before. Middle: one-day transformation.
d. Transit-oriented Development (TOD) Bottom: 6-month-transformation (NACTO-GDCI
&TPMO, 2017)
Agency Set-Up
Following the calls for planning which integrates land-use and transport, as highlighted by all
respondents of the interview study as well as in planning documents such as the Structure Plan
(AACPPO, 2019), there was an effort made to set up a Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
Agency within the city administration (Mobility Expert). In the meetings happening in 2018,
several arms of the city and the federal government participated in establishing the TOD
agency. City planners from Lyon (one of Addis Ababa’s sister cities) were also involved
(Mobility Expert). The plans for the agency were canceled by the current city administration
as they did not see the need for the agency and shifted their focus elsewhere (Mobility Expert).
This was supposed to be a city-wide institutional arrangement, but it is not marked out on the
map (fig. 15, p. 46). Regarding the timeline (fig. 14, p. 45), only the event (Autumn 2018)
when the negotiations fell through is marked as there is a lack of documentation to access
regarding its inception.

e. Menged Le Sew

47
In late 2018, Addis Ababa’s version of open street (car-free) day was launched, Menged Le
Sew (translates as ‘Streets for Humans’ in Amharic) (ITDP Africa, 2019). Menged Le Sew
started as a community movement inspired by Bogotá’s Ciclovía (UN Environment
Programme, 2019). During autumn 2018, a partnership was launched between Traffic
Management Office (TMA), TPMO, and Menged Le Sew to make the open street day reality
in Addis Ababa (BYCS, 2020). WRI Africa also supported the partnership. When it first
launched, approx. 4 km of roads were closed in various locations in Addis Ababa (ITDP Africa,
2019). Today, the event takes place in seven locations around the city, closing approx. 15 km
of road space to car traffic every Sunday from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm (BYCS, 2020). The event
has also launched nationally, taking place in several cities around Ethiopia (ITDP Africa,
2019). The start day is marked on the timeline, and the arrow represents how this event is
planned to stretch beyond 2023 and has no end date (fig. 14, p. 45). The event places cannot
be found on the map (fig. 15, p. 46) because they are very temporary installments that have no
permanent physical changes in place.
f. Addis Ababa’s Non-Motorized Transport Strategy
At the end of 2018, Addis Ababa City Administration presented Addis Ababa’s first Non-
Motorized Transport (NMT) Strategy for 2019–2028 (TPMO & AATB, 2018). It is a strategic
document meant to improve the conditions for NMT around the city by developing walking,
cycling infrastructure, and facilities (ITDP Africa, n.d.). The strategy outlines city-wide
measures, tools and interventions planned until 2028 (Ibid.). Additionally, the strategy details
goals for developing walking and bicycling infrastructure (Ibid.). It builds upon the road safety
strategy, Addis Ababa’s transport policy, and the national Climate Resilient Transport Sector
Strategy (ITDP Africa, n.d.; Transport Engineer 1). Addis Ababa Transport Bureau developed
it with the assistance of ITPD Africa. Funding came from UN Environment Programme and
UN-Habitat (ITDP Africa, n.d.).
g. Lebu–Jemo Bicycle Corridor
As part of the NMT Strategy, an interim bicycle corridor was constructed in early 2020 in the
Lebu-Jemo corridor (fig. 15, p. 46) in the south Addis (NACTO-GDCI, 2020b). The bike lane
was conceived as a demonstration project for the planned bicycle infrastructure development
outlined in the NMT Strategy (NACTO-GDCI, 2020a). TMA and AATB undertook the road
transformation with support from WRI, BIGRS, ITDP, and TUMI (NACTO-GDCI, 2020b).
The current bike lane stretches 3 km and is bi-directional (Ibid.).
h. Churchill Avenue Redevelopment

48
 The final example used to anchor the
interviews is the redevelopment of
Churchill Avenue. Churchill Ave. is
one of the main axes of Addis Ababa
(fig. 17, historical picture) stretching
from the high elevated City Hall to
the former train station at Le Gare.
As previously, this street corridor
has remained an important feature of
Figure 18. Churchill Ave., view towards city hall 1968 (Calvert,
inner-city Addis Ababa and in
1968) different iterations of the master
plan. Already in De Marien's plan
from 1965 conceived Churchill Ave. as the Champs Élysée of Addis Ababa (Tufa, 2008).
NACTO, with a team of students from EiABC, did develop a Complete Street design of
the avenue sometime between 2016-2018 (Transport Engineer 1; Urban Planner 2 Swart,
2019)). The street became a supplement of the more extensive 'Beautifying Sheger
initiative' led by the Prime Minister's office in 2020, together with the refurbishment of the
central Meskel Square (Embassy of Ethiopia, 2021; Misikir, 2020). The development
started in May 2020 and ended in June 2021 (fig. 14, p. 45) (Embassy of Ethiopia, 2021;
Misikir, 2020). The redevelopment (fig. 18) focused on widening the pedestrian paths and
greenification
along the 3,5
km long
corridor, and
the works were
undertaken by
Addis Ababa
Construction
Bureau
(Embassy of
Ethiopia,
2021). The
interview study
exclusively
discussed the
avenue and did
not include the
whole
refurbishment,
which stretches
all the way to Figure 17. Churchill Avenue being redeveloped March 2020. View towards the City Hall
Meskel Square. encircled in white (source: author)

49
5 Conflicting rationalities
Chapter 5 discusses the findings of the interview study, while triangulating the findings with
the document review and the observations. Subchapters 5.1. to 5.4. answer the first question:
what are the rationalities behind the planning of streets and streetscapes in Addis Ababa? The
results are presented and discussed in themes as identified during the thematic analysis. The
order also follows the framework from chapter 2.4. The themes created can best be understood
by the questions listed in table 5.

Table 5. Rationality groupings

Visionary rationalities what is the aspirational goal?

Functional rationalities what is the purpose? What functions do we attribute to the

space?

Procedural rationalities: how do we do it?

Relational rationalities: how are interests negotiated between actors?

Subchapter 5.5. answers the second question: who (or what) are the actors involved in
formulating rationalities around streets in Addis Ababa? Below in table 6 is a relist of the
experts interviewed for this study.

Table 6. List of interviewees

Interviewee: Sector:
Urban Planner 1 Third sector: international organization
Transport Engineer 1 Third sector: international organization
Transport Engineer 2 State: city administration
Urban Planner 2 Third sector: international organization
Mobility Expert Third sector: international organization
Researcher Third sector: university
Project Manager State: city administration
Activist Third sector: civil society organization

5.1. Visions of streetscapes

Streets and streetscapes are essential in building the image of a city. Rationalities found here
regarding visions and visuals are related two to layers of conceptualization. The first is how
the experts visualize what Addis Ababa’s streetscapes should look like and where those images
are coming from. The second layer is the overall vision for the city. The multiple visuals and
50
visions expressed by the experts and the city do not necessarily conflict in a binary manner.
Often the experts express the sentiment ‘it is ok, but then what?’ (Urban Planner 2; Transport
Engineer 1; Researcher) regarding several of the street projects, interventions and programs.
As an expert asks themselves: “the trade-off is, to what extent do better pedestrian walkways
and cleaner streets help people who do not have electricity and water?” (Researcher). Visions
and visuals have several tensions which delineate the action-able space for streets projects and
developments. The visuals promoted by organizations and/or the city through the street
examples are based on visuals from elsewhere and intertwined with the city's image-building.
“You first need to agree on what you mean by this, by what, by that vision”
(Mobility expert)

Even projects solely realized by the city government itself have often had global involvement
in their earlier re-iterations. An example of this is the redevelopment of Churchill Road in the
central parts of Addis Ababa. In its earlier stages, NACTO was involved. According to the
experts interviewed, a reason why the designs by NACTO and EiABC were not realized was
because of the lack of contextualization in the design process.

“NACTO had a specific concept of what streets should look like and then they
tried to accommodate that into redesigning process of streets in Addis”
(Urban Planner 2).

Even when de-coupled from specific projects, the images of what streetscapes should look like
from abroad are still very present. It can be found through the usages of tools inspired from
other places or actual trips made to desirable places of inspiration. As a former planner from
the city planning office told: “[f]or some of the projects /…/we used to go to different /…/
European or Asian cities” (Urban Planner 1). Even the educational background of the experts
holds a strong influence here. As an urban planner said: “When I was back in school, we did
not give it that name [complete streets] but we kind of, we had like this appreciation for
boulevards, we had an appreciation for avenues” (Urban Planner 2). Here there is a strong
contrast between what the urban planners and the engineers express. While the urban planners
as a cohesive group do not judge whether the international influences are good or bad, they
reflect upon them and how they might have formed ideas about streetscapes in Addis Ababa.
The engineers discuss the shortcomings of technical designs and standardizations but do not
include normative discussions of what makes a good street. What is seen as the ‘desirable’ is
assumed.

These images, though, are not singularly imported from North to South. Some of the examples
use South-to-South visuals, toolkits, and inspirations (Activist). This does not necessarily
ensure success, but it illustrates how the traditional power relations in planning with North
imposing ideas on South are simplified. The experts witness how some of these projects
actively seek out situations and places that might have more in common with a city like Addis
Ababa rather than trying to emulate what has been done in the global North.
“The opportunities are that you know Addis Ababa is the capital city of
Ethiopia and not only for Ethiopia, but it is also a capital city of Africa”
(Project Manager)
51
Further complicating what type of visions of streetscapes that are coming from elsewhere is
the vision of what Addis Ababa should be projecting globally (worlding practices). Being an
important diplomatic town with headquarters such as the African Union (AU) and United
Nations the Economic Commission to Africa (UNECA), Addis Ababa’s streetscapes have to
correspond to multiple visions of the city.

The overall image portrayed of Addis Ababa holds an apparent influence on some of the street
projects. The experts tend to see this in two ways: an opportunity to create the modern African
city leading the way of African city development or as a gentrification process that creates a
city for the elite pushing out the everyday citizen. The latter group questions the motivations
behind some rationalities displayed in streetscapes. Especially how the current national
government is promoting greenification and pedestrianization projects all across the city.
“I think it’s [Churchill Rd development] motivated more by ’we need to
beautify the city so we can attract tourists’”
(Researcher)

These worlding practices that some of the experts identify are also problematized in terms of
what is actively not allowed in the streetscapes but are traditional practices that still hold
essential functions for many of the city’s residents:
“I used to believe that we should ban animal-drawn carts, but I am lately
thinking, why? Why are we doing that? Because it is not modern enough is the
answer I have, but I cannot logically reason why we can’t consider them as
means of transport”
(Urban Planner 2)

Historically, there has been a shift in what constitutes the desirable street according to the
physical developments of the city. Contrasting the redevelopment of Bole Road to today’s
Churchill Avenue shows how there has been a shifting focus towards pedestrianization and
greenification and potentially away from cars in Addis Ababa (fig. 19, p. 53).

As the ideas surrounding modernity are starting to move away from the car paradigm and
sustainability is higher on the agenda, Addis Ababa’s interpretation of modernity has shifted
to include walkability and greenification. The uptake of principles as promoted by
organizations other than the city administration is partially contingent upon the overall
discourse of the city administration. As the Churchill Ave. project showed, simply redesigning
a street according to an organization’s principles is not enough, regardless of where those
principles stem from or the desirability of them. It is when rationalities adopted from elsewhere
match the reality of the city and the rationalities held by practitioners and/or the city
administration that it seems to be most noticeable. This can be likened to successful policy
transfer, as discussed by McCann and Ward (2010).

52
Figure 19. Bole Road (left) and Churchill Ave. (right) (Source: Getty Images, 2018; Office of the Prime Minister –
Ethiopia, 2021)

The importance of portraying Addis Ababa continentally and globally as a modern city can be
derived from where the city government chooses to focus greenification street projects in the
center of the city and statements made in the current master plan: “[d]eveloping Churchill
[avenue] as the ‘Champs Élysées’ of Addis” (AACPPO, 2019, p. 58). Further, the structure
plan highlights other boulevards and important axes of the city center. In existing planning
documents, the (main) city center is promoted as a walkable place with “attractive landscaping
to ensure pedestrian comfort” (Ibid.).

5.2. Functions of the streets

What functions we place as planners and focus on within streetscapes projects both shape and
dictate the actionable space for projects and street developments.

Closely connected to the worlding rationalities is the street as a space for greenification. Rather
than being displayed as functional rationality held by the experts, it is explained as a rationality
held by the city leadership and national government. The experts remain ambiguous towards
the widespread greenification happening along corridors in Addis Ababa. It is perceived in
conjuncture with the pedestrianization of the streetscape together with the non-motorized
transport strategies. Then greenification is seen as an appreciated addition to the mobility
rationality rather than standing by itself.

53
 “To give pedestrians special attention is a good start. And greenification, as a
part of the prime minister’s initiative. But you know, when we design roads,
when we develop all these things, we have to see the whole objects, the
whole design and development of roads in a way that satisfies all the needs
/…/Many things are missing, but we are appreciating the initiatives that are
available.”
(Transport Engineer 2)

Some of the experts remain critical as they fear that the greenification agenda by the city
government runs the risk of gentrifying Addis Ababa.
“Gentrification or improvements of neighborhoods through these really large
infrastructure projects were happening top-down /…/you take out entire
neighborhoods and you build up this very luxurious seven-star hotel”
(Mobility expert)

Rather than being a question about the ‘goodness’ of greenification, the experts question
whether greenification of a street or a street network can address the needs of the city’s
residents. As one of the urban planners point out, it is also a failure within the profession when
urban planners start to engage in the urban design of the streets from a mainly aesthetical point-
of-view.
“So they were like how can we make streets more beautiful? So, it was mainly
from aesthetics point-of-view that our urban designers’ kind of started to
engage in that space”
(Urban Planner 2)

Hence, while the city government is actively pursuing projects focusing on greenification,
projects led by other organizations have not primarily engaged towards greenification. It is
rather seen as an addition to another main rationality for those projects. While it is seen as a
possible positive addition by the experts, it is seen as a tool to improve the public realm by the
city administration (AACPPO, 2019)

When looking at the projects promoted by non-governmental actors, international, research

institutions and think tanks, there are two rationalities more present than others: safety and
mobility. These are, in this context, more often than not, interlinked. These rationalities have
shaped much of the streetscape development in recent years in Addis Ababa, which is explained
mainly by introducing the Bloomberg Global Road Safety Initiative (BIGRS) to the city in
2015. The involvement of international stakeholders was introduced via this initiative.
“Through BIGRS we have organizations [such as] NACTO, WRI and others,
who have supported us in the implementation of some programs such as safe
intersections program”
(Transport Engineer 2)

For the strategies coming from the programs the road safety strategy (2017) is often perceived
as an essential building block of the other strategies.
54
 “The NMT strategy is duplicate of the road safety strategy, which says like
‘improve the sidewalks, make sure it is inclusive of all ages and abilities’”
(Transport engineer 1)

Transferring from road safety issues into questions on mobility seems to have been a natural
transition for many of the stakeholders. This can be understood from several angles. One is that
pedestrians are overrepresented in crash fatalities (Abegaz et al., 2014). Hence early safety
interventions focused on highlighting pedestrians, either through the safe intersections program
or the introduction of prioritizing pedestrians in the road safety strategy (2017). Second, some
of the safety interventions opened up space in the streetscape:
“It has really been OK, the first thing that we do is just lower speed. So, if we
see a lot of pedestrians moving in that area, but we see that there are other
modes that are using it too, especially vehicles, then we just say ok make the
speeds like 15km/h or less. And in that sense, you have just created like a
space, a safe space for everybody to sort of move.”
(Mobility Expert)

Road safety only made up a part of the organizations’ focus areas for many of the stakeholders
involved. Take NACTO, for example, they played a key role in the SIP, but one of the
organization’s overall missions is: “communicating a bold vision for 21st-century urban
mobility and building strong leadership capacity among city transportation officials”
(National Association of City Transportation Officials, n.d.). As one of the respondents retell,
NACTO approached the Addis Ababa structure plan office as the current structure plan was
being prepared concurrently with the road safety program being implemented.
“NACTO came to the country at the right time, when the masterplan was
under preparation.”
(Urban Planner 1)

Through this, the term ‘complete streets’ was introduced into the current structure plan (
AACPPO, 2019, p.56). In the TRANSIP project, the term Complete Streets was also used in
the initial project scoping (World Bank, 2016a), introducing some professionals to the term
(Urban Planner 2). The understanding of complete streets, which has become an umbrella term
for desirable/enviable street development in Addis Ababa today, mainly reflects a focus on
road users by the experts:
“I really think about sort of inclusive street design principles and planning;
where you really look at all the needs of your sort of road users and really take
into consideration allocating safe and accessible sort of space”
(Mobility expert)

OR

“It is about taking into consideration of all road users: vehicles, cyclists and
pedestrians”
(Transport Engineer 2)

55
Not all the experts share this mobility-focused understanding of complete streets, but it is the
understanding most prominently featured in the interviews, projects (TRANSIP), and strategies
and plans. Going into a clear focus on the mobility perspective opens the question of who is
considered a user of the space and for what. The structure plan places restrictions on animal
movement on certain roads (AACPPO, 2019, p. 76), and other official documents do not
consider this mode of transport (cf. TPMO & AATB, 2018). This is connected to visual
rationalities, as imported imageries of streetscapes and ideas of modernity do not often consider
these types of modal users relevant in a modern city (cf. Kloosterboer, 2019).
“When you have a donkey walking down the street and donkey is one of the
transport ways of freight transport in Ethiopia, what do you do with that? Or is
your first instinct to completely ban animal driven carts? That has been the
practice.”
(Urban Planner 2)

Even though not considered in the centre of the city, animal-drawn carts as well as three-
wheelers are important modes of transport in the peripheries of Addis Ababa.

Going beyond the mobility perspective, street vending is another activity that professionals and
the city struggle to include. Recognition of this can be found in multiple documentations and
the interviewees. As one of the experts reflected: “one of the biggest problems they [TRANSIP]
had (with the corridor implementation) was around vendors and how to work that” (Mobility
Expert). As one project manager reflects: “what [TRANSIP] is trying is that to not eradicating
all street vendors from there, instead of within the design [TRANSIP] is finding a way” (Project
Manager). How this concretely will take shape is still unknown. When considering streets from
the mobility rationality, street vendors are understood as often encroaching space from modal
users.
“The household survey informs that improving the conditions for walking is
very much required. Most of the respondents (on average 90% of both male
and female respondents) emphasize the need for more sidewalks not
cluttered by street vendors and shops”
(Ramboll et al., 2021 p.83)

When taking on another rationality, looking at the streetscape as providing urban services
within the space, street vending is instead understood as an essential.
“Street vendors are not there because they have no space, street vendors are
there because there is demand for their services /…/ there are lots of people
in Addis who cannot get their groceries, a week's grocery at a time, they have
to buy those every day, right? So, these people need them”
(Urban Planner 2)

Combining these different entry points of what functions a streetscape should provide leads to
conflicting views on how to allocate the space and to what. Especially as many of the street
projects have a restricted amount of space (ROW), choices about what functions are prioritized
and how, become a key step. This is very much still under formulation in Addis Ababa,
56
according to the experts: “we have to make sure, if we are designing a complete street, what
are the principles behind?”(Transport Engineer 1). Even when using tools such as the Global
Design Guideline initiative (or sometimes understood as Complete Streets), a conflict arises on
what space should be allocated to what: “even in the NACTO [design guideline] the context
part is tricky. They do not want to put things fixed, they want to make sure that the context for
land use and activities are properly documented” (Transport Engineer 1).

This leads to a present issue raised by all interviewees: the land use. All interviewees find the
connection between transport and land use to be the most critical one as they see transport as a
derived demand shaped by land use. However, the examples display how this is rarely handled
as a part of a project. For the TOD agency set-up, this was the central part driving the project.
However, it fell through in the political disruptions of 2018 (Mobility Expert). The experts
recognize that moving forward street developments cannot essentially be about transport
planning; it also needs to include urban development. Even from the government’s side, the
land use component in street development is recognized as highly important. However, as one
of the experts, highlight, this is not necessarily politically feasible and therefore not acted upon.

Instead, the focus is on updating the AACRA’s design manual and the different
standardizations existing in Addis Ababa (AACPPO, 2019; TPMO & AATB, 2018). Perhaps
ironically, standardizations and manuals may only do so much, and they cannot guarantee
pleasant walking environments.
“This tumultuous urban landscape, which fails to meet any conventional
American measure of ‘pedestrian friendliness’ of a walker’s paradise /…/ The
main thing that makes Rome /…/ so walkable is what we planners call ‘fabric’,
the everyday collection of streets, blocks and buildings that tie the
monuments tighter”
(Speck, 2013, p. 10)

The final potential function of streets and streetscapes raised in the interviews is the question
about public space. Both documentation, as well as the interviewees, see the great potential for
it: ”but you know in Addis where there is a lack of public space, where really I do not know,
there is just huge potential for it” (Mobility Expert). Both the Structure Plan and the draft of
the Transport plan (Ramboll et al., 2021) acknowledge the need to expand the view of streets
to include public space. Even though this function of the streetscape is continuously recognized
and agreed upon, the actual practice is limited. For one of the experts, this is the result of a lack
of assignment of who manages the public space.
“Issues such as using streets as a public space, they [AACRA] might not give
attention to it /…/because there is no one who is responsible for the
administration of the road assets”
(Transport Engineer 2)

The lack of integration of functions such as street vending and public space shows that
functions in themselves are rarely the point of contestation for professionals in Addis Ababa.
Instead, it is a discussion on what is seen as practically feasible and what is understood as

57
prioritized. The definition of what functions are deemed includable by international
organizations is clearly dependent upon the pre-existing understandings of streets in Addis
Ababa and institutional setup. The functional rationalities assigned to streets and streetscapes
in Addis are mainly designated to mobility and road safety functions because that is where the
funding was (BIGRS). International organizations try to expand the understanding of what
functions should be considered in the streetscape as it is all interconnected, but the emphasis
has been on road safety. The main tool of this type of promotion can be found below.

5.3. Process a street project

As much as street and streetscape function rationalities dictate what to place in them, this is
negotiated between stakeholders. Pushed through resistance to the rest: “as the most common
practice in Ethiopia [in planning] is to just push through the resistance” (Urban Planner 2). In
the procedural discussions with the stakeholders, there is a clear delineation between who
defines the ‘what’ and the ‘where’. Global organizations initiated most of the projects
considered in this study. For example, as one interviewee clearly pointed out, NACTO actively
approached the AACPO. What can be found is that whatever global actors might promote, the
city administration is not a blank slate. Professionals within the administration seem more or
less willing to engage with the global actors based on what they perceive as needed in the city.
“Nobody knew what NACTO did /…/ so people were not open to them,
especially from the road authority’s side. As I told you, it
is kinda more towards road engineering. But when they came to the master
plan [office], when they approached me with the idea [of complete streets] it
was something we were thinking also”
(Urban Planner 1)

Stakeholders observe how coming with something considered new is always a risk as it might
end up as a report on a shelved unused and forgotten: “we understand that there are multiple
studies in Ethiopia, a lot, a lot of studies which are just on the shelves” (Urban Planner 1). One
of the respondents goes further and sees this as a burden on the city administration and how
this requires resources being used in places where it is not necessarily most needed.
“The partners [global actors] themselves in my view, sometimes become a
burden on the city administration because this administration doesn't have
the absorptive capacity to engage all of these actors at the same time.”
(Researcher)

On the other hand, when collaboration has been established, the city administration might even
reach out to the global organizations for city-initiated projects as a way to get expertise and
resources which they might not have in-house: “we work closely with them, we request them
to do some things /…/ we are making good use of them and their experts available in the city
of Addis Ababa” (Transport Engineer 2).

For the examples studied here, the physical placement of projects is often defined by the
government, either the national or the city government. In general, project owners hold some

58
ability to define what type of space is desirable depending on the objective of the individual
project. In both TRANSIP and the Menged Le Sew Program, stakeholders observe that the
final decision on where intervention could take place was decided by city government actors.
“Basically, the five TRANSIP corridors were chosen from AACRA’s priority list”
(Project manager) and “Ultimately it was TMA and TPMO3 that made most of
the decision [on which streets open-street day could happen]”
(Activist)

Even though the city administration holds a clear decision on where projects can take place,
other stakeholders have some room to manage through the usage of best practice projects.
“So, you had a more sort of centralized system created where you could sort
of channel, like for example these best practices and it would infiltrate to all
the agencies and authorities”
(Mobility expert)

Often these best practices are effective in trying to motivate why specific considerations needs
to be made. This is often combined with the reality on the ground, for example the focus of
some interventions in BIGRS is based on Addis Ababa’s crash data.
“We extensively worked on speed management, on speed management we
put speed calming measures. Speed humps at many locations, particularly
where crashes frequently happened.”
(Transport Engineer 2)

One of the most effective ways of promoting something new is by pilot projects and
benchmarking. Almost all of the projects discussed applied this method. The formula is often
to do a pilot and then scale. In some cases, such as TRANSIP, the plan is to do a limited number
of corridor interventions, and after that, the city administration is expected to build upon that.
In some, it is used as a way to promote certain ideals (Mobility Expert discussing Menged Le
Sew).

Piloting is seen as a way to create demand for the solutions provided through the pilot, often
both towards the city administration and the public. If done successfully, the interviewees see
this as a tool to convince and show the professionals and politicians in the city what potential
a project holds and why this is important. However, this is not solely seen as the ideal way of
doing things. One respondent argues that these risks reinforcing the top-down planning
tradition of the city and can easily negate the intention (Urban Planner 2). The expert in
question would rather see that demand for planning solutions for streetscapes comes from the
public in a bottom-up process. Here though, a problem presents itself for the experts, as many
of the solutions offered of development of streetscapes do not necessarily address the residents
and communities most urgent needs in the city.

3
TPMO is dissolved and is today part of AATB
59
 “So, you know, the feedback [from the community] that you get is: ‘instead of
using the paint to paint the ground, you know, can you paint our communal
bathrooms’ or ‘can you build us communal bathrooms'?"
(Mobility expert)

For the projects using reports and principles as a tool, standardization through bench-marking
and best practice has become standard practice through the many strategies and guidelines
being developed in collaboration with global organizations. These standardizations and
regulatory frameworks are, in general, seen as unproblematic. However, the critical pressure
point is how they are integrated into everyday practice through professionals and politicians.
There is a history of lack of adherence to plans made (Researcher). Further, as one of the
experts highlights, standardizations can, in the end, only do so much. In the end, it will always
come down to the individual planner to make decisions because planning is not a case of one
size fits all (Transport Engineer 1).

This pilot and benchmarking rationality set a limit on what type of projects global actors
promote and pursue. Either the focus tends to be on very high-level documents targeted towards
professionals within the city administration or, when physically implemented, interventions
that are very limited in terms of spatial scale. What the pilot projects show is that there is a
discrepancy between what interventions planners in government and non-governmental
organizations wish to see versus needs expressed by the general public. This gap is usually
bridged by either direct dialogue with the community or, more often, media.

Piloting and benchmarking will also mean that underlying principles behind interventions,
reports, and strategies rarely get discussed. Instead, global organizations many times re-
enforces the idea of planning as a simple technological challenge. Not because the experts are
not aware that underlying assumptions and principles are important, but because it is seen as
the sphere of the political.

5.4. Negotiation, collaboration, and conflict between actors

Planning street and streetscapes have been viewed as simply something for engineers in Addis
Ababa. An excellent example of this is how AACRA uses a highway manual as the base for its
road designs. There are strong indications that this is about to change. The road design manual
is currently getting updated, and the update is said to reflect more of a street design similar to
Complete Streets design principles. The fact remains that in the relationship between global
organizations and the city administration, technical solutions have been more prevalent than
planning ones. This can be understood from two viewpoints. One is the age-old different
approaches to streets by engineers and planners. Through functionalistic rationality, street
planning has been mainly a case for engineers, globally and Addis Ababa alike.
“Especially for road-related projects, the thing is it is the idea of the concept
[of complete streets]. I guess, that is most countries also suffer this issue of
having these engineer-oriented planning and also these city planners’
preference on having these street designs. You know those fights/…/for Addis
Ababa the major problem used to be, we have these civil engineers who are
60
 working in the road sector, there were less planners or no planners at all in
some offices/…/ They [engineers] do not see streets as an inclusive space.”
(Urban Planner 1)

Seemingly, planners in Addis Ababa lean on the global organizations as champions for what
they wish to see in the streetscape and streets’ functional rationalities. Global organizations, on
their hand, seem to enter into least-resistance situations for them to pivot into other agenda
points (Mobility Expert). One of the experts calls for evidence-based planning as a way to
correct the lack of coherence between plans made and reality on the ground (Transport
Engineer 1). Nevertheless, this way of approaching a process also risks reinforcing modernity
rationalities (Ghertner, 2015). It is not about whether we need ‘data’ or not; it is the recognition
that any collection and usage of data will always be normative, and any actor in the field has
to recognize this juxtaposition.

Beyond the professional differences between engineers and planners, there seems to be a strong
tension between the different actors within the city administration. The experts feel like a lot
of their work is contingent upon arbitrary decisions by politicians. This is not an uncommon
tension within the field. However, in Addis Ababa, these decisions do not necessarily follow
due process and can happen in a blink of an eye (Transport Engineer 1; Transport Engineer 2;
Mobility Expert). These projects implemented by leaders can be seen as essentially good ideas
(i.e., LRT or Sheger development) but problematic because they deprioritize other important
projects that are not seen as politically attractive. For streets, the bus rapid transit (BRT) delay
is an excellent example, where the development of the BRT has been going on for almost 16
years (Researcher). This is while the construction of the LRT was swiftly implemented over
six years.

The fragmentation of planning processes offers both opportunities and risks for the non-
governmental actors. In the case of BIGRS, it has enabled the organization to create a strong
entity which even survives immense political change and turmoil, namely the change in
government in 2018. But it also makes projects vulnerable to changing interests of the political
leadership, and within hours a whole project can just dismantle: “the new administration said
there is no need for this corporation and dissolved it, while the meeting was happening”
(Mobility Expert).

In this fragmented system, the experts and organizations alike rely on strong leadership. As
long a leader with similar values and ambition is in office, a lot can happen and happen very
quickly. Agency to professionals in the city administration is awarded to them by individual
people rather than by regulation, institutionalism, and professionalism. By using consultants,
the city administration can also distance itself from the politics of the planning process.
“When you work with local governments there is, they kind of are afraid of the
commitment, afraid of the accountability. So, they put pressure, I work as
a consultant, and I work for them literally, not the community /…/ what usually
happens is, you kind of diffuse the demand of the community. You, as a
professional, are forced to compromise and that compromised mainly will
depend on how YXZ is priority right? /…/ I shouldn't be in between that
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 compromise. That should be like something the local government and
administration needs to do with the people, they have to define their
priorities. But you never see that happening and the buffer unfortunately
would be the consultant.”
(Urban Planner 2)

The urban planner says this is because the local administration tends to stick with already
known deliverables. Others echo this: “They [the city administration] do not want to implement
it because they just want to do some routine works.” (Urban Planner 1). This leads to an
expectation on the consultant to engage with the community and having those discussions at
their discretion. As the activist reflects: “there is not always a super big desire to have civil
society in the first place. There is a lot of desire for government control, which I think in some
cases are really helpful”. Several experts raised this dual perspective of wishing to see better
engagement with the community regarding street developments. However, they also recognize
the importance of a centralized, organized government as streetscapes often have a larger
impact beyond their immediate surroundings. What is consistently highlighted by the experts
is that it should be the city administration that should connect directly with the community, not
the non-governmental actors.

5.5. Formulating the rationalities

Overall the political space (including planning) in Addis Ababa is vertical, which means that
in formulating rationalities, actors need to work upwards, focusing on targeting the city's
leadership. That does not necessarily mean that city actors formulate rationalities; they rather
approve or block rationalities expressed in the examples discussed here. The city administration
has a clear mandate on placing potential projects, but it is less clear to what degree they
influence the contents of the projects, programs and interventions. Third-sector actors seem to
adapt earlier to what they perceive the city wants or needs. A case of this is how clearly the
BIGRS has cleared the way for many other projects and organizations within street planning.
However, initially, the BIGRS program is about public health matching better with the
ambitions of the government (mainly national). So, through another more dominant rationality
did these types of projects get introduced. This shows that actors (organizations and individuals
alike) are constantly adapting and relating how they communicate their narratives, goals, and
ambitions towards what they perceive as the ambitions of the national government rather than
the city administration. It is suggested that country and city leaders formulate where the focus
might lie. However, expert individuals can tweak and fine-tune, often with the support of third
sector organizations. Through project-making, global organizations can promote certain
discourses and perspectives and slowly influence the rationalities of street planning.

Although the interviewees call for the inclusion of community and resident perspectives,
practically, it seems to be hard to include. In some projects, there are community engagement
processes. Yet, the experts witness how these are limited and not designed to sufficiently
engage with the community. Instead, they are brought in at later stages. The priority for the
projects led by global actors is to convince upwards, to through their projects promote specific

62
rationalities towards the national and city administration, making community engagement
processes a lower priority.

63
6 Defining the perceived action space
According to Strömberg’s action space model, perceived action space is defined by actual
(formal) action space. Here instead, the findings lead to an understanding of the perceivable
action space as shaped by rationalities held by the different actors. How the experts perceive
the rationalities of the state (national), other organizations, and their own, defines how they
navigate certain projects and processes. The interviewees’ motivations, understandings, and
logics construct four rationality groupings (fig. 20).

The discussions around what actors could, should, and would do are shaped by the conflicting,
converging, and shared rationalities expressed about the visions of the city, the functions of
streets, how to implement a project practically, and the relationship between actors. The
processes Strömberg and the others identify as identity and discourses can be understood as
rationalities according to the findings.

The results give more importance to the

perceivable action space over the formal. This
is reminiscent of Cirolia and Berrisford (2017)
and Goodfellow’s (2013) findings. The
perceived action space is not necessarily
defined by the formal in the global South. For
Addis Ababa in particular, Cirolia and
Berrisford instead find negotiated spaces for
action: “[i]n Addis, state-led construction, in
a sea of urban informality, forms the basis of
their regulatory approach, creating a
situation where (new and conforming) high-
quality construction is side by side irregular
slums. Control is selectively negotiated,
focusing enforcement on new building and
ignoring that which already exists” (2017, p.
75). The formal being understood as created
Figure 20. Conceptual results (source: author)
by laws, institutions and regulations, which are
according to Strömberg’s (2015) model (fig. 1
p. 19) defining the perceived action space. The findings here suggest that the formal is
negotiated and therefore cannot be understood as from a static point of view. In Strömberg’s
case, the formal action space (formal) is the legally and institutionally regulated space, where
power is set within a structure. The perceived action space is where power is relational and
discursive. The results here suggest that, first, the boundaries between the two spaces are
blurred. Second, what is in the global North often conceived as set, is here in constant flux
based on contexts and actors.

The result of the study adds another layer of complexity to Cirolia and Berrisford’s negotiated
spaces. Underlying ideas, ideals, and understandings held by actors shape what they wish to do
and what they might promote in their role as professionals. Rationalities of the trade do hold
64
influence on how they choose to approach developments in the streetscape. In addition to the
traditional rationalities found within the field of urban planning are rationalities of a different
quality. This thesis suggests that we find an expanded view on what is seen as rational (logical).
Rationalities are not a few clearly defined statements here. Instead, they are complex and
negotiable. An example of this is how the need for evidence-based planning was raised several
times in this study. According to literature, this feeds into the narrative that you can plan a
modern and rational city (Ghertner, 2015). However, in this case evidence-based planning was
a way for the actors to remedy disjointed planning, which does not take the reality on the ground
into account. The reality of planning Addis Ababa is that often planning happens removed from
that space with a lack of input. For the respondents, evidence-based planning becomes a way
to pivot the needs on the ground to be included in planning, rather than feeding into the
narrative of planning the modern and rational city. The motivations of why evidence-planning
is needed are drawn from a different place, where the interviewees find that planning does not
necessarily address the residents’ needs enough.

Focusing on the planning of street and streetscape projects in Addis Ababa requires looking
beyond rationalities held by singular actors and organizations. As much as the rationalities are
interesting on their own, it is in understanding their relation to each other which the perceivable
action space emerges. The rationalities also determine each other more than just having
commonalities and sometimes representing two sides of the same coin. The negotiation
between the different rationalities is constantly being shaped and re-shaped in relation to each
other and the situation. Actors are highly aware of this interplay, just as in Makhale and
Landman’s (2018) study of conflicting rationalities in gating communities in South Africa.

To illustrate this, we can look at the discussions the actors have around the procedure
(procedural rationalities). Individually, three actors express three different starting points for
projects. First, ‘showing by doing a pilot project’, which can be understood as a procedural
rationality as held by actors. Second, collect data in the intervention space and do project
intervention based on what is needed in that space. Third, start with discussions with the
community. The pilot project logic is the most conflicting with the two last ones, while the two
final ones can be understood as similar depending on what type of data you aim to collect. Yet,
although critical of the pilot project technique, actors accept it as the common practice and
even the best option to how to best go about implementing projects. When the third sector
actors are the owners of projects, this leads to the question: who are you implementing the
project for? For the case of the Safe Intersections Program, the actors themselves witness how
the communities affected by the redesigned intersections did not necessarily feel ownership
over the change in their neighborhood. With some time passed, the actors see how lack of
community ownership has left those spaces compromised and somewhat deteriorated. The
more important role seems to be to convince state (national, local, and individual actors) of the
potential of implementing different street functions and knowledges into the planning process.
Finally, third sector actors also have responsibilities towards their funders. One actor reflects
that since participatory approaches are very fluid processes, most donors/funders will not fund
them. Hence, within the discourses around how to process a project, multiple views and
normative standpoints exist. The prevailing rationality is the pilot project technique, even
though it sometimes goes against what the actors see as the best course of action. This is based

65
on both their normative understanding of their profession and how a project could be more
successful.

As much as negotiations within the themes exist, they are also contingent upon other rationality
groups. In the case of the Lebu-Jemo bike lane, actors compromised about the design (expert
knowledge) to make city officials less stressed about implementing the bike lane. Today the
bicycle lane is bi-directional to not take up too much road space, primarily from parking. Based
on how third sector actors perceived the relational rationalities of city officials and how they
relate to stakeholders around the corridor, the third sector actors prioritized corridor
implementation over safe design principles. The project’s overall raison d’être was its change-
making properties to convince city officials that implementing bike lanes might be a good idea
and show (partially) how it is done. In this case, promotion of building bike lanes is grounded
mainly in the visions of bike cities (Amsterdam and Copenhagen) and how organizations and
actors see these as aspirational. By including the Complete Streets principles in the Structure
Plan, a couple of bike lane corridors, and a bike network in the Addis Ababa non-motorized
strategy, the third sector actors have created a need that may not have originally been there.
Addis Ababa’s share of bicyclists has historically never been high compared to other modes
(Tulu et al., 2019), instead of walking and public transport have been the modes used. In
importing the bike city as aspirational, third sector actors must create a local demand for it to
find a landing spot for the planning idea transfer. So, to be able to create the future demand and
work towards the aspirational bike city, third sector actors compromise on the functionality of
the pilot project.

Although the respondents of the study expressed different rationalities in different ways, the
perceived action space was relatively similar. This might result from many of the actors
interviewed having worked both in the state and the third sector at some point. Towards the
state, third sector actors seem to be adapting their discourse towards a more engineered
narrative as it is perceived as the preferred discourse for the state. International organizations
tend to focus on the engineering side of planning streets as it easier motivates their raison d’être
and provides them a more straightforward entry into the sphere of planning streets in the city.

When reflecting on Addis Ababa’s strategies, regulations, and manuals, the actors discuss how
those could and should be changed rather than how they relate the actions of their projects
according to rules and regulations. The actors interviewed wish to institutionalize the planning
system further formally through addition, revision, and update of strategies and plans. Thus,
actors interviewed act according to the perceived space of action, with an unclear relationship
to the formal action space, while they wish to enlarge and further define what the formal action
space is. Another entry point to this is how the actors both call for the professionalization of
the planning field in Addis Ababa but rely on the presence of strong leaders (decision-makers)
to progress projects.

Within the state sector, multiple layers exist in parallel. Professionals see themselves as
separate from decision-makers. In advancing their views on how we should produce streets,
they take help from third sector actors to carry their thoughts upwards in the institutional
structure. The state also asks for third sector assistance in providing expert advice and technical

66
support as a consultancy. It is a give-and-take relationship where third sector actors are invited
into the planning process within the state institution. In contrast, often, third sector actors are
expected to find funding for the support given elsewhere. Another result of this is how the state
often places third sector actors in-between themselves and communities. By placing other
actors in-between, the state is distancing itself from dealing with the many needs that can arise
from community engagements and similar processes.

The above examples and the data also imply that all rationalities are not seen as equally as
defining for the perceived action space. Relational and visionary rationalities seem to hold
more defining power than functional and procedural rationalities. Relational and visionary
boundaries also connect the strongest to those rationalities discussed in global South literature.
Visions of promoting Addis Ababa as the modern green capital city of Africa are driving state-
led projects such as the Churchill Avenue development. Another example is how all the actors
lean on the patronage system to promote their projects, although it is also a risk. This indicates
that it might be more relevant to look at the perceived action space rather than the formal one
in the global South.

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7 Concluding remarks & future research
A myriad of rationalities exists in Addis Ababa regarding street planning. These rationalities
are not always motivated by global North standards of what is seen as rational and logical.
Instead, these rationalities are formulated through a process of negotiation based on global
ideals and local realities. The rationalities can conflict, converge, be supplementary or dormant
depending on the situated realities of a project and how an actor perceives the action space.
Amongst the professionals interviewed here, the perceived action space of street planning in
Addis Ababa was often agreed upon and shared. The actors felt the best way forward was often
to adapt to an apolitical, engineering, and technically focused discourse. Relying on the
patronage of city leaders is important but not unproblematic. The experts called for the
professionalization of the city administration and the increased and consistent application of
the formal action space (according to laws, regulations, and master plans). However, these
changes were often not deemed within the scope of the street planning examples discussed
here. Meaning that many of the features (functions and procedures) the actors wished to see in
street planning could not be introduced as the setting did not encourage certain rationalities. As
actors are well-aware of the tension, they adapt how they communicate their rationalities
towards others.

The findings of this study reveal how the perceived action space as shaped by rationalities
holds possibly more weight in influencing actors’ actions than the formal action space. For
studies in the global South, this suggests that planning research should focus on the areas of
perception rather than focus on formal planning law, regulations, and strategies. In Addis
Ababa, the constant negotiation regarding rationalities and action space leads to a constant
fluidity where everything is up for negotiation. The rationalities of street planning expressed
in the formal action space are more singular and less negotiated; however, the implementation
is negotiated.

The less rigid formulations of action space allow non-state organizations (here, global
organizations) to influence and diffuse their rationalities into the street planning process. In the
end, this process happens in collaboration with the state and city administrations but not
necessarily from within. The change agent (here, the global organization) can be attached rather
than assimilated. International organizations wish to increase the formal action space and see
the informal (perceived) as problematic, but it is within the perceived, they act (and act upon).

For the examples discussed within the field of street planning, it is clear that the entry point
was a global health perspective rather than a planning perspective. This matches well with the
country’s focus on health and the overall focus on health in the international development
community. The health focus allows the discourses of street planning to stay apolitical, with
more focus on technical and expert knowledge. However, by default, the process does become
political, as decisions on how to shape the streetscape are inherently political. Essentially, that
leads to questions about accountability in these processes. In the future, that would make for
an interesting and important inquiry.

68
Another suggestion for future research would be to include politicians and city administration
leaders to see how they rationalize street planning in Addis Ababa and how they perceive the
action space. This would be especially interesting as the interviewees view politicians and
leaders to have more power (to act) than them.

Street planning is contested as there always has to be a negotiation regarding what is prioritized
in a limited streetscape. There are multiple layers of rationalities present, and context cannot
be de-coupled from these rationalities. The scale of extremes in Addis Ababa makes for a
complex situation, where it can be hard to delineate rationalities from the realities of the city.
Planning of streets and streetscapes are constantly negotiated in Addis Ababa, as are the
rationalities driving the shaping of these spaces. By default, then, planning ideals are not purely
imported from abroad but diffused into the city’s planning.

This is far from the picture of a hopeless African city beyond saving. Instead, this study shows
how we need to add new understandings of what constitutes planning, and we need to look
beyond African urbanities as failures of planning. Global North knowledges about planning is
not enough to understand the planning realities of the South. Taking on a pure Northern
perspective renders the realities of South as blank slates or situations of chaos. This thesis
argues that the perceived action space is a more interesting avenue of study than the formal
action space. This in contrast to much of the global North literature’s focus on the formal action
space (laws and regulations). The power to wield a claim of rationality is still situated in a
context of global North’s techno-rationalities due to the lack of theorizations from the global
South. This as one needs something to claim the rationality on, based in knowledge production.

If one does not include the normative discussion on what streets are, what they should do and
for whom, planners and researchers risk compounding the unsustainable principles of North’s
rationalities with the challenges emerging South cities are facing. However, if those discussions
are held, there are possibilities of better adapting street systems to the context they are placed
in and to find possible new ways of planning streets in a more sustainable way.

69
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9 Appendix: Timeline on political succession, landmark
projects and key happenings

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