Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy ENG

ADDIS ABABA
JUNE 30, 2020

RESILIENCE STRATEGY
ADDIS ABABA
MAYOR’S OFFICE
Table of contents
Letter from the Mayor............................................................................ 2
Letter from the Chief Resilience Officer............................................ 3
Letter from the Outgoing Chief Resilience Officer......................... 4
Letter from the Global Resilient Cities Network.............................. 5
Acronyms................................................................................................... 6
Introduction.............................................................................................. 11
Addis Ababa’s context........................................................................... 25
Addis Ababa´s resilience challenges and opportunities............... 33
Vision for a Resilient Addis Ababa...................................................... 54
Pillar 1 – A smart and thriving city....................................................... 63
Pillar 2 – Connected, inclusive, and safe communities................... 85
Pillar 3 – Healthy and livable places.................................................... 117
Summary of actions................................................................................ 146
Way forward............................................................................................. 148
Call for action........................................................................................... 150
Acknowledgements................................................................................ 151
References................................................................................................. 152
Resilient Addis Ababa Introduction
LETTER FROM THE MAYOR LETTER FROM THE CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER
Takele Uma Benti Dr. Moges Tadesse
Addis Ababa is Ethiopia’s capital, growth engine, and This strategy complements the Addis Ababa City Admin- On behalf of the Addis Ababa Resilience Project Office process. This strategy is a truly inclusive roadmap that
home to 25% of the country’s urban population. With istration’s multifaceted approach in addressing critical (AARPO), I would like to extend my profound thanks emerges from deep engagement with our communities
these privileges, our city has a responsibility to serve as urban challenges – including the Greening Addis, Beau- to The Rockefeller Foundation, 100 Resilient Cities, and and partners. AARPO believes that inclusive and collec-
a model for others across Ethiopia and the East African tifying Sheger, and Renew Addis Ababa initiatives to the Global Resilient Cities Network for their continued tive action are vital to building a resilient Addis Ababa.
region. The Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy represents a provide upgraded spaces for our youth and elderly pop- support in making this Resilience Strategy a reality. As we begin to implement, we will continue this spirit of
vital step forward in that mission. ulation, combating poverty through the Serve Addis ini- I would especially like to thank Dana Omran and Caroline inclusiveness through building partnerships, catalyzing
tiative, and many more catalytic projects. The Resilience Raes for their dedication, commitment, and invaluable actions, and mobilizing resources.
This is a strategy created by and for the people of Addis Strategy adds an exciting layer to this work, presenting contributions throughout the strategy development
Ababa. Throughout this process, the tireless staff of the innovative solutions to some of our city’s biggest chal- process. I also want to extend a special thanks to our The Resilience Strategy is not meant to sit on a shelf,
Addis Ababa Resilience Project Office (AARPO) success- lenges. One such example looks at making use of the Mayor, His Excellency the Honorable Engineer Takele and we hope to count on the help of all city agencies,
fully engaged with stakeholders from across the city, emerging tech sector to fortify and advance munici- Uma Benti for his unwavering commitment to making residents, businesses, and other stakeholders, to imple-
including some of the most vulnerable residents such as pal service delivery. Another example aims to leverage resilience a priority of his administration. ment these initiatives and together build a more resilient
homeless persons and people with disabilities. the city’s rich and dynamic informal social groups to Addis Ababa. Implementation will require significant
strengthen community-based resilience against a variety The Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy encompasses three coordination and collaboration, and we hope to con-
In combination, the Resilience Strategy’s three pillars, 13 of shocks and stresses. pillars, 13 goals, and 48 innovative initiatives that respond tinue engaging with the government agencies, develop-
goals, and 48 actions support Addis Ababa’s ambition to the city’s biggest challenges. It is a holistic and com- ment partners, academic institutions, the private sector,
of flourishing into a safe, livable, and prosperous city by The COVID-19 global pandemic is a stark reminder of the prehensive approach that articulates actions to make and civil society to ensure collective ownership of the
2030. We will employ our resources and draw upon our need to accelerate our resilience-building efforts. The the city smarter and more resilient in terms of people, resilience agenda. Our success will also rely on working
core values of diversity and solidarity to forge a resil- City is intensively engaged in combating and controlling economy, mobility, environment, and governance. across geographic boundaries, and on finding solutions
ient and sustainable path forward for all who call Addis the spread of the virus in collaboration with health pro- across different disciplines and sectors.
Ababa home. Experience shows that we as a city are able fessionals, youth groups, artists, media, religious leaders, This strategy is the result of over two years of tireless
to accomplish so much when we come together, whether universities, businesses, development partners, and other work by the Addis Ababa Resilience Project Office. I We hope this strategy will inspire you to join us in build-
it may be exceeding the world record for trees planted relevant stakeholders. As well as maintaining critical ser- want to extend my warmest thanks and appreciation to ing a safer, more livable, and prosperous Addis Ababa.
in a single day, or for the number of attendees at a mass vices and conducting its regular development initiatives, the ougoing CRO and the team for their dedication, ana-
sport event. With the power of our unity, we can make the City is designing livelihood interventions for highly lytical rigor, and diligence. I also sincerely thank all the
Addis Ababa stronger, more prepared, and more resilient vulnerable and at-risk groups, particularly homeless and stakeholders and partners in and around the city who
for decades to come. low-income people, in order to reduce the impact of the have actively participated in the strategy development
pandemic.
As we begin to bring this Resilience Strategy to life, let
me call on all residents and members of the global dias- The Resilience Strategy includes a number of initiatives
pora community to make their contribution. Volunteer- that can be deployed to further strengthen our response
ing your time for activities such as street cleaning and to the pandemic and ensure that the path forward is
tree planting will go a long way toward achieving our not a return to “business as usual”, but one that leads to
goal of revitalizing our local ecosystems and creating a greater resilience to the current and unforeseen crises.
healthy environment for all. I invite you to explore a host In this regard, the role played by the City in general and
of simple actions indicated throughout the Strategy, and AARPO in particular is vital and meaningful.
encourage you to partner with AARPO to start making
your individual contributions to our city’s resilience. I fully support the implementation of this timely Resil-
ience Strategy, which has so much to offer our city. With
this as our roadmap, together we can secure the best
possible future for a strong, resilient Addis Ababa.
2 3
LETTER FROM THE GLOBAL RESILIENT

LETTER FROM THE OUTGOING
CITIES NETWORK
CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER
Dana Omran
Fitsumbrhan Tsegaye Managing Director, Africa
Congratulations to Mayor Takele Uma Banti and the City that is Smart and thriving, healthy and livable, and home
of Addis Ababa on the release of the Addis Ababa Resil- to communities that are connected, inclusive, and safe.
It is with great pride that I present to you the Addis Ababa The Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy investigates the
ience Strategy. This roadmap for resilience is a major Important initiatives to support the city’s tech economy,
Resilience Strategy, a result of over two years’ hard work acute shocks and chronic stresses that threaten our city,
milestone for the City and for our partnership, offering modernize the waste management program, and build
and collaboration. I would like to thank our city leadership taking the time to understand their root causes, and pro-
a bold vision for a safe, livable, and prosperous Addis sustainable food systems, will set the city on a path for
for their unwavering commitment throughout this period. viding 48 innovative and action-oriented initiatives for a
Ababa, now and in the future. success. New citywide competitions related to integrated
Because of their vision, the Addis Ababa Resilient Project prosperous path forward. These actions incorporate not
housing and public spaces will surface best-in-class ideas
Office (AARPO) was legally established by Proclamation only the expert knowledge of local and international resil-
A regional leader, Addis Ababa serves not only as the dip- from stakeholders across Addis Ababa and plant the
No. 89/2017 in 2017 to lead the development of this Resil- ience practitioners, but also the lived experiences of the
lomatic capital of Africa, but also as a model for ethnic, seeds for resilience at the community level.
ience Strategy and the extensive stakeholder engage- people of Addis Ababa, especially our urban poor and
cultural, religious, and economic diversity. As the city
ment at its core. Since January 2019, AARPO has been those most vulnerable to twenty-first-century challenges.
continues to experience rapid growth, it remains essen- This work would not have been possible without the
housed under the City’s Plan and Development Commis- The Strategy is moreover a timely document, to be con-
tial to draw on these core strengths in order to address dedication of the Addis Ababa Resilience Project Office
sion, ensuring that urban resilience is more securely insti- sulted in line with ongoing citywide and national reforms.
new goals such as affordable housing, safe and accessi- (AARPO). Through their efforts, and with the support of
tutionalized in the city’s planning processes.
ble streets, safeguarding the environment, and ensuring the City Administration, Addis Ababa is poised to con-
I remain indebted to the AARPO staff and their hard
inclusive growth for all who live and work in Addis Ababa. front some of its most intractable resilience challenges
The administrative capital of Ethiopia and the unofficial work: the Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy would not
and set an example for the rest of Ethiopia and the
diplomatic capital of the continent, Addis Ababa faces have been possible without the commitment and drive
This Resilience Strategy takes the critical step of recog- African continent.
some of the fastest rates of population growth and of this broad and diverse group of energetic experts.
nizing Addis Ababa’s assets and leadership to date, while
urbanization worldwide. This is already having immense Finally, all of us at AARPO express our gratitude to the
acknowledging its challenges and identifying ways to fill While the release of the Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy
effects on how our city operates, provides basic services, team at 100 Resilient Cities, whose technical support and
those gaps. This work is the product of broad engage- marks a critical milestone in the city’s resilience journey,
and forges partnerships with residents, communities, and friendship have greatly strengthened our resilience work.
ment with a multitude of local residents, community we recognize that the work is far from over. Great com-
businesses. A changing climate, a more open and com-
leaders, and other stakeholders from across different mitment is required to implement these actions, and
petitive economy, and an expanding population will each
sectors, and represents a blueprint for establishing a we look to the AARPO team to serve as a coordinator,
bring their own set of challenges and opportunities in the
more resilient future. convenor, and resource mobilizer. We look forward to
years to come.
partnering with the City to help turn the vision of a safe,
In the following pages, the Addis Ababa Resilience Strat- livable, and prosperous Addis Ababa into a reality.
egy offers new, tangible ideas for placing people and the
environment at the center of governance and growth.
Three pillars and 48 actions put forth a vision for a city
4 5
Acronyms
AACA Addis Ababa City CPA Critical Physical Asset MoR Ministry of Revenue
Administration
CRF City Resilience Framework MoSHE Ministry of Science and Higher
AACB Addis Ababa Construction
Bureau
AACCSA Addis Ababa Chamber of
CRO Chief Resilience Officer
CSA Central Statistical Agency
Education
MoT Ministry of Transport
Executive Summary
Commerce and Sectoral Association MoTI Ministry of Trade and Industry
CSO Civil Society Organization
MoUDC Ministry of Urban Development Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, was founded in 1886 by Menelik
AACRA Addis Ababa City Road CWRA City Water Resilience
Authority Assessment
and Construction
II and Empress Taitu Betul. Our city is the seat of several international
MoWIE Ministry of Water, Irrigation,
AACTB Addis Ababa City Culture, Arts
and Tourism Bureau
DRM Disaster Risk Management and Electricity organizations such as the African Union and the United Nations Economic
AAEB Addis Ababa Education Bureau
ECSU Ethiopian Civil Service University MSE Micro and Small Enterprise Commission for Africa. Addis Ababa is a religiously and ethnically diverse
AAEPGDC Addis Ababa Environmental
EEU Ethiopia Electric Utility NACTO National Association of City city, and home to an estimated 31,000 refugees of over 21 different
Protection and Green Development Transportation Officials
Commission
EFCCC Environment, Forest and
Climate Change Commission
nationalities.1 As Addis Ababans, we exhibit a great sense of pride in
NDRMC National Disaster Risk
AAFDRMC Addis Ababa Fire and EHIA Ethiopian Health Insurance Management Commission our city’s identity of cultural and religious diversity, as well as valuing its
Disaster Risk Management Commission
AAHB Addis Ababa Health Bureau
Agency NGO Non-Governmental Organization historical, political, and diplomatic prominence in the continent.
EiABC Ethiopian Institute of NMT Non-Motorized Transportation
AAHDAB Addis Ababa Housing Architecture, Building Construction, and
Development and Administration City Development ONRS Oromia National Regional State
Bureau With an estimated population of 3.7 million inhabitants, Addis Ababa is
EOC Emergency Operation Center PM Particulate Matter
AAIC Addis Ababa Investment the single largest urban center in the country and is currently growing at
Commission ERC Ethiopian Railway Corporation PPP Polluter Pays Principle
an annual rate of 3.8%2, making it one of the fastest urbanizing cities in the
AAJOCEDB Addis Ababa Job EWI Early Warning Information PRA Preliminary Resilience Assessment
Opportunity Creation and Enterprise world. Addis Ababa is the engine of Ethiopia’s rapidly expanding economy.
FAO Food and Agriculture PSO Private Sector Organization
Development Bureau
Organization
PWD Persons with Disabilities
Although it represents only 3.6% of the country’s total population, our
AAPDCo Addis Ababa City Plan and
Development Commission
FENAPD Federation of Ethiopian
National Associations with Persons with R&D Research and Development city contributes 30% of national urban Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
AALSAB Addis Ababa Labour and Disabilities RfP Request for Proposal and 68% of total urban jobs. Despite the rapid and steady economic
Social Affairs Bureau
GDP Gross Domestic Product RVS Rapid Visual Screening progress registered over the past two decades, Addis Ababa faces various
AARBGADAA Addis Ababa River
GEF Global Environment Facility
Basins and Green Areas Development SDG Sustainable Development Goals shocks and stresses that could hinder it from achieving its development
and Administration Agency GHG Greenhouse Gas SNV Netherlands Development goals. Shocks include flooding, urban fire, and disease outbreak; stresses
AAPC Addis Ababa Police Commission GI Green Infrastructure Organization
AAPSHRDB Addis Ababa SOP Standard Operating Procedure
include rapid and uncontrolled urbanization, water scarcity, and high
GiZ German Agency for International
Public Service and Human Cooperation STEM Science, Technology, unemployment.
ResourceDevelopment Bureau
GoE Government of Ethiopia Engineering, and Mathematics
AARTMA Addis Ababa Road Traffic
SUWSSP Second Urban Water Supply
Management Agency GRCN Global Resilient Cities Network
and Sanitation Project
To tackle these challenges, in May 2016 Addis Ababa joined the 100
AARPO Addis Ababa Resilience
Project Office
GTP Growth and Transformation Plan
TNC The Nature Conservancy Resilient Cities network, an initiative pioneered by the Rockefeller
HOV High Occupancy Vehicle
AASTA Addis Ababa Science and TVET Technical Vocational Education Foundation. As part of this program, in 2017 the City appointed a Chief
ICRC International Committee of the and Training
Technology Agency
Red Cross Resilience Office (CRO), and in 2018 established the Addis Ababa
AASTU Addis Ababa Science and UHI Urban Heat Island
Technology University ICT Information and Communications Resilience Project Office (AARPO) to oversee the development of a
Technology UNCRPD United Nations Convention
AASWMA Addis Ababa Solid Waste on the Rights of Persons with holistic Resilience Strategy. This Resilience Strategy serves as a tactical
Administration Agency IHDP Integrated Housing Development Disabilities
Program roadmap for building resilience in the city and is the result of two years of
AATA Addis Ababa Transport UNDP United Nation Development
Authority INGO International Non-Governmental Program extensive research and stakeholder engagement. It builds on 47 face-to-
Organization
AATB Addis Ababa Transport Bureau UNDRR United Nation Disaster Risk face interviews, 11 workshops, eight focus group discussions and a citywide
INSA Information Network Security Reduction
AATIDB Addis Ababa Trade and Agency
UNEP United Nation Environment
door-to-door survey which gathered input from over 5,000 respondents,
Industry Development Bureau
IT Information Technology Program including poor and vulnerable residents. These inputs have shaped the
AATMA Addis Ababa Traffic
ITDP Institute for Transportation and UNIDO United Nations Industrial
Management Agency
Development Policy Development Organization
city’s resilience priorities and the specific initiatives for short-, medium-,
AAU Addis Ababa University
JICA Japan International Cooperation UPSNP Urban Productive Safety Net and long-term implementation articulated in this document.
AAWCAB Addis Ababa Women and Agency Program
Children Affairs Bureau
KMU Kotebe Metropolitan University USAID United States Agency for
AAWSA Addis Ababa Water and International Development
Sewerage Authority KPI Key Performance Indicator
USEPA United States Environmental
ACBSE Anbesa City Bus Service LED Light-Emitting Diode Protection Agencyy
Enterprise LRT Light Rail Transit WB World Bank
AFD Agence Française de MINT Ministry of Innovation and
Développement WHO World Health Organization
Technology
BCP Business Continuity Plan WRI World Resources Institute
MoE Ministry of Education
BRT Bus Rapid Transit WWTP Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 Brown, A., Mackie, P., Dickenson, K., & Gebre-Egziabher, T. (2018). Urban refugee 2 World Bank. (2015a). Ethiopia urbanization review. Washington, DC: World Bank.
MoH Ministry of Health economies: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. London: IIED.
CCC Community Care Coalition 100RC 100 Resilient Cities
MoLSA Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs
6 7
Pillar 1: A Smart and thriving city
Our vision is to see Addis Ababa flourish While Addis Ababa’s economy has been steadily growing for decades, the benefits of this growth
remain unevenly distributed among its rapidly expanding population. High rates of unemployment exist
into a safe, livable, and prosperous city alongside untapped opportunities to expand into high-productivity sectors and to effectively harness
by 2030. the informal economy. The first pillar of the Strategy is about forging the economy of the future and
fostering an enabling environment for the businesses and people of Addis Ababa to thrive. Initiatives
in this pillar build on different programs of the Addis Ababa City Administration to improve service
We will stay true to our core values of diversity and delivery and to create more transparent and inclusive governance systems, and aim to support and
solidarity, and continuously learn from the past to ensure make way for decent jobs in new and emerging industries.
that the environment, and most importantly people, are at

Pillar 2: Connected, inclusive, and safe communities
the center of our governance and growth.
Fueled by rapid urbanization and increasing rural-urban migration, Addis Ababa’s communities
are growing. This places tremendous pressure on the provision of critical services that constitute
the backbone of the city, such as safe and affordable housing and transportation. As a result, our
communities are disconnected and residents are unable to access jobs, markets, and basic services.
While significant steps have been taken to meet the growing demand for inclusive housing and mobility,
many interventions have fallen short of their full potential, due to their lack of integrated and human-
centric approach.
Addis Ababa’s Resilience Strategy has Rapid urban transformation is also weakening Addis Ababa’s socially mixed urban fabric and strong sense of
neighborhood-based solidarity. Additionally, our communities are increasingly exposed to both known and
unknown disaster risks connected to poorly managed urbanization and economic activities. While efforts
3 pillars 13 goals 48 actions to protect and empower residents, particularly vulnerable groups, against various shocks and stresses
have been inadequate, our vibrant informal social groups (i.e. Ïddïr, Ïqqub, and mahbär) provide a unique
opportunity to build resilience from the grassroots upward.
Our second pillar aims to transform Addis Ababa’s communities into more inclusive, connected, and
safe centers of resilience by embracing a participatory, human-centric approach to planning the city of
today and tomorrow. Initiatives in this pillar offer innovative strategies for improving urban housing and
mobility, and empowering and protecting vulnerable groups, while also nurturing a sense of community
resilience and disaster preparedness among all residents of Addis Ababa.
Pillar 3: Healthy and livable places

Over the years, Addis Ababa has expanded and developed at the expense of its natural ecosystems.
Environmental degradation, especially when combined with a changing climate, make us extremely
vulnerable to a number of risks ranging from flooding to water scarcity, that threaten the livelihood,
health, and well-being of our residents. This third pillar seeks to improve our city’s ability to effectively
protect its natural resources and ecosystems and thereby secure a more sustainable future. Initiatives
in this pillar address water as a finite resource and an economic good, improve access to sanitation and
modernize solid waste management, reclaim our mountain ranges, accelerate air quality improvement,
and promote energy efficiency and the development of new green spaces.
Following the release of the Resilience Strategy, the next step will be the implementation of the
The three pillars are The 48 actions, grouped identified resilience-building actions, further institutionalizing and embedding resilience into city
strategic directions that under 13 goals, will systems, monitoring progress, as well as communicating and amplifying on our results and impacts.
will guide our city in address the prioritized Additionally, we will leverage the Resilience Strategy to shape and support the City’s COVID-19 response
and recovery efforts. The role of the AARPO in the implementation phase will be that of a coordinator,
achieving its vision. shocks and stresses integrator and resource mobilizer. We gratefully acknowledge the support and contribution of those
identified during the who have actively participated in the two-year strategy development process. We look forward to our
strategy development continued collaboration to translate this document into tangible impact for all of our city’s residents.
process.
8 9
Introduction
10 11
About the Global Resilient Cities The Addis Ababa Resilience

Network (GRCN) Project Office
The Global Resilient Cities Network (GRCN) is the city-led organization that is In May 2016, Addis Ababa was selected to join the 100RC Network from among
driving urban resilience action to protect vulnerable communities from climate 325 applicant cities worldwide. Addis Ababa was chosen because of its strong
change and other physical, social, and economic challenges facing cities globally. commitment to develop and implement an inclusive and integrated City Resilience
Launched in September 2019, GRCN is the successor to 100 Resilient Cities Strategy that will serve as a roadmap for building resilience in the city. To lead
(100RC), an initiative pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation. this work, the City appointed a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) and established the
Addis Ababa Resilience Project Office (AARPO).
From 2014 to 2019, cities in the 100RC network were offered four types of support: Led by the CRO, the AARPO is responsible for coordinating the development and
implementation of Addis Ababa’s first Resilience Strategy. In addition, the AARPO
• Funding for hiring a Chief Resilience Officer • Access to 100RC’s platform of 130 pro-bono plays an important role in establishing partnerships with government agencies
(CRO) to lead the resilience-building efforts planning, research, and analysis services from at all levels, development partners, civil society, and the private sector, for the
in the city over 90 partners valued at over $250 million
execution of the strategy. It is responsible for developing proposals for bankable
• Technical support and analytical tools to • Membership in 100RC’S network with projects and securing resources for the successful implementations of initiatives
develop and implement a customized City opportunities for knowledge sharing and included in the Resilience Strategy. The AARPO is accountable to the Addis
Resilience Strategy peer-to-peer collaboration with other cities Ababa city Plan and Development Commission (AAPDCo).
across the globe.
CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER (CRO)

“The CRO is an innovative feature of 100RC’s
program, specifically designed to break
down existing barriers at the local level,
account for pre-existing resilience plans,
and to create partnerships, alliances and
financing mechanisms that will address the
resilience vulnerabilities of all city residents,
with a particular focus on low-income and
CITIES IN THE 100RC NETWORK vulnerable populations.”
100RC helped to support the development of the Addis Ababa Resilience

Strategy. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation and other funding
strategic partners, the Global Resilient Cities Network aims to continue supporting
cities and their Chief Resilience Officers in future-proofing their communities and
critical infrastructure with a unique reach, strength, and legacy to understand and
support the ever-evolving challenges of the rapidly growing urban society.
AARPO TEAM IN NOVEMBER 2019
12 13
City resilience The City Resilience Framework

Developed by Arup with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the City
What is city resilience? Resilience Framework (CRF) is a key tool used throughout the Resilience Strategy
Development process. The CRF provides a lens to understand the complexity
Urban resilience is “the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, busi- of cities and drivers that contribute to their resilience, and a common language
nesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow, no matter what that enables cities to share knowledge and experience. It is built on four essential
kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.” dimensions of urban resilience:
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Bus inuity
con nning
Ec
me
pla
City
ine
t
nt
icy
s for
iron
ss
ture
inves
b
Inward nt
udg
uard
infrastructure
infra tical
Env
Redundant,
economy
struc
economic
linkages
Local
diverse
tme
ets
Wider
Safeg
cri
Each of the four dimensions is further divided into three drivers that reflect the
actions that cities can take to improve their resilience. These 12 drivers form the
core of the CRF, and together represent a city’s resilience to a wide range of
shocks and stresses. Fundamental to the CRF is the idea that resilience cannot
be achieved through a single action: it requires multiple actions at multiple levels.
Resilience is the result of cumulative action to strengthen the 12 drivers over time.
14 15
About this Resilience Strategy

The Resilience Strategy is a tactical roadmap for building resilience PHASE II
in the city. The Strategy articulates the city’s resilience priorities and Phase II encompasses the
specific initiatives for short-, medium-, and long-term implementation. strategy build-out. During this
The main purpose of the Resilience Strategy is to trigger action, phase, research and deeper
investment, and support within city government and beyond to build diagnostic is conducted into each
a more resilient Addis Ababa. There are two principal phases in the of the Discovery Areas. These
development of the Resilience Strategy: diagnostics and assessments
are then turned into actionable
initiatives and projects, which
are included in the Resilience
PHASE I
Strategy.
Building on extensive stakeholder
engagement and analysis, Phase
I aims to establish a baseline of
Addis Ababa’s existing state of
resilience and to identify cross- Following the release of the Resilience Strategy, the focus will pivot
cutting Discovery Areas, or towards implementation of the identified resilience-building initiatives,
priority questions, to guide deeper institutionalizing and embedding resilience in city systems, monitoring
exploration and examination in progress and impact, and communicating and amplifying our results and
Phase II. Phase I concludes with impacts. Additionally, the AARPO will partner closely with city agencies
the development of the Preliminary to ensure that resilience is embedded in COVID-19 response and recov-
Resilience Assessment (PRA). ery plans. The AARPO’s role in the implementation phase will be that of
a coordinator, integrator, and resource mobilizer.
Strategy Development Process

Phase 1 Phase 2
INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Stakeholder Discovery Area 1
The governance
Engagement
we pursue
Cross-cutting Themes Discovery Area 2

Shocks & Stresses Preliminary Our prosperous
City-wide city Prioritized
Resilience Addis Ababa
Workplan Resilience
Assessment + Resilience Strategy
for Phase 2 Initiatives
Discovery Areas
Resilience Discovery Area 3
Perceptions & The city we
Actions Inventory deserve
INFORMALITY
Discovery Area 4
Unique City
Our healthy and
Context livable city
16 17
Addis Ababa’s resilience journey
2016 2017 2018

MAY DECEMBER NOVEMBER FEBRUARY JULY
Addis Ababa joined Addis Ababa and 100RC AARPO was established by The Mayor appointed Addis Ababa City
the 100RC Network. held an Agenda Setting regulation for a period of Fitsumbrhan Tsegaye as Council appointed
Workshop, marking the five years. Addis Ababa’s CRO. Engineer Takele
beginning of the Uma Benti as
partnership. Deputy Mayor.
2018 (CONTINUED)
AUGUST SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

AARPO launched Phase 1 AARPO conducted extensive stakeholder 100RC and AARPO teams Addis Ababa hosted 100RC’s
of the Strategy engagement through several workshops, held the Preliminary first Africa Network Exchange
Development Process. focus group discussions, interviews, an Resilience Assessment focused on Urban Informality
online survey, and a door-to-door survey. (PRA) Bootcamp. and City Resilience.
2019
JANUARY APRIL JULY NOVEMBER
Addis Ababa City Administration was Addis Ababa is selected by Colu, a AARPO attended the 100RC Global AARPO, GRCN and The Nature The City appointed Dr Moges
restructured. AARPO was incorporated 100RC partner firm, to attend a Urban Resilience Summit in Conservancy (TNC) launched a Tadesse as the new CRO.
within the AAPDCo. workshop in Tel Aviv examining Rotterdam. partnership to assess the feasibility
how a citywide digital currency can of establishing a Water Fund for
help cities become more resilient.
MAY- JUNE JULY - NOVEMBER Addis Ababa.
MARCH
AARPO engaged with a wide range of The Resilience Strategy was put
The PRA was reviewed and approved AARPO launches Phase II of the stakeholders through thematic workshops in writing.
by the city leadership. strategy development process. and focus group discussions.
2020
JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH–MAY MAY JUNE
AARPO consulted with action The Resilience Strategy was AARPO was mobilized in the City’s AARPO analyzed the Resilience The Addis Ababa Resilience
owners and potential partners to reviewed and approved by the COVID-19 response efforts. Strategy’s goals and actions in the Strategy was released.
gather their feedback and Mayor’s Office. context of the COVID-19 global
approval. pandemic.
18 19
Highlights of the stakeholder

engagement process
560+ 5,392
city officials and representatives from donors, residents engaged through the Phase I
private sector organizations (PSOs), and civil door-to-door survey
society organizations (CSOs) engaged
47
face-to-face
11
workshops
8
focus groups
259
vulnerable residents (i.e. people with disabilities,
interviews discussions slum dwellers, and homeless people)
20 21
Addis Ababa’s engagement with

the global network
AARPO PARTICIPATES IN A WORKSHOP

ORGANIZED BY COLU IN TEL AVIV TO
ADDIS ABABA FORMER CRO IN EXAMINE HOW A CITYWIDE DIGITAL
CAPE TOWN FOR THE BUILDING A CURRENCY CAN HELP CITIES BECOME
WATER RESILIENT CITY COLAB. MORE RESILIENT.
AARPO HOSTED 100RC’S FIRST NETWORK EXCHANGE IN AFRICA WHICH

BROUGHT TOGETHER HIGH-LEVEL OFFICIALS AND CHIEF RESILIENCE
OFFICERS FROM ACCRA, CAPE TOWN, CHENNAI, LAGOS, MONTEVIDEO,
PAYNESVILLE, AND SALVADOR TO EXPLORE THE CRUCIAL INTERSECTION IN JULY 2019, AARPO ATTENDS THE 100RC GLOBAL
BETWEEN INFORMALITY AND URBAN RESILIENCE. URBAN RESILIENCE SUMMIT IN ROTTERDAM.
22 23
Resilient Addis Ababa Addis Ababa’s Context
Addis Ababa’s
context
24 25
ADMINISTRATIVE SPATIAL CONTEXT
ADDIS ABABA IS...

1986
THE SEAT OF THE OROMIA
THE FEDERAL A CHARTERED
NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE
CAPITAL CITY 3
(ONRS) GOVERNMENT
TOTAL SURFACE
AREA
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION OF ADDIS ABABA
ADMINISTRATIVELY
DIVIDED INTO
520 km 2
10
kifle ketemas or
subcities
POPULATION
GROWTH 2000
2007-2017
FURTHER
DIVIDED INTO
17%
117
woredas or
districts
WORLD BANK, 2015.

URBAN FOOTPRINT
GROWTH
2007-2017
51% 2010
DEMOGRAPHY
POPULATION ANNUAL POPULATION PROJECTED POPULATION UNDER

2018 GROWTH RATE POPULATION AGE OF 30
BY 2037 POPULATION
DENSITY DECLINE
3.7 3.8% 5.1 58%

2007-2017
million
CENTRAL STATISTICAL WORLD BANK (WB), 2015A.
million
CSA, 2013. CSA, 2013.
7%
AGENCY (CSA), 2013.
URBAN EXTENT
WB, 2015A. ATLAS OF URBAN EXPANSION, 2016.
26 27
ADMINISTRATIVE EDUCATION, LIVELIHOOD, AND EMPLOYMENT
ADDIS ABABA IS...

LITERACY RATE 5
THE SEAT OF THE OROMIA

THE FEDERAL A CHARTERED
NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE
CAPITAL CITY 3
(ONRS) GOVERNMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION OF ADDIS ABABA

80%
ADMINISTRATIVELY
DIVIDED INTO
10 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 6
kifle ketemas or
subcities
FURTHER
20%
DIVIDED INTO
117 24.1%
woredas or YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
districts ONE IN FIVE IS ONE IN THREE IS
25.3% NATIONALLY
UNEMPLOYED UNDEREMPLOYED
CSA, 2018.
CSA, 2018.
WORLD BANK, 2015.
EMPLOYMENT BY MAJOR OCCUPATION, 2015

ECONOMY
ELEMENTARY CRAFTS AND
OCCUPATIONS RELATED
DEMOGRAPHY
ADDIS ABABA CONTRIBUTES TO GDP SECTORAL SHARE 20% 15.4% TECHNICIANS
8% PROFESSIONALS
POPULATION ANNUAL POPULATION PROJECTED
POPULATION
POPULATION UNDER
AGE OF 30
SERVICE
7.9%
68%
GROWTH RATE
30%
2018 AND SALES
BY 2037 SERVICE 63%
30.5%
3.7 OF URBAN
GDP, 2015
3.8%
OF URBAN
JOBS 5.1 INDUSTRY 36%
58% 18%
OTHER
million million
CENTRAL STATISTICAL WORLD BANK (WB), 2015A. CSA, 2013. AGRICULTURE CSA,
1% 2013.
AGENCY (CSA), 2013.
WB, 2018. WB, 2015A. UN-HABITAT, 2017.
OTHER: PLANTS AND MACHINE OPERATORS, 6.5%; SKILLED AGRICULTURE
AND FISHERY, 5.5%; CLERICAL SUPPORT WORKERS, 3.6%; MANAGERS, 2%.
3 harted city status grants Addis Ababa somewhat similar levels of autonomy as the
C
nine national regional states.
5 UN-HABITAT (2017), The State of Addis Ababa Report. 6 Central Statistical Agency (2018), Urban Employment Unemployment
Survey.
28 29
HOUSING MOBILITY
MOBILITY
x 1.2 million MODAL SPLIT

MODAL SPLIT
WALKING
54%
WALKING
PRIVATE CARS
15%
PRIVATE CARS
MINIBUS TAXI
14%
MINIBUS TAXI
80%
54% 15% 14%
Dwelling units needed to meet
SLUM HOUSING
housing needs over next 10 years
4 million
Out of which, 4 million
daily trips
420,000 daily trips
Slum housing makes up nearly housing units needed are

80% of inner-city areas7 for low income residents
ADDIS ABABA STRUCTURE PLAN, 2017.
40
WB, 2015A.
WATER AND SANITATION

40
vehicles per 1,000
population
ADDIS ABABA CITY GOVERNMENT, 2018.
ANBESSA, SHEGER
8%
vehicles per 1,000 ADDIS ABABA CITY GOVERNMENT, 2018. LRT
ANBESSA, SHEGER 2%
population
LSE CITIES , 2018.
8% BUS
INTERCITY LRT
LSE CITIES , 2018. 7% 2%
INTERCITY BUS
7%
ACCESS TO SAFE ACCESS TO IMPROVED

DRINKING WATER SANITATION
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENT
110 lt GOAL
per capita
per day 7%
of city population
40 lt
CURRENT is connected to a
1.5m /capita 2
4.5 km 2
1.5m /capita
sewer system
per capita
per day green area2
coverage
green area
4.5 km 2
of natural ecosystems
lost per year
WB, 2015C.
of natural ecosystems
coverage
Well bellow WHO standard Between
lost per 1999
yearand 2015
of 9m2
Well bellow WHO standard Between 1999 and 2015
of 9m2
UN-HABITAT, 2017. UN-HABITAT, 2017.
SOLID WASTE COLLECTION UN-HABITAT, 2017. UN-HABITAT, 2017.
320,00 65%
metric tons Only 65% of
solid waste per year solid waste
reaches landfills
ARTELIA VILLE ET TRANSPORT, 2014. YOHANNES & ELIAS, 2017.
30 31
Resilient Addis Ababa Addis Ababa’s Resilience Challenges and Opportunities
Addis Ababa’s
Resilience
Challenges and
Opportunities
32 33
items, coupled with lower incomes, have put pressure on the

Unemployment and food consumption and livelihoods of poor urban households.
poverty With food items accounting for around 57% of household expen-
diture, inflation is a major challenge even for residents who
manage to rise above the poverty line.
RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
While Addis Ababa’s economy has registered double-digit The Urban Productive Safety Net Program
growth over the past two decades, it is not creating enough Employment in the informal sector is declining, and already low,
jobs for its rapidly expanding population, particularly for young at 8.6% in 2018 according to official statistics. However, evidence (UPSNP), 2015-2020
people (i.e. people aged 15-29) and women. High unemployment suggests that the definition of the informal economy used by the
and underemployment are significant stresses in Addis Ababa Central Statistical Agency (CSA) leads to underestimating the In response to rising urban poverty, the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), with the support of The World
and are major contributors to high levels of poverty. If left unad- true incidence of informality in the local economy.6 Additionally, Bank, launched the Urban Productive Safety Net Program (UPSNP) in December 2015. This five-year
dressed, unemployment has the potential to increase crime and informal workers tend to have limited savings and lack social program aims to improve the income of poor households through urban safety net mechanisms, and
violence and threaten the social and political stability of the city. protection coverage, making them vulnerable to risks, from is currently being implemented across 11 cities, including Addis Ababa. The UPSNP has three major
routine welfare shocks such as illness and old age, to system- components:
Most jobs in Addis Ababa are concentrated in low-productivity atic shocks like COVID-19. It is thus crucial for the City of Addis
sectors – trade, transport, hotels, catering, and other services Ababa to gain a better understanding of the informal economy 1) Safety Net Support: This component supports 2) Livelihood Services: This component supports
such as domestic work within households – while higher val- and its participants, to tap into opportunities provided by the the delivery of predictable, timely, and produc- beneficiaries of conditional cash transfers who
ue-added business services represent only 10% of total employ- sector, and to provide adequate livelihood support and social tive safety net transfers through conditional and desire more and higher-paid work, and aims to
ment.4 Although low-productivity sectors have stimulated rapid protection to some of its most vulnerable residents. unconditional safety net transfers. Conditional help them graduate from the program and out of
job creation so far, most of these jobs are unlikely to result in cash transfers are provided to economically vul- poverty. Under this component, beneficiaries can
higher wages in the long term. Moreover, the service sector is nerable, able-bodied persons, contingent upon receive counseling and life-skills development
likely to be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. their participation in labor-intensive public works (e.g. financial literacy, soft skills development) as
While the government has extended support in the form of busi- IN 2018, WOMEN (e.g. environmental cleaning activities, watershed well as financial support and training for liveli-
ness loans and tax relief, more is needed to enable longer term ACCOUNTED FOR 65% management activities, urban agriculture, social hood development.
economic recovery. There is also an urgent need for the city to OF THE UNEMPLOYED. facilities or services projects, etc.). Unconditional
better train and upskill the workforce while working with the
65% CSA, 2018.
cash transfers amounting to 215 birr a month 3) Institutional Strengthening and Project
private sector to generate decent jobs for all. (US$7 equivalent) are provided to residents who Management: This component aims to ensure
are unable to work, such as the elderly, people that participating cities have the capacity to
90% OF JOBS IN ADDIS
It is estimated that 23.5% of the population continues to live ABABA ARE with disabilities, and the urban destitute (i.e. successfully implement the program.
below the poverty line18. The most visible faces of poverty in CONCENTRATED IN street children, homeless residents, and beggars).
Addis Ababa are “street children, the homeless and beggars, LOW-PRODUCTIVITY
who need housing, health case, counseling, and often reunifica- 90% SECTORS. WB, 2018. Source: (World Bank, 2015). Project Appraisal Document: Ethiopia - Urban Productive Safety Net Project (English). Washington, D.C:
World Bank Group.
tion with their families, in addition to financial support”.5
Addis Ababa’s residents also face the challenge of rising costs of

23.5% OF RESIDENTS
living. Despite government efforts to contain inflation to single
LIVE UNDER THE
digits, headline inflation in Ethiopia has averaged at 16.23%
POVERTY LINE.
between 2006 and 2018. Soaring prices, particularly of food 23.5% CSA, 2018. Revolving fund for
supporting micro and
small enterprises
In March 2019, the City of Addis Ababa estab-
lished a Youth Revolving Fund, as one of its
strategies aimed at tackling youth unemploy-
ment. With a capital of two billion birr, the Fund
is intended to provide loans for youth aged 18-34
who wish to engage in income-generating activ-
ities, thereby enabling them to create livelihood
opportunities for themselves while also contrib-
uting to the city’s economic development. This
initiative complements the 10-billion-birr Youth
Revolving Fund established at the national level
in 2017.
4 orld Bank. (2018). Enhancing Economic Development and Job Creation in Addis
W 5 W
orld Bank. (2015b). Project Appraisal Document: Ethiopia - Urban Productive
Ababa: the role of City Administration. Washington, D.C: World Bank. Safety Net Project (English). Washington, D.C: World Bank Group.
6 U
N-HABITAT. (2017). The State of Addis Ababa Report: the Addis Ababa we want.
34 35
areas. The lack of tenure recognition also limits residents’ ability
Lack of safe and to access basic services.

affordable housing In addition to the shortage of affordable housing, Addis Ababa The Integrated Housing Development Program,
also faces challenges associated with poor housing quality and
overcrowding. Close to 80% of houses in inner-city area, known 2005 – ongoing
The lack of affordable and adequate housing supply has been as Kebele housing, are characterized as slums due to over-
a long-standing challenge for Addis Ababa. In 2011, the city’s crowding and the lack of adequate infrastructure such as drink- Since 2005, the Addis Ababa City Administration, aligned with the federal government, has been
housing backlog reached 300,000 homes,7 and approximately ing water, sanitation, and cooking facilities.11 Government-owned implementing the Integrated Housing Development Program (IHDP), an initiative which aims to
1.2 million units are needed over the next ten years to accom- Kebele housing remains the primary housing option for the provide affordable vertical housing options (“condominiums”). Currently in its second phase, the IHDP
modate projected housing demand,8 of which 420,000 housing city’s urban poor. However, due to this housing’s poor quality, delivers government-subsidized housing to qualifying city residents through three schemes: 10/90,
units would be for low-income residents. It is estimated that its lack of safety, and the valuable land that it stands on, the 20/80, and 40/60 which target lower-income groups (with monthly incomes of ETB 1,200 and under),
Addis Ababa has a population of between 10,000 and 20,000 City has been demolishing it and resettling residents who have lower middle- to middle-income groups, and upper middle-income groups respectively. Under these
homeless people.9 legal claims to the homes either in condominium housing or on three schemes, beneficiaries are expected to save 10, 20 or 40% of the total price in five years, while
the outskirts of the city, where access to services and livelihood the remaining 90, 80 or 60% of the housing cost is covered by a long-term bank loan.
To tackle the housing deficit, in 2005 the Addis Ababa City opportunities are often limited.
Administration, aligned with the federal government, launched
the Integrated Housing Development Program (IHDP), an ambi- Leveraging lessons learned from the IHDP program and cog-
tious condominium construction program aimed at providing nizant of the need for a more diversified approach to housing
affordable housing to low- and middle-income households. delivery, the City, in close collaboration with the federal gov-
While the IHDP has helped contain the city’s housing shortage, ernment, is currently exploring new options and modalities for
created significant urban jobs, and strengthened the local con- providing affordable housing, including greater involvement of
struction sector,10 it has managed to deliver only 179,429 housing the private sector and strengthening housing associations.
units, providing housing for only 24% of the 734,712 residents
registered under its different schemes. Furthermore, evidence
suggests that the IHDP remains largely unaffordable to targeted
low-income populations.
ESTIMATED HOMELESS
Unable to access affordable serviced land in the city through POPULATION IN ADDIS ABABA
formal channels, an increasing number of households are buying
land informally from farmers in outlying areas. Thus, informal 10,000 to
(untenured and self-initiated) housing, also known as Chereka
Bet, is a significant source of housing for many. Unfortunately,
20,000
homeless people
because informal housing is built on any available and unused
land, most residents live in environmentally sensitive and unsafe
7 N-HABITAT (2010), The Ethiopia Case of Condominium Housing: The Integrated

U 9 Ibid.
Housing Development Programme. United Nations Human Settlements Programme: 10 UN-HABITAT. (2010).
Nairobi. 11 UN-Habitat. (2017).
8 Addis Ababa City Administration. (2017). Addis Ababa Structure Plan, 2017-2027.
36 37
Inadequate public Rapid Transit (BRT) is currently underway, and 15 additional

corridors have been identified by the 2017 Addis Ababa Struc-
transport systems ture Plan.
RESILIENCE To address the growing demand for public transport,

Addis Ababa’s public transport system has not been able to Despite these efforts, the pace of urbanization continues to
OPPORTUNITY: Addis Ababa will introduce its first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
keep pace with the rising demand fueled by a booming popula- outstrip the city’s capacity to adequately deliver efficient mass
project. Known as the BRT-B2 corridor, the 17.4 km route
tion and economy. transit systems. While the LRT has undoubtedly helped to
absorb demand along its two corridors, the system is already
BRT-B2 will provide north-south access between Wingate round-
With over 10,500 vehicles undertaking 840,000 journeys per overcrowded, service frequency remains low (10 minutes during Corridor about and Jemo I condominium. Running through five
sub-cities (Nifas Silk Lafto, Kirkos, Lideta, Addis Ketema,
day, the paratransit system comprised of privately-owned mini- peak hours and 15 minutes during off-peak hours), and its geo-
and Gullele) and some of the most densely populated areas
buses and midibuses currently provides the bulk of the city’s graphic reach is limited. Furthermore, commuters are having to
in Addis Ababa, the corridor is expected to carry 5,400 pas-
public transport services.12 In addition to creating consider- wait longer at bus stops and are experiencing longer and less
sengers per hour in each direction and reach over 400,000
able employment opportunities, paratransit has contributed reliable travel journeys due to the combined effect of road traffic
residents once operational. Construction is anticipated to
to increasing the city’s public transport capacity and adding congestion and the lack of appropriate bus prioritization mea-
start in 2020 and planning for a second BRT B6 line is also
redundancy to the system at a time when public investment in sures. As a result, access to jobs and services across the city
underway.
mass transport was low. The paratransit system is, however, not remains heavily impaired.
without its own limitations. Passenger safety and service quality
remain poor. Furthermore, aggressive competition for passen-
gers often leads to risky driver behavior, further exacerbating THE PARATRANSIT SYSTEM
the city’s congestion and road accident problem. Lack of finan- PROVIDES THE BULK OF THE
cial resources to adequately maintain and replace vehicles also CITY’S PUBLIC TRANSPORT
raises environmental concerns. SERVICES.
Recognizing these shortcomings, the government has invested

RESILIENCE The City is currently preparing a Strategic Comprehensive
significantly in low-carbon mass transit in recent years. In 2015

OPPORTUNITY: Transport Development Plan (2020-2030) for Addis Ababa.
Based on an analysis of the existing and future transport
the City inaugured an electrified Light Rail Transit (LRT). In Strategic situation of the city, the Plan will set a shared vision for the
2016 the City launched the Sheger express bus service, which
covers 23 routes across Addis Ababa.13 The conventional bus
10,500+ 840,000 Comprehensive transport sector, and will identify future interventions and
vehicles journeys per infrastructure projects to achieve that vision, up to 2030. It
fleet has also been significantly expanded, and the City pro-
vides free transport to civil servants before and after working
day
Transport is intended to cover both freight and passenger transport,
as well as all aspects of the city’s transport system, includ-
hours. Furthermore, construction of Addis Ababa’s first Bus Development ing traffic management, mass transport, parking, NMT, etc.
Plan Expected to be complete by mid-2020, this plan will help

further refine the Addis Ababa City Structure Plan and
provide a clear strategy for its implementation.
RESILIENCE Addis Ababa’s first NMT strategy was released on Novem-

OPPORTUNITY: ber 2018. The strategy’s vision is “to provide safe, efficient,
Non-Motorized and accessible pedestrian and cycling networks to improve

access to opportunities and mobility for all residents, foster
Transport equitable allocation of street space, and create a digni-
fied walking and cycling environment.” The NMT strategy
(NMT) strategy sets ambitious ten-year targets such as maintaining the
modal share of NMT at or above 54%, reducing fatalities of
pedestrians and cyclists by 80% from numbers in 2018, and
women constituting 50% of cyclists.
12 N
allet, C. (2018). The Challenge of Urban Mobility: A Case Study of Addis Ababa Light
Rail. Notes de l’Ifpri.
13 Data as of 2016.
38 39
Lack of human-centric
The Safe Intersection Program
and inclusive planning
Currently led by the Addis Ababa Road Traffic Management Agency, the Safe Intersection program
Addis Ababa currently lacks a robust human-centric approach is a multi-year initiative launched in 2017 with the objective of improving pedestrian safety in Addis
to planning and designing housing and urban infrastructure. For Ababa through street design. Initiated by the former TPMP, Addis Ababa City Planning Project, and
instance, while walking accounts for 54% of all trips made in the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) in 2014, the program aims to transform
city,14 only 14% of Addis Ababa’s 114 km of main roads currently ten intersections per year, over the next three years, to make them safer, particularly for pedestrians,
have safe and adequate pedestrian walkways.15 Inadequate con- and more efficient. The program is currently being implemented with support from NACTO and builds
sideration for the vast majority of residents who are pedestri- on a successful pop-up transformation of LeGare intersection, which was piloted in December 2016
ans exposes them to high risks of road traffic accidents. Since and funded under the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety. Through the implementation of the
2006, Addis Ababa has registered on average 400 fatalities per Safe Intersection Program, the City hopes to reach its objective of halving the number of deaths and
year, out of which 88% involve pedestrians.16 Furthermore, lack injuries from road traffic crashes by 2023, as stated in the Addis Ababa City Road Safety Strategy and
of integrated and human-centric approach to transport planning Implementation Plan.
risks locking the city into an unsustainable path towards car-de-
pendency, which has implications for access to services, eco-
nomic productivity (as traffic congestion increases), greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions, air pollution, and health.
Previous planning efforts have not adequately consulted and

engaged with the public, often leading to ineffective interven-
tions and poor social acceptability of costly development proj-
ects. A case in point is the temporary closure of the Sendafa
landfill, which was built with inadequate community participa-
tion in the planning and design process, and subsequently met
with opposition from farmers in the surrounding area who were
concerned about pollution of their farmlands. Another example
is the city’s series of urban renewal programs, which have led to
displacement of households to peripheral areas, thereby eroding
strong social ties, particularly in old inner-city neighborhoods.
These circumstances have ultimately reduced the resilience of 86%
the urban poor, who make up almost a quarter of the total popu- of 114 km of main roads
lation. As a result, Addis Ababa, which is uniquely characterized lack safe and adequate
as a spatially and socially mixed city, is gradually transforming pedestrian facilities *
into a more divided city. This trend has the potential to under-
mine social cohesion and threatens the city’s ability to cope with
future shocks and stresses. Coupled with rising unemployment
and youth disenfranchisement, this could lead to an increase in 88%
crime and violence. of traffic fatalities RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
involve pedestrians
While as a country we have ratified the UNCRPD and devised
Menged Le Sew, Addis Ababa’s monthly car- free event
laws and policies to ensure the rights of persons with disabili-
Menged Le Sew, which translates to “Streets for People”, is an initiative that aims to promote a more
ties (PWD), there is still a gap in effectively implementing and
enforcing inclusive planning in all areas of life. A variety of past 23,154 people-centric approach to urban planning and mobility, through the organization of monthly car-
free days. Since its launch in late 2018, ten car-free events have taken place in Addis Ababa, tempo-
urban development projects including the Light Rail Transit households affected
between 2009 and rarily reclaiming around 15 kilometers of the city’s streets from cars and opening them to residents
(LRT) system, government-built condominium houses, commer-
2015, linked to the of all ages to take part in various activities such as walking, cycling, skateboarding, and exercising.
cial buildings, and critical health and education facilities suggest
Addis Ababa’s urban Led by the Addis Ababa Traffic Management Agency (AATMA), the initiative is a collaborative effort
that there is a general lack of understanding of the needs and
renewal program ** involving multiple stakeholders, including city agencies (e.g. Health Bureau, Youth and Sports Bureau),
challenges faced by PWD, as well as a weak commitment to
federal ministries (e.g. Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport), as well as research institutes and civil
ensuring universal accessibility across the city.
society organizations. In addition to encouraging more people-centric mobility, the initiative strives to
reduce air pollution, promote active lifestyles, cultivate environmental awareness, and foster greater
social cohesionl. Since the inaugural car-free day, the initiative has gradually expanded across the
city, with monthly events now taking place in seven out of the ten sub-cities in Addis Ababa. Building
on this resounding success, Menged Le Sew is now being scaled up at the national level with support
from the Ministry of Transport. Since November 2019, three additional cities – Bahir Dar, Mekelle, and
14 A ddis Ababa City Administration. (2018). Addis Ababa Non-Motorised Transport * Addis Ababa Road Safety Strategy 2017-2030, 2017. Jimma – have organized car-free days and more secondary cities across the country are expected to
Strategy (2019-2029). ** UN-Habitat, 2017.
15 Addis Ababa City Administration. (2017). Addis Ababa Annual Road Safety Report, join Ethiopia’s growing open streets movement.
2017-2018.
16 Ibid.
40 41
unpredictable rationing are eroding public trust in the water

Water scarcity utility and government. In recognition of the limitations in water
provision, AAWSA is encouraging institutions (both govern-
mental and private) that have high water consumption rates
to source their own water through wells. While this might help RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
Despite significant gains achieved over recent decades, access
to safely managed and reliable water services continues to be
address supply challenges in the short term, uncontrolled drilling
of boreholes could lead to excessive extraction of groundwater
Gerbi dam project
a major challenge facing the city. The pressure of rapid popula-
aquifers, threatening the city’s long-term water security.
tion growth, coupled with higher living standards, has resulted AAWSA has launched the construction of a dam on the Gerbi river, 30 kilometers away from the
in increased water demand and per capita consumption. Water capital. With a total capacity of 73,000 m3 per day, the Gerbi dam is expected to increase the
The City has not yet capitalized on the opportunity to innovate
demand from industrial, commercial, and construction sectors city’s water supply and ease distribution of water in areas located north of Addis Ababa, where
and improve services and to develop new approaches to stra-
is also on the rise, fueled by a rapidly expanding economy and it is currently a challenge to pump water.
tegic water governance. Currently underutilized opportunities
unprecedented construction boom.
include capturing rainwater, storing stormwater, and reusing
effluent for a variety of non-drinking purposes. Additionally, the
While demand for water has grown in all major sectors, the
public lacks awareness about water as a finite resource and eco-
availability and supply of water is decreasing as a result of
nomic good. Furthermore, the principle of basin management RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
intensive groundwater development, natural resource degra-
to protect water resources and related ecosystems is not ade-
dation and climate change. Because of these shortages, there
quately implemented. Coordination between different admin- Decentralized wastewater treatment program
are pockets of the city that receive water in shifts, some only
istrative entities is difficult and complex, further exacerbating
getting water twice a week, which negatively impacts public
water challenges. To increase the city’s wastewater treatment capacity, AAWSA expanded the existing Kality
health and economic productivity. The disruption appears
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) with support from the World Bank. Completed in 2018,
to be more severe in the sub-cities of Gullele, Kolfe Keranio,
the expansion project has increased the WWTP’s capacity from only 7,000 m3 per day to 100,000
Addis Ketema, and Arada, which have higher concentrations of
m3 per day. The expansion included the construction of 18 km of new trunk main from the center
low-income residents.17 Residents in informal and low-income
of the city to the treatment plant. While the plant is currently operating at only 40% of its capac-
areas are disproportionately impacted by reduced water avail- ADDIS ABABA WATER AND
ity, at full capacity it is expected to serve one million residents in seven sub-cities. Efforts are
ability as they have limited means to supplement public water SEWERAGE AUTHORITY’S (AAWSA) *
currently underway to further expand the sewerage network and increase the number of con-
supply with other sources of water. Unable to practice proper
nected households across the city.
hygiene, residents in informal and low-income areas face
greater risk of waterborne and infectious diseases, as revealed
City’s current
demand
930,000
by successive cholera outbreaks and the recent COVID-19 pan- m3 per day
demic. Thus, there is a need to prioritize investment in water
supply and sanitation infrastructure to residents living in these RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
underserved areas, particularly the urban poor.
Second Urban Water Supply and Sanitation
Systemic inefficiencies and inadequate infrastructure further Project (SUWSSP)
exacerbate the city’s water shortage. Recurrent power cuts neg-
atively affect water distribution, especially in elevated areas of Financed by a loan from the World Bank, the SUWSSP aims to increase access to enhanced
Addis Ababa. The city’s dilapidated infrastructure is vulnerable water supply and sanitation services in an operationally efficient manner in Addis Ababa and
to contamination, especially during rainy seasons, which places City´s current
capacity
523,000 selected secondary cities. The program will provide improvement to the water and sanitation
Addis Ababa at a high risk for the outbreak of waterborne dis- m3 per day services in Addis Ababa, as well as support for operational efficiency improvements and institu-
eases. Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority (AAWSA), tional strengthening of the city’s water utility.
recognizing that water is a constitutional right of all citizens,
charges a very low tariff. Coupled with existing inefficiencies in
fee collection, this reduces AAWSA’s revenue stream, which in
turn makes it difficult and unaffordable to maintain and replace
aging infrastructure, and to provide adequate services.
37% Emergency water delivery during COVID-19

To address the city’s water shortage, AAWSA has recently
launched mega projects with the objective of doubling its daily Percentage of the water produced
As part of its emergency response to COVID-19, AAWSA has rolled out 35 water tanker trucks
water generation capacity. AAWSA has also introduced city- and distributed lost in the system in areas with water scarcity problems to ensure that households are able to practice proper
wide water rationing. While these restrictions are necessary due to aging and poorly maintained hygiene and protect themselves from the virus. Water supplied to industries, which typically
to manage limited water resources, poor communication and
infrastructure. ** accounts for 20% of the city’s total demand, has been reduced by 75% and temporarily redi-
rected to households to avoid water scarcity. Portable hand washing stations have also been
deployed at various locations, such as transport stations, to promote proper hygiene and
combat the outbreak.
17 W
orld Bank. (2015c). Addis Ababa – Enhancing Urban Resilience: city strength * Addis Ababa City Administration, 2019.
resilient cities program (English). Washington, D.C: World Bank. ** World Bank, 2015.
42 43
Environmental pollution Third, Addis Ababa’s air quality has greatly deteriorated in the
past years as a result of increased industrial and construction
and degradation activity, rising car ownership, and the continuing practice of Air quality management
uncontrolled burning of waste. Emissions from the city’s expand-
As a rapidly urbanizing city, Addis Ababa faces serious chal- ing and aging car fleet is identified as the prime contributor to system development
lenges to mitigating environmental pollution and degradation. outdoor air pollution. While car ownership remains low by global
The Addis Ababa Environmental Protection and
First, inadequate waste management systems have had nega- standards, most of the motorization in the city uses outdated and
Green Development Commission (AAEPGDC) and the
tive consequences on the city’s rivers and have cost the lives of polluting technology.23 Various studies indicate that concentra-
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US
residents. Addis Ababa is home to 65% of the country’s indus- tions of air pollutants (CO, PM 2.5, PM10, NOx) near and on road-
EPA) have partnered to launch this initiative aimed
try, and more than 90% of these industries discharge their waste sides now largely exceed WHO guidelines.24 This in turn is con- at raising awareness about the health and economic
directly into nearby rivers without proper treatment, due to tributing to a rise in respiratory diseases in the city. This trend is impacts of air pollution, assessing the challenges
poor enforcement of environmental regulations.18 Consequently, expected to worsen as the number of daily trips and vehicles on concerning air quality in Addis Ababa, and supporting
the city’s rivers have become heavily polluted. The widespread the road increases, fueled by population growth and economic local capacity to develop and implement an Air
occupation of riverbanks by informal settlements, coupled with development. Quality Management Plan (AQMP) by 2020.
the lack of adequate sanitation, has led to riverbank erosion and
transformed the city’s rivers into open sewers. This poses a sig- A weak regulatory environment and the limited enforcement
nificant danger to ecosystems, is a threat to future water supply, capacity of environmental agencies exacerbate these challeng- RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
and has serious health implications, as urban agriculture is com- ers. There are few incentives for industries, businesses and insti-
monly practiced along these riverbanks. An estimated 40% of tutions to reduce environmental pollution and manage resources Addis Ababa Drainage
vegetables supplied in the city are irrigated with wastewater more sustainably. Meanwhile, agencies lack the facilities, tech-
drawn from polluted rivers, resulting in high levels of contamina- nologies, data, resources, and local expertise to monitor envi-
Master Plan
tion in the city’s fresh food supply.19 ronmental pollution and degradation.
The Addis Ababa City Roads Authority (AACRA)
is currently developing a comprehensive, citywide
For close to half a century, Addis Ababa has used Koshe, an drainage master plan that will help address localized
unprotected and unregulated open dump site, as a landfill. In flooding caused by stormwater run-off.
addition to the significant environmental pollution caused by the 40%
landfill, in March of 2018, a landslide in Koshe claimed the lives of
of flooding and
over 100 people, most of whom subsisted on picking waste on landslides is attributed RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
the landfill.20 to loss of green spaces
in Addis Ababa Urban Agriculture Initiative
Second, the city’s mountain landscape is experiencing rapid (DPPC, 2015).
degradation, under the combined effects of deforestation, soil In April 2020, the Mayor of Addis Ababa launched a
erosion, and the proliferation of informal settlements. At the local new urban farming initiative aimed at tackling growing
level, green and open areas are gradually being transformed 90% concerns around food insecurity driven by drought
and the COVID-19 pandemic. The City has identified
into artificial surfaces, mainly for residential and commercial
of industries discharge land for horizontal and vertical urban farming projects,
developments, thereby reducing public spaces for socializing their waste directly into and launched a call for urban agriculture experts to
and recreation. nearby rivers support the City.
(YOHANNES & ELIAS, 2017).
Addis Ababa’s vulnerability to flooding risk is being aggravated
by the combination of poor drainage systems, a proliferation
of poorly constructed informal housing in flood-prone areas,
improper solid waste disposal, and loss of green spaces and
17years
associated expansion of impermeable surfaces. Loss of green The average age of
vehicles on the city’s
spaces is estimated to contribute to 40% of flooding and land-
roads (UN-HABITAT, 2017).
slides in Addis Ababa.21 Decline in green spaces also negatively
affects pollution mitigation, carbon sequestration, run-off regu-
lation, and water security, further exacerbating the city’s vulner-
ability to existing shocks and stresses. Evidence also suggests
that land-cover changes and shrinking green spaces have con-
50%
of the vehicles generate
tributed to notable nocturnal Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect,
nearly 90% of
particularly in central parts of the city.22
hydrocarbon and
carbon monoxide
18 Yohannes, H., & Elias, E. (2017). Contamination of Rivers and Water Reservoirs in
and Around Addis Ababa City and Actions to Combat It. Environment Pollution and
emissions
Climate Change 1:116., 1(2).
19 Fisseha, I. (2004). Metals in leafy vegetables grown in Addis Ababa and toxicological
implications, Ethiopian Journal of Health Development 16 (3), 295-302.
20 Aljazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/addis-ababa-death-toll-hits-
113-rubbish-landslide-170315165759540.html, 2018.
21 Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Center. (2015). Addis Ababa City Risk 23 Centre for Science and Environment. (2016). Urban Air Quality Management in
Profiling Program Report. Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Center. Ethiopia: a Guidance Framework.
22 Arsiso, B. K., Tsidu, G. M., Stoffberg, G. H., & Tadesse, T. (2018). Influence of 24 T
arekegn, M. M., & Gulilat, T. Y. (2018). Trends of Ambient Air Pollution and the
urbanization-driven land use / cover change on climate: The case of Addis Ababa, Corresponding Respiratory Diseases in Addis Ababa. Clinical Pharmacology and
Ethiopia. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 105, 212-223. Toxicology Journal, 2.
44 45
Lack of risk awareness Addis Ababa has a very large network of social groups such as RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
Ïddïrs (informal social protection system whose main function is
and emergency to help members during bereavement), mahbär (neighborhood Capacity Building in Disaster Management
preparedness or religious associations), and Ïqqub (rotating credit schemes)
that are actively operating in the city. With over eight in 10 res-
Program
idents belonging to such social groups,25 this informal network
Addis Ababa is vulnerable to a myriad of natural and man-made The U.S. Forest Service, in support of USAID/Ethiopia, has been working with the Addis Ababa
could provide a significant opportunity to strengthening com-
hazards. The city is prone to both riverine and rainfall flooding. Fire and Disaster Risk Management Commission (AAFDRMC) to help fire fighters and emer-
munity-based emergency response.
Low-income communities forced to live near riverbanks, low-ly- gency responders build capacity in urban emergency management and response. This part-
ing floodplains, and unstable hillsides are particularly vulnerable nership has helped enhance AAFDRMC’s training academy program through intensive training
to riverine floods. Urban fire typically affects residents living in programs, curriculum development, and standard operating procedures.
dense, inner-city informal settlements. While there have been
some efforts to enhance the city’s capacity to respond to fire
emergencies, much remains to be done in terms of enhancing
both institutional and community preparedness. Furthermore, RESILIENCE OPPORTUNITY:
the risk of urban fire associated with the ongoing construction
of high-rise buildings is rapidly increasing. Prevention methods, COVID-19 multi-stakeholder task force
levels of preparedness, and responses to the emerging high-rise
fire risk are all considered inadequate. Following the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case on March 14, 2020, the City established a
multi-stakeholder task force to ensure that response efforts are coordinated. The City prepared
Although Addis Ababa is located in a zone where the risk of a disaster mitigation and contingency plan. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, conven-
seismic activity is moderate, inadequate enforcement of earth- tion centers and meeting halls were converted into temporary treatment centers with a total
quake standards in building construction, coupled with low capacity of 5,550 beds. The City partnered with 800 co-ops to supply 200,000 liters of sanitiz-
preparedness and capacity, make the city vulnerable to earth- ers as well as food and other essential goods at a fair price to residents. Additionally, the City
quakes. The lack of regular and adequate maintenance of infra- mobilized 30,000 youth volunteers in a citywide campaign aimed at raising awareness of the
structure and buildings further exacerbates the risk of future risks associated with COVID-19 and educating the general public on proper hygiene and physical
collapse.
30,000 distancing.
Addis Ababa has also experienced frequent outbreaks of dis-

residents across the
city estimated to be
eases, ranging from cholera to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
vulnerable to flooding
Like many cities across the world, it is likely to witness more fre-
risk *
quent disease outbreaks as a result of globalization, urbaniza-
tion and climate change.
A 6.5 magnitude
Despite these risks, the City has limited capacity to plan for,
earthquake, similar to
withstand, and respond to the broad range of threats and
the one that hit the
hazards facing its residents and its critical physical assets city in 1906, could lead
(CPA). For instance, the city lacks a disaster risk management to as many as... **
strategic framework that can serve as a guiding document for
decision-making regarding the design and implementation of
disaster risk management related plans and programs. In addi- 4,000- 12+
tion, there are currently no regulatory tools that can be used
to establish responsibilities, duties, plans, concepts, and priori-
5,000 billion birr
ties in a coordinated manner with the participation of all actors. deaths economic loss
The owners and operators of assets lack detailed assessments of
risks faced by CPA such as hospitals, fire stations, and electric-
ity and water distribution networks. In addition, they rarely have
business continuity plans (BCP) or standard operating proce- 8 in 10
dures (SOP) for coordinating an emergency response to a shock residents belong to
or stress event. They also have limited skilled manpower, with social protection
no training and capacity building program for CPA owners and groups (e.g. Ïddïr,
operators to manage unforeseen risks to their operations. Ïqqub)
Finally, there is insufficient communication between the City

Administration and the public, and so there is limited community
participation in disaster risk reduction and emergency response.
25 U
N-HABITAT. (2003). Urban Inequities Report. Addis Ababa. *, ** DPPC, 2015.
46 47
non-government stakeholders are major obstacles to effective

Weak urban urban governance. Further, existing government systems and
RESILIENCE
OPPORTUNITY:
As part of its efforts to modernize and automate service
delivery, in February 2019 the City launched the “Smart
governance processes are no longer adequate to meet the demands of cit-
Smart Woreda Woreda project.” This initiative, currently being piloted in
izens’ rising expectations and the challenges of complex global
five woredas of the city, allows residents to receive identi-
Addis Ababa currently faces several governance challenges
economies. For instance, the City has yet to capitalize fully on
the opportunity provided by Information and Communications
project fication cards and vital events services through electronic
that affect the provision of basic infrastructure and services. For platforms. Through this initiative, the City aims to make its
Technology (ICT) to enhance municipal public service and
instance, a lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities between services more accessible to residents, reduce the cost of
engage with the public.
various levels of government generates major inefficiencies in accessing those services, improve turnaround times, and
the planning and delivery of critical infrastructure and services. strengthen its accountability and responsiveness. Even-
As pointed out by stakeholders during the strategy development
Addis Ababa’s urban governance is also characterized by high tually, this pilot project will be scaled up to the remaining
process, the prevalence of corruption at all levels of city
fragmentation and poor coordination between numerous enti- woredas across Addis Ababa.
government has been an impediment to the city’s development.
ties. Despite various structural and institutional reforms con-
Corruption has resulted in significant failures; for instance,
ducted over the past two decades, much needs to be done to
the lack of implementation of building codes, resulting in the
further clarify overlapping jurisdictions and enhance coordina- RESILIENCE
construction of poor and unsafe buildings across the city, and The AARPO, in partnership with the Public Complaint and
tion among government agencies. OPPORTUNITY:
infrastructure failure. Appeals Corrective Office, has created a citywide auto-
There is a significant shortage of skilled and experienced staff

Over the past years, Addis Ababa’s aggregate revenue has grad-
Automated mated system for handling citizens’ feedback and com-
plaints in an effective and timely manner. The system, which
at all levels. High turnover rates of leadership, managerial, and
technical staff not only exacerbates existing human capacity
ually expanded, reaching 44,7 billion ETB in 2018-19. However, citizens’ is designed to escalate unresolved citizen complaints all
the City is highly reliant on state revenues to cover its expen- the way to the Mayor’s Office, requires stronger political
constraints, but also leads to institutional memory loss. Poor data
diture.26 Over the years, the share of municipal revenues has complaints support to be scaled-up and institutionalized across all city
and knowledge management systems further undermine deci-
steadily declined, under the combined effect of weak institu- agencies.
sion-making and long-term, evidence-based planning efforts.
tional capacity, a low tax rate, a low tax base, low charges and
fees for utilities, inadequate debt collection, and non-recovery
Despite its capacity constraints, the City has not fostered strong
of major infrastructure. The City needs to further enhance its RESILIENCE The Addis Ababa City Council currently has seven standing
partnerships with the private sector for urban infrastructure and
capacity to increase municipal revenues to meet the growing OPPORTUNITY: committees with a mandate of monitoring and evaluating
services delivery. Except for a few instances, there is generally
demand for urban infrastructure and services fueled by rapid the City’s approved annual plans. In order to strengthen
a lack of involvement of the private sector and civil society in
urbanization. Strengthening these committees, the City Administration has reorganized
infrastructure and service delivery. Heavy top-down deci-
sion-making structures, poor downward accountability systems, 26 lso known as tax revenues, this includes revenue derived from taxation of incomes,
A
the City Council them and assigned qualified chairs with an elevated posi-
tion, similar to that of a bureau head. This arrangement has
and the absence of mechanisms to meaningfully engage with profits, rental incomes, and capital gains, taxes on sales of goods and services.
standing helped increase the committees’ efficiency in supervising
their assigned executing agencies.
committees
48 49
Priority shocks and stresses

Priority Shocks Priority Stresses
Developing a holistic understanding of risks and vulnerabilities is an
important first step towards building resilience in any city. One of the key
tasks undertaken during Phase 1 of the strategy process was to assess
Addis Ababa’s priority assets, shocks, and stresses. We engaged several
stakeholders through workshops, focus group discussions, interviews,
and surveys, to identify and prioritize (based on likelihood and impact)
the most significant shocks and stresses currently facing Addis Ababa,
and those anticipated to affect the city in the future. We also triangulated 1 Inflation27 2 Rioting and 1 High 2 Corruption
the findings with evidence from an extensive literature review, to ensure civil unrest unemployment
that we were capturing long-term trends (both past and future) that
were not necessarily reflected in our consultations.
3 Flooding 4 Infrastructure 3 Lack of 4 Environmental

and building affordable degradation
failure housing
5 Internal 6 Urban fire 5 Homelessness 6 Water

displacement shortage
7 Hazardous 8 Disease 7 Drug and 8 Population

material outbreak alcohol abuse growth
release
9 Terrorism 10 Construction 9 Inadequate 10 Traffic

accident waste and congestion
sanitation
27 W
hile inflation is typically listed as a shock, engagements with
stakeholders revealed that in the specific context of Addis Ababa,
it could be categorized as a stress given that is a long-standing
problem.
50 51
Timeline of formative events

in Addis Ababa’s h
istory
Historic events and timeline of shock events
INTRODUCTION OF
EUCALYPTUS TREES RING ROAD
PROJECT
ADDIS ABABA -
DJIBOUTI RAILWAY
COMPLETED
3,435,000
COMPLETED
PRIVATE FIRST IHDP LRT INAUGURATED

OWNERSHIP OF PILOTED
LAND LEGALIZED
ADDIS ABABA DERG TAKES

2,739,551 OPENING / CLOSING OF
ETHIOPIA'S FIRST
MARCH 14, 2020-FIRST
INCIDENCE OF
CAPTURED BY POWER, INSTATING ADDIS WASTE TO ENERGY COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN
FASCIST ITALY SOCIALISM 2,084,588 ABABAGAINS
CHARTERED
PLANT ADDIS ABABA
CITY STATUS
LAGHARE TRAIN Koshe
STATION BUILT
1,270,000 Landslide
683,530 1974
1905 1907 1917 1929 1936 1937 1961 1993 1995 1997 2000 2002 2004 2008 2013 2015 2017 2018 2020
1911 1922 1941 1965 1975 1994 1996 2001 2003 2005 2009 2014 2016
1886 1991 2019
EMPEROR MENELIK II
MOVES CAPITAL TO ALERT, ETHIOPIA’S RESILIENCE STRATEGY
ADDIS ABABA FIRST EVER
LEPROSYHOSPITAL, 455,490 DEVELOPMENT
ESTABLISHED EMPEROR HAILE DERG DOWNFALL.

FELWUHA SELASSIE TAKES BACK EPRDF TAKES
THERMAL BATHs ADDIS ABABA POWER
OPEN
140,000 NEW CONSTITUTION
ESTABLISHES REVISED ADDIS
FEDERAL SYSTEM ABABA MASTER
ALL URBAN LANDAND OPENING / CLOSING OF
65,000 RENTAL DWELLINGS
NATIONALIZED
PLAN ADOPTED
SENDAFA LANDFILL
2019
15,000 NATIONAL URBAN ADDIS ABABA AND

DEVELOPMENTPOLICY SURROUNDING OROMIA
ADOPTED SPECIAL ZONE
INTEGRATED MASTER
PLAN ABANDONED
ADDIS ABABA’S POPULATION

URBAN FIRE FLOODING DISPLACEMENT EARTHQUAKE ACTS OF TERROR RIOTS + CIVIL UNREST
52 53
Resilient Addis Ababa Vision
By 2030, Addis Ababa will flourish
Vision
into a safe, livable, and prosperous
city. We will stay true to our core
values of diversity and solidarity,
and continuously learn from the past
to ensure that the environment, and
for a Resilient Addis Ababa
most importantly people, are at the
center of our governance and growth.
54 55
PILLARS GOAL ACTION

1 Enable growth-oriented businesses to thrive
1.1
Nourish the ecosystem for innovation 2 Expand the digital jobs program to target youth, women, and PWD
and job creation 3 Establish an incubator program for start-up businesses
Pillar 1 4 Bridge Addis Ababa’s skills gap
1.2.
Leverage our existing environmental, 5 Develop an integrated and sustainable tourism strategy
A smart and physical, cultural, and human assets to Launch a study on the informal economy to develop more effective
6
help sustain economic growth
thriving city 7
policy interventions
Leverage technology for citizen-centric public service delivery
Building a thriving city Undertake a study on locally appropriate public participation
8
grounded in a diversified 1.3.
Foster efficient and transparent
mechanisms
economy and strong governance for the city 9 Set up a citywide performance reporting and management dashboard
governance processes.
10 Develop a Smart City strategy and roadmap
11 Build a centralized data center
Summary of our 2.1. Improve quality, distribution, and

accessibility of affordable housing
12
13
Apply a resilience lens to the city’s affordable housing program
Enable the use of resilient and affordable building materials and
methods
pillars, goals and 14

15
Improve construction control and supervision
Redesign and optimize the city’s bus network
actions 2.2.
Promote human-centered, efficient, and
16
Enhance accessibility, safety, and urban integration along the LRT
corridors
integrated mobility 17 Manage peak-hour travel demand
18 Explore the future of Addis Ababa’s ring road
Addis Ababa’s Resilience Pillar 2 19 Improve road users’ awareness and behavior
Strategy is organized into: Connected, 20 Conduct a comprehensive citywide disaster risk assessment
Establish a policy, strategy, and legal framework for citywide disaster
inclusive, 2.3.
Develop our capacity to manage risks
21
risk management
22 Prepare Disaster Mitigation and Contingency Plans
3 pillars and safe 23 Establish an Emergency Operation Centre (EOC)
strategic directions that guide us on communities 24 Collaborate to launch a Resilience Academy
the way to achieving our vision for 2.4. Foster a culture of resilience in the city
25 Pilot the Addis Ababa City Currency
the city Taking a more participatory,
Shape the next generation of resilience champions through education
human-centric approach to 26
and volunteerism
planning the city of today
and tomorrow. 27 Develop a youth empowerment program
13 goals 2.5. Empower and protect youth, women,

and vulnerable groups
28 Create safer public spaces for women and girls
29 Ensure universal accessibility across the city
middle- to long-term outcomes that
Build community-based resilience in collaboration with Community
the Strategy will aim to deliver 30
Care Coalitions (CCCs)
Strengthen social protection schemes and maximize their integration
31
to enhance the resilience of the urban poor
48 actions 32 Build a Water Resilient City

33 Establish a Water Fund
that address the city’s main shocks
and stresses, and meet the city’s 3.1.
Provide adequate, safe, and reliable 34
Enhance water security through improved groundwater abstraction
water and sanitation services for all monitoring and regulation
resilience goals. 35 Promote decentralized waste treatment and water sensitive design
36 Improve sanitation service provision
37 Develop a sustainable public procurement policy
38 Scale up adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels
Pillar 3 3.2.
Manage our resources sustainably 39 Design and implement energy-saving measures
Healthy and 40 Establish a recycling park

41 Develop a participatory mountain range rehabilitation program
livable places 42 Modernize solid waste management
Creating a livable city that 43 Build institutional capacity and partnerships to reduce air pollution
3.3. Improve the quality of our environment
promotes the health and Establish an accredited environmental pollution monitoring laboratory
44
well-being of its residents. and data management system
45 Design and build green and multifunctional streets
3.4. Provide risk-aware and participatory 46 Improve participatory design in resilient public spaces
public space design and implementation
47 Launch a tactical urbanism program
3.5. E
nsure the provision of health, 48 Build a sustainable and resilient city-region food system
affordable and reliable food for all.
56 57
How to read our actions
Resilience challenge Action description Network inspiration Boxes

Identifies the challenge that Briefly describes what the These boxes refer to
the action seeks to address. action entails. inspirations from other
GRCN cities or best
practices in context.
Resilience co-benefits Related stresses Potential partners Action status

Outlines the resilience benefits Outlines which stresses are Identifies potential partners
and co-benefits delivered by the addressed by the action. that will be involved in the - New action: The initiative is new
action. implementation of the action. and was articulated during the
Connection to SDGs strategy development process
Related shocks Outlines which SDGs are Scale - Ongoing: The initiative is
Outlines which shocks are addressed by the action. Local, citywide, metropolitan, already happening in the city.
addressed by the action. In case regional The proposed actions here will
the action does not address a Action owner/ lead further strengthen, complement
shock, only stresses are listed. Identifies the agency of Time frame and look for better ways of
the Addis Ababa City Short (1-2 years), medium (2-5 implementation to maximize
Administration that will lead the years) or long term (5+ years) impact.
implementation of the action. - Scale-up action: The initiative
Next steps has happened in the city or
What needs to be done within elsewhere in a limited way
the period of one year to already. The action seeks to
implement the action. expand the best practices and
lessons learned to the wider
city.
58 59
Inspiration from the Network

Access to the GRCN network has allowed Addis Ababa to share learnings with cities
that share similar challenges and leverage best-in-class solutions from across the globe.
Listed below are the cities and experiences that have inspired and shaped the actions
included in the Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy.
BELFAST
Belfast Coin
PILLAR 2
Pilot the Addis
Ababa City
Currency
P. 108
PARIS
Create an open-source,
multi-target, research
and training center for
resilience
PILLAR 3
Collaborate to launch a
resilience academy.
NEW YORK CITY
JUAREZ Establishing Performance BARCELONA P. 106
Management Infrastruc-
Plaza Juan Gabriel ture to Drive Initiative Diversification of
Design Competition Delivery affordable housing
PILLAR 3 PILLAR 1 PILLAR 2 SEOUL

Improve participatory Set up a citywide Apply a resilience lens to
design in resilient performance reporting the City’s affordable Cheonggyechoen
public spaces. and management housing program Restoration project
dashboard SURAT
P. 89 PILLAR 2
P. 140 Diversifying Business Explore the future of
P. 80 Sectors and Opportunities Addis Ababa’s ring road
with a Focus on Small-
and Medium-Sized P. 96
Enterprises
PILLAR 1
Enable growth-oriented
small businesses to thrive.
QUITO
P. 67
Building Sustainable and
Resilient Food System
PILLAR 3 NAIROBI
Build a sustainable and
resilient city-region food SALVADOR Rockefeller Foundation’s
system Digital Jobs Program
Incubator focused on
SDGs PILLAR 1
P. 145 Expand the digital jobs
PILLAR 1 program to target
Establish a start-ups disadvantaged youth,
and incubation village women, and PWD.
SANTIAGO DE CHILE P. 71 P. 69
Generating and CAPE TOWN
implementing a
comprehensive Water resilience and
SANTA FE avoiding Day Zero
regional waste
management model Tactical Urbanism on PILLAR 3
Parque del Norte Build a water resilient
PILLAR 3
Modernize solid waste city
PILLAR 3
management Launch a tactical
urbanism program P. 121
P. 134
P. 142
60 61
Resilient Addis Ababa Pillar 1 – A smart and thriving city
Pillar 1
A smart and
thriving city
Building a thriving city grounded in a diversified
economy and strong governance processes.
62 63
While Addis Ababa’s economy is growing at a record rate, the benefits of

this growth remain unevenly distributed among an urban population that is
also rapidly expanding. High rates of unemployment exist side by side with
untapped opportunities to expand into high-productivity sectors and to
effectively harness the informal economy.
Digital technology holds the potential to transform the city’s economy, and
also its governance. Long-standing challenges in this area have affected the
provision of basic infrastructure and have resulted in poor service delivery
to residents and businesses. As our population continues to grow in the
years to come, our city must be able to understand and meet the needs of all
residents.
This pillar is about forging the economy of the future and fostering an
enabling environment for the businesses and people of Addis Ababa to
thrive. Initiatives in this pillar build on different programs of the Addis Ababa
City Administration to improve service delivery, to create more transparent
and inclusive governance, and to support and make way for jobs in emerging
industries.
GOAL
Nourish the ecosystem
GOAL 1.1 Nourish the ecosystem for innovation and job creation 1.1
Leverage our existing environmental, cultural, and human assets to help sustain
for innovation and job
GOAL 1.2
economic growth
creation
GOAL 1.3 Foster an efficient and transparent governance for the city
64 65
ACTION
1 Enable growth-oriented small businesses to thrive
through the program face major sustainability challenges.28

Moreover, the study has found that established MSEs tend to
make very little income: approximately 90% of them earned INSPIRATION
less than 600 birr per month. The lack of sustainability and
poor performance of MSEs are attributed to the program’s
targeting system, which focuses on unemployment status SURAT (INDIA)
rather than on entrepreneurship potential. Furthermore, DIVERSIFYING BUSINESS SECTORS AND OPPORTUNITIES WITH A FOCUS ON
the program’s group formation requirement to access MICRO-, SMALL-, AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES
loans means that entrepreneurs are not coming together
out of genuine business partnerships, and groups often The economy of Surat is heavily dependent on two dominant sectors: textiles and
fail to function well. While the City has primarily focused
diamond cutting, income generators dependent on global markets and macro-economic
on supporting MSEs through this program, many growth-
trends. Recession in either of these two sectors would have a significant impact on the
oriented entrepreneurs and young businesses across the
economy of the city. Therefore, Surat is focused on catalyzing alternative industrial
city continue to face significant challenges due to the lack of
enabling environment for their growth and expansion. These sectors, such as technology, tourism, the automobile industry, and the food industry. It
businesses have huge potential if adequately supported. is also looking at creating additional livelihood opportunities for its residents, to sustain
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE them in good times, as well as in economic downturns.
As part of its efforts to combat unemployment, the Addis
Ababa City Administration, in concert with the federal
ACTION DESCRIPTION To build this economic resilience, Surat will prioritize many of its efforts on supporting
government, has been implementing the Micro and Small
This action aims to create an enabling environment for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises through the following actions:
Enterprises (MSEs) program since 2005. The program seeks
growth-oriented enterprises to thrive and expand in Addis
to support the formation and growth of MSEs through the
Ababa. To achieve this goal, the City will:
provision of work premises, finance, marketing support, and
extension services, as well as technology transfer and training. - Launching a capacity-building program to support entrepreneurs and MSMEs that
• Conduct a landscape of the state of growth-oriented small
The program is delivered through MSE one-stop centers leverages new partnerships with national-level institutions and banks to improve
businesses in Addis Ababa.
established at the kebele (neighborhood) level and through access to skills development opportunities and financing.
• Create mechanisms to foster stronger business-to-business
collaborations with training institutes, micro-credit financial - Promoting and supporting women entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in
linkages between growth-oriented small businesses and
institutions, and NGOs. It is estimated that the MSE program particular, by offering targeted business counseling and training.
outsourcing opportunities in larger enterprises.
has helped create more than 900,000 jobs during the first - Establishing a center of excellence and incubation center to conduct Research &
• Establish platforms for the City to engage regularly with actors
Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP I) period. However, Development (R&D) for diverse business opportunities and skill development.
with growth-oriented enterprises, and to better understand
according to a World Bank study, out of all enterprises
their constraints and needs.
created, only 1,000 have graduated to become emerging
• Provide a platform to promote and showcase the activity of
middle-scale enterprises, suggesting that MSEs supported
successful growth-oriented small businesses.
PLEASE SEE THE SURAT RESILIENCE STRATEGY, PAGES 51-54,
FOR MORE INFORMATION.
RESILIENCE • Create sustainable and competitive local POTENTIAL Addis Ababa Trade and Industry Development
CO-BENEFITS businesses. PARTNERS Bureau (AATIDB), Addis Ababa Chamber of
• Generate good employment and livelihood Commerce and Sectoral Association (AACCSA),
opportunities. Entrepreneurship Development Centre, financial
• Support the creation of thriving middle-sized institutions, donors
enterprises and stimulate the local economy.
SCALE Citywide
• Build stronger relations between the public
and private sectors. TIME FRAME Medium-term
• Encourage transfer of technology, knowledge,
and skills.
ACTION New
STATUS
RELATED Unemployment, Poverty, Informality
STRESSES
NEXT STEPS • Complete landscape mapping of growth-
oriented businesses.
CONNECTION SDG 8 • Create mechanisms for business-to-business
TO SDGS linkages.
• Establish public-private engagement platforms.
ACTION Addis Ababa Job Opportunity Creation and
OWNER/LEAD Enterprise Development Bureau (AAJOCEDB)
28 W
orld Bank. (2018). Enhancing Economic Development and Job Creation in Addis
Ababa: the role of City Administration. Washington, D.C: World Bank.
66 67
ACTION
Expand the digital jobs program to target youth,
2 women, and PWD
that use information technology to deliver a product or service,

offer significant opportunities for higher wages and sustainable
employment. Through this action, the City will create a Digital INSPIRATION
Jobs program aimed at developing digital skills and catalyzing
the growth of sustainable ICT-enabled employment for
disadvantaged youth, women, and PWD in Addis Ababa. The NAIROBI (KENYA)
program will focus on: DIGITAL JOBS AFRICA
• Providing digital and soft skills training for disadvantaged youth,

In response to the challenges of widespread youth unemployment in
women, and PWD to prepare them for digital jobs. Training
will be demand-driven and designed in close partnership with Africa, and recognizing the tremendous employment opportunities
employers to ensure that they adequately reflect market needs. provided by the phenomenal growth of the ICT sector, The Rockefeller
• Facilitating post-training job placements: The City will Foundation launched the Digital Jobs Africa initiative in 2013. The
identify and partner with employers who are willing to hire
objective of the initiative was to equip youth – especially those with
disadvantaged youth, women, and PWD who have been
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE trained through the program. These job placements will enable high potential but limited access to opportunities – with the technical
While ICT is becoming increasingly available in Addis Ababa, program trainees to acquire transferable workplace skills and skills, soft skills, and job placement support necessary to transition into
the city has yet to harness the potential of digital technology experience, while at the same time helping companies to meet a technology-enabled workforce. Over a period of seven years, Digital
to transform its economy and address its long-standing their demand for a trained and motivated workforce.
Jobs Africa was implemented across six countries – Egypt, Morocco,
unemployment problem. Some contributing factors are poor • Creating temporary digital jobs in the public sector, particularly
ICT infrastructure, heavy government regulation and control, in institutions with massive manual data, where demand for Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria – with the goal of creating
and low digital literacy rates. The ongoing liberalization digitization and back-office work (scanning documents, data 250,000 jobs and impacting one million lives. To achieve this, the
of Ethiopia’s telecommunications sector could, however, entry work, etc.) is rapidly growing in line with the deployment Rockefeller Foundation invested US$97 million and focused on three
change this by creating an enabling environment for the of e-governance across the city. In addition to creating
specific interventions:
digital economy, and digital jobs, to grow and thrive. There is employment opportunities and supporting the expansion of
growing evidence that access to these opportunities is most e-governance, this intervention will contribute to building the
transformative for disadvantaged youth. However, youth are capacity of city agencies. - Creating digital jobs by catalyzing the Impact Sourcing sector,30 leveraging the
not well positioned to compete for these opportunities, in rising demands from African-based companies, governments, and multinationals
part due to real digital skills gaps, but also because their talent The City will leverage lessons learned from the Rockefeller to create employment opportunities, and exploring new and innovative job
and potential are often overlooked by employers. ICT is also Foundation’s Digital Jobs for Africa (see “Network Inspiration,” opportunities.
not gender-neutral and women remain significantly under- page 69) and other similar programs to ensure successful - Working with local organizations to provide demand-led skills training for high-
represented in the digital economy globally.21 program design and implementation. For instance, it will potential but disadvantaged youth to gain the skills and experienced required for
provide transportation and meal stipends as well as other digital job opportunities in diverse sectors, including business process outsourcing,
ACTION DESCRIPTION incentives to remove financial barriers to program enrolment
online work, retail, and hospitality. The training curriculum was influenced and
Digital jobs, defined as any short-term or permanent positions and participation.
designed to meet the needs of the labor market, and included a focus on soft skills
and life skills, such as financial literacy.
RESILIENCE • Create sustainable, flexible, and inclusive job POTENTIAL Addis Ababa Women and Children Bureau, Addis
CO-BENEFITS opportunities for disadvantaged youth, women, and PARTNERS Ababa Youth and Volunteer Coordination Office,
- Supporting an enabling environment for digital jobs through partnerships with
PWD. Federation of Ethiopian National Associations government to develop infrastructure and adopt policies necessary to accelerating the
• Strengthen participants’ future employment with Persons with Disabilities (FENAPD),
opportunities and serve as a springboard to access Addis Ababa University (AAU), Technical and growth of the Impact Sourcing sector.
jobs with higher pay, new professional development Vocational Education and Training
opportunities, and enhanced personal development. (TVET) Institutes, Addis Ababa Kaizen institute,
• Drive growth in the digital economy. development partners (e.g. Mercy Corps,
• Enhance and modernize service provision by both Mastercard Foundation), private sector actors (e.g.
the public and private sectors. EQOS Global, Gebeya IT Academy, iCog Labs)
• Enhance social cohesion and promote gender
SCALE Citywide
equality.
TIME FRAME Medium-term
RELATED Rioting and civil unrest
SHOCKS ACTION Ongoing
STATUS
RELATED Unemployment, Poverty, Lack of social cohesion,
STRESSES Gender inequality NEXT STEPS • Establish profiles of possible digital jobs,
identify target population, and design a robust
beneficiary targeting mechanism.
CONNECTION SDG 8 and 9
• Conduct outreach to private and public
TO SDGS
institutes to promote impact sourcing and form
30 S
ourcing is the socially responsible arm of the business process and information
ACTION Addis Ababa Science and Technology partnerships for post-training placements.
technology outsourcing industry, which employs individuals, especially high-
OWNER/LEAD Agency (AASTA) and AAJOCEDB potential but disadvantaged youth, women, and marginalized people, who would
otherwise not have an opportunity for sustainable employment.
29 D
alberg Global Development Advisor. (2013). Digital jobs in Africa: Catalyzing https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/report/digital-jobs-in-africa-catalyzing-
inclusive opportunities for youth. The Rockefeller Foundation. Retrieved from inclusive-opportunities-for-youth/
68 69
ACTION
3 Establish an incubator program for start-ups
© Marcelo Gandra
(e.g. support in preparing effective business plans, coaching,
INSPIRATION
mentorship, networking, etc.) to aspiring entrepreneurs with
viable business ideas.
ACTION DESCRIPTION SALVADOR (BRAZIL)

The City will establish a start-up incubator program to create INCUBATOR FOCUSED ON SDGs
a conducive environment for early-stage, growth-oriented
tech entrepreneurs and ICT-enabled businesses to develop
On May 10, 2019, Salvador opened Brazil’s first public incubator focused
their business ideas and launch their enterprises. The program
will provide a range of support to ICT startups, including: on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). An
initiative of the city’s Resilience Strategy, the Municipal Innovation
• Shared modern facilities and infrastructure, such as office Center, known as COLABORE, was constructed out of 16 old shipping
space, meeting rooms, reliable power, and telecommunications.
containers amid the trees of the City Park. Recognizing that social
• Business advisory services to assist entrepreneurs with
regulatory compliance (i.e. registration and licensing), inequality is the greatest challenge of many Brazilian cities, the City
management issues, financial management, etc., at competitive of Salvador envisions COLABORE as a coworking space for micro
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE
rates. enterprises, start-ups, and individuals who have equity solutions
Addis Ababa’s MSEs and entrepreneurs face a myriad of
• Coaching and mentorship programs by hand-picked
challenges to their growth and operations. There are few for the city that also fulfill the aspirations of the SDGs. The facility’s
experienced business owners and professionals.
appropriate office spaces in the city and lease terms are placement in one of the most popular meeting places in the city, with
• Professional networking: access to a community of like-
generally inflexible. Basic services (such as power and
minded entrepreneurs to foster knowledge-sharing with peers, around 100,000 visitors per month, puts its mission at the center of
internet connectivity) remain inadequate, inaccessible, or
linking incubators to other businesses, investors, incubators, the municipal conversation. COLABORE is designed to be a shared
expensive. Lack of access to financing is another bottleneck
programs, etc.
facing entrepreneurs. work environment, catalyzing interaction between entrepreneurs.
• Financial support.
Users will have access to offices, an auditorium, and meeting rooms,
Moreover, most MSEs are launched by aspiring entrepreneurs
To establish this incubator, the City will develop a robust allowing them to network while saving money on office space.
with little prior work experience and limited exposure to a
feasibility study and business plan that will be prepared Workstations around the site will allow for periodic training courses on
mature business environment, making them particularly
in close collaboration with key relevant stakeholders
vulnerable in their early years. ICT start-ups in particular social entrepreneurship, boosting Salvador’s innovation economy. The
(government agencies, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial
tend to attract technology professionals with little business incubator will also have a number of sustainable features:
support providers, investors, etc.).
experience. However, there are very few business incubators in
the city that provide business support resources and services
- Solar Energy: 12 photovoltaic solar panels that generate an average of 520 kW per
month and avoid the emission of approximately 3 tons of CO2 per year.
- Vegetation: 270 square meters of green roof offers thermal insulation, reducing the
temperature inside the building by up to 5°C.
- Water storage: Rainwater barrels capture water that is used to irrigate the green
RESILIENCE • E
nhance the viability and growth of small SCALE Citywide roof. The condensed water from the air conditioning system is recycled for the same
CO-BENEFITS businesses.
TIME FRAME Medium-term purpose.
• Foster an entrepreneurial culture.
• Reduce unemployment, particularly among the ACTION New
- Ventilation: In order to reduce energy consumption, the building was designed to
youth. STATUS take full advantage of cross ventilation, keeping the air inside fresh and cool.
• Develop and scale innovative solutions to the
city’s resilience challenges.
NEXT STEPS • Conduct a participatory feasibility study that - Lighting: To reduce electricity consumption, the workspaces were designed for
will further develop the incubator concept
• Diversify the local economy. maximal natural light, and no film was used on the windows.
and determine strategies for the design and
RELATED Unemployment, Inadequate education systems, operation of the incubator. - Active mobility: The building has a designated space for users to park bicycles,
STRESSES Undiversified economy, Inadequate infrastructure • Develop a business plan that outlines the
incubator’s business model, governance encouraging active mobility.
structure, and potential programming and - Acoustics: The vegetation around COLABORE works as a natural acoustic barrier,
TO SDGS
services offered.
ACTION AASTA • Establish a broad-based partnership of public helping to reduce noise as well as the internal ambient temperature.
OWNER/LEAD and private sector sponsors. - Permeability: The site features 300 square meters of permeable surfaces,
POTENTIAL Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT),
PARTNERS
contributing to the reduction of surface runoff.
Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral
Association (AACCSA), entrepreneurial support - Sewerage: The building’s effluent is treated by anaerobic and aerobic processes,
organizations (Bluemoon, ICE Addis, etc.),
universities and other educational institutions,
allowing the reuse of treated water for irrigation and other non-potable applications.
local technology companies, investment funds,
banks, development partners
70 71
ACTION
4 Bridge Addis Ababa’s skills gap
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE ACTION DESCRIPTION

Over half of Addis Ababa’s unemployed have completed The overarching objective of this initiative is to connect
secondary or post-secondary education, suggesting that the classroom learning with the job market, thereby ensuring
local economy is not generating enough jobs for the growing that students can make more informed decisions on career
number of graduates that are joining the labor market. This choices and pathways, and are job-ready and visible to the
also indicates a mismatch between employers’ demands and job market. The aim is to help address the skills gap and
existing labor skills. The are several factors behind the current support a thriving and diversified local economy.
skills gap and mismatch, including:
The action proposes to:
• Lack of proper information and awareness at lower levels of
education about different fields of study and career choices. • Initiate curriculum revision for lower level (below grade 8)
• Inadequate competence, employable skills, and job readiness and TVET education. Starting from lower levels, the education
among university and technical college graduates. curriculum will be revised to include courses focusing on digital
• Inadequate technical and soft skills to handle jobs in high skills and STEM, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.
value-added and emerging sectors such as ICT, electronics • Establish at least one career advisory center in each sub-city
manufacturing, and tourism. to provide students with education and career information
• Many people – both young and old – do not possess the digital and guidance, as well as opportunities to connect with further
skills required for many jobs of the twenty-first century. education institutions and employers from a young age.
• Lack of encouragement for women to participate in sectors • Enhance cooperative training programs in government
other than traditionally female-dominated sectors, such as institutions, institutionalize ongoing efforts, and create
domestic work. incentive measures (tax incentives, recognition and awards GOAL Leverage our existing
1.2
• Limited opportunity for TVET graduates to transition towards to employers, etc.) for private companies to provide better
self-employment. cooperative training opportunities.
• Partner with civil society groups that support gender equality environmental, cultural,
and human assets to help
to organize campaigns, events, and activities aimed at
breaking down gender stereotypes around curriculum and
careers, and inspiring young girls to pursue careers in high
value-added jobs.
sustain economic growth.
RESILIENCE • Raising awareness of educational and work POTENTIAL TVET institutions and primary schools, AASTA,
CO-BENEFITS opportunities. PARTNERS AACCSA, Addis Ababa Labour and Social Affairs
• Enhancing the employability of young people. Bureau (AALSAB), CSOs working on education
• Reducing the gap between the skills of the and gender equality, donors
workforce and labor market needs.
SCALE Citywide
• Reducing unemployment and enhancing social
cohesion. TIME FRAME Medium-term
• Creation and growth of businesses.
ACTION New
RELATED High unemployment, Poverty, Economic STATUS
STRESSES inequality, Informality, Lack of social cohesion,
NEXT STEPS • Convene government institutions and
Political instability
private sector actors to identify, design, and
CONNECTION SDG 4, 8, 9 incorporate additional appropriate incentive
TO SDGS measures for cooperative trainings.
• Pilot two career advisory centers in the city.
ACTION Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB) and TVET
OWNER/LEAD • Launch at least one event in partnership
Agency
with NGOs aimed at breaking down gender
stereotypes in relation to education and career
opportunities.
72 73
ACTION
Develop an integrated and sustainable tourism ACTION
Launch a study on the informal economy to
5 strategy 6 develop more effective policy interventions
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE ACTION DESCRIPTION RESILIENCE CHALLENGE ACTION DESCRIPTION

Addis Ababa, as the diplomatic capital of the African continent, The City will develop a tourism strategy that will provide a Despite the support that the informal economy provides This initiative proposes a thorough assessment of Addis
has become a gateway not only to Ethiopia, but to the long-term and coherent vision and roadmap for transforming for many residents, the City currently lacks up-to-date and Ababa’s informal economy sector to establish up-to-date
continent itself, with multiple flights landing in the city daily. Addis Ababa into an attractive, welcoming, and competitive reliable information on the size, composition, needs, and and reliable data on industries involved in the sector, form
However, the tourism industry has benefited very little from tourist destination. In addition to creating a sense of existing conditions of the sector and its participants. This an understanding of their contribution to the city’s overall
the city’s connectedness. As it stands, aside from MICE tourism direction and catalyzing investment in the tourism sector, limits the City’s ability to enact tailored policies and initiatives economy, and gather demographic, socioeconomic, and
(Meetings, Incentives, Conference, and Exhibition), the city the strategy will focus on leveraging tourism as a positive that effectively address the challenges and needs of those aspirational information on their participants. The study will
lacks the staying power to take advantage of the economic force for supporting local businesses, generating decent involved in the sector, most of whom are estimated to also include a rapid impact assessment of the COVID-19
and cultural benefits that tourism can bring. Ethiopia’s jobs, empowering the youth, enhancing social cohesion, and be women. It also limits the City’s ability to provide social outbreak on actors engaged in the informal economy.
tourism strategy – which emphasizes ancient culture and strengthening the city’s overall resilience. protection and decent working environments for those in
heritage, as well as national parks, as core tourist attractions – the sector, especially vulnerable groups such as migrants, Strategic directions that can be pursued based on the study
puts focus on assets outside the city, contributing to making To drive expansion of tourism into Addis Ababa and enable domestic workers, and those engaging in sex work. findings are:
Addis Ababa a stopover on the way to other destinations its contribution to resilience building, the strategy will focus
across the country. Although tourism has recently received on key areas, including but not limited to: Current efforts by the City to register and provide vending • Understanding the steps necessary to integrate the informal
increasing government attention and support as an area of space for informal street vendors can also be more effective sector into the overall economy of the city, and leverage it
opportunity for job creation, the absence of a dedicated and • Better marketing and branding of the city and its key assets. if driven by more nuanced data than is currently available. for increasing employment opportunities and improving
well-coordinated tourism strategy for Addis Ababa further • Enhancing tourist attractions across the city, as well as visitors’ Additionally, lack of information has led to recent inner-city residents’ standards of living.
inhibits investment and growth in the sector. Without a clear experiences and journeys. redevelopment plans that have unknowingly disrupted the • Aligning urban planning practices with the needs of the
vision and roadmap for how to develop the sector, tourism • Strengthening leadership in the sector and collaboration livelihoods of residents who use their homes as workspaces informal sector to enhance its benefits, rather than disrupting
in Addis Ababa continues to face a myriad of challenges, among actors. in inner city areas. The COVID-19 pandemic is yet another the livelihoods of those involved in it.
including poor branding and promotion, inadequate tourist • Capacity building and skills development at all levels. shock that has severely hit informal workers and reinforced • Introducing emergency income replacement measures for
products and experiences, limited capacity for hospitality and • Protecting and rehabilitating heritage buildings in the city. the need for livelihood support following a shock and social informal workers in case of shock events leading in loss of
tourism, and weak coordination among actors in the sector. • Promoting responsible and sustainable use of resources. protection measures. livelihood.
Meanwhile, in addition to the city’s historical and diplomatic • Ensuring that tourism works for local communities, particularly • Establishing a livelihood restoration fund for informal workers
identities, various stakeholders are increasingly contributing the youth. The City currently cannot use the informal sector to increase hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the recovery phase.
to Addis Ababa’s attractiveness globally. A rich food tradition, its tax base, thereby increasing its own-source revenue, as • Providing much-needed legislative and enforcement support
a booming music and arts scene, a budding fashion industry, The strategy will be researched and developed through there is no accurate data on the number of people involved to ensure that those in the informal sector have opportunities
athletics, skating culture – the city’s residents, especially the a robust consultative process with tourism partners and in the sector and their earning power. The lack of information for decent and safe employment.
youth, are shaping Addis Ababa’s identity as a young, vibrant, stakeholders from government, the private sector, and civil also prevents the City from understanding thriving sectors, • Exploring the potential of leveraging the informal sector to
and active city. Unfortunately, there is little support for those society (artists, art galleries, youth associations, etc.). It will and particularly the participation of migrants, refugees, and increase the city’s own-sourced revenue through taxation.
involved in the aforementioned sectors. This is holding the be complemented by an implementation plan to ensure that low-skilled workers, hindering investing to partner with them
city back from taking advantage of these assets, not only to the strategy leads to tangible impacts on the ground and to reduce unemployment and underemployment.
develop a strong tourism sector, but also to strengthen social meets its stated objectives.
cohesion, increase youth involvement, and improve viable
employment opportunities.
RESILIENCE • Increase the supply of decent and high-quality jobs. RELATED Lack of up-to-date and reliable data for future
RESILIENCE • Generating growth, higher earnings, and POTENTIAL FDRE PMO, Tourism Ethiopia, Ministry of Culture CO-BENEFITS • Support the creation of dignified work STRESSES planning, Lack of integrated planning, Unemployment,
CO-BENEFITS employment in the tourism sector. PARTNERS and Tourism, Ministry of Youth and Sports, environments for those employed in the informal Poverty, Economic inequality, Lack of social cohesion,
• Diversifying the local economy. Authority for Research and Conservation of sector. Gender-based violence, Traffic accidents, Inflation
• Expanding livelihood opportunities for youth Cultural Heritage, Ethiopian Airlines, Museums, • Influence the quality of life of those involved in
and marginalized communities. art galleries and cultural centres, Hotel Owners’
CONNECTION SDG 1, 5, 8, 10, 11
the informal sector for the better, and strengthen
TO SDGS
• Increasing access to foreign currency. Association, Tour operators associations, CSOs their ability to withstand shocks such as inflation
• Improving the city’s overall image, quality of (youth associations, traditional and cultural and displacement. ACTION AAPDCo
life, and residents’ sense of pride. associations, Ethiopian Running Association, • Curb gender-based violence aimed at domestic OWNER/
etc.), training and academic institutions. and sex workers by providing protection and LEAD
RELATED Riots and civil unrest
SHOCKS support that is informed by concrete information POTENTIAL AALSAB, Addis Ababa Trade and Industry
SCALE Citywide
on their needs and the challenges they face. PARTNERS Development Bureau (AATIDB), AACCSA, CSA,
RELATED High unemployment, Poverty, Inflation, Lack of TIME FRAME Long-term • Decrease the potential for riots, civil unrest, and MoTI, development partners
STRESSES social cohesion, Undiversified economy, Youth looting by increasing employment opportunities.
disenfranchisement ACTION New SCALE Citywide
• Increase the city’s tax base and contribute
STATUS
positively to the city’s economy.
CONNECTION SDG 8, 9, 12 TIME FRAME Medium-term
TO SDGS
NEXT STEPS • Establish a technical working group • Build a positive relationship between the City
responsible for overseeing the development of Administration and those involved in the informal ACTION New
ACTION Addis Ababa City Culture, Arts, and Tourism the city’s integrated and sustainable tourism sector, making the latter feel an increased sense STATUS
OWNER/LEAD Bureau (AACATB) strategy. of citizenship. NEXT STEPS • Design the terms of reference of the study in
• Develop a RfP and launch the strategy
RELATED Disease outbreak, Economic crisis consultation with key partners, and commission
development process.
SHOCKS the study.
• Implement recommendations and actions of
• Design and implement tailored and
the strategy, and ensure their continuity in the
effective policy interventions based on the
future.
recommendations of the study.
74 75
ACTION
Leverage technology for citizen-centric public
7 service delivery
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE institutionalized across the city. In its effort to combat the
While some progress has been made over the last few years, COVID-19 outbreak, the government has further accelerated
public service delivery is grossly inadequate in Addis Ababa. the deployment of e-services across government agencies to
One of the key factors affecting poor service delivery in the minimize physical contact and halt the spread of the virus.
city is the lack of automation and adherence to a common Digital tools that allow critical and senior public servants to
and clear set of processes, policies, and standards for service work from home have also been procured, but additional
delivery. The City’s continued reliance on paper-based efforts are needed to equip and train more municipal staff.
operations forces residents to travel and queue at various
government offices, wasting valuable time and money on ACTION DESCRIPTION
procedures that do not require face-to-face interactions. The action will build on and expand current efforts aimed at
Longer processing and approval times, coupled with the promoting the use of ICT to improve quality of public services
current procedural complexity, negatively impacts business delivered to residents and businesses during normal times,
creation. The lack of automation also leads to greater and ensure continuity of critical services in time of crisis.
opportunities for corruption, thereby eroding public trust. The overall objective is to fundamentally change how public
Limited information on the services offered by the City, and services are provided, by promoting a shift from traditional
lack of adequate mechanisms to handle citizens’ feedback and procedure-oriented to a result-oriented and citizen-centric
complaints, are additional factors contributing to inadequate approach to public service delivery that is supported
service delivery. by digital technology. This will be achieved through the
following interventions:
GOAL
Foster an efficient and Recognizing the role that digital technology can play in
1.3 enhancing public service delivery to residents and businesses, • Automate processes, workflows, policies, and standards for
transparent governance
the City has recently launched several e-government services, service delivery. Agencies and sectors with lower service
in line with the national e-government strategy. The m-Gov performance (i.e. business license registration, construction
platform, introduced in 2017, now allows citizens to access permits, and land registration) will be prioritized in a first
for the city information on more than 50 public services – including utility
bills, taxes, bus routes, and exam results – via their mobile
phase.
• Scale-up and institutionalize the City’s automated system for
devices. More recently, the City launched the Smart woredas handling citizens’ feedback and complaints.
initiative in five selected woredas with the objective of • Ramp up procurement of digital tools and infrastructure
modernizing and automating all their services. An automated necessary to support the shift towards e-governance.
system to handle citizens’ feedback and complaints has also • Provide training to public servants on digital tools introduced
been established with support from AARPO, but far more and multichannel public service delivery, ensuring that they
is needed to ensure that it is used effectively and being are effectively serving residents.
RESILIENCE • Improving digital skills, motivation, efficiency, SCALE Citywide

CO-BENEFITS and productivity of public servants.
TIME FRAME Long-term
• Improving quality of public service.
• Improving transparency and reducing ACTION Ongoing
corruption. STATUS
• Improving trust between citizens and
NEXT STEPS • Identify the implementation barriers of the
government.
existing automated system for handling
• Ensuring continuity of critical services.
citizen’s feedback and complaints, and
RELATED Corruption, poor governance regulatory climate. recommend potential solutions.
STRESSES • Conduct a rapid assessment of procurement
and training needs and gaps, and formulate
CONNECTION SDG 11
TO SDGS recommendations.
• Identify priority sectors with lower service
ACTION AASTA delivery performance and initiate e-service
OWNER/LEAD provision.
POTENTIAL Mayor’s Office, AARPO, all city agencies and
PARTNERS bureaus, MINT, AAU, Information Network
Security Agency (INSA), development partners.
76 77
ACTION
Undertake a study on locally appropriate public ACTION
Set up a citywide performance reporting and
8 participation mechanisms for Addis Ababa 9 management dashboard
Furthermore, initiatives are often designed in a top-down

RESILIENCE CHALLENGE to report and monitor their performance against a set of
approach without ensuring that there is support from civil
Addis Ababa’s five-year Strategic Plan requires each agency indicators on a monthly and quarterly basis. The City will:
servants down the line. Initiatives are generally benchmarked
to revise and operationalize their actions on a yearly basis.
from other countries and implemented without adequate
However, implementation of this plan has faced many • Develop appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the
customization to the local context. Moreover, there is a lack
difficulties, including a limited understanding of the existing context of Addis Ababa, including resilience considerations, in
of evaluation of the successes and failures of these different
planning and reporting tools, and the fact that these tools are consultation with various municipal agencies. This will be done
mechanisms, which in turn limits the City’s ability to learn
not standardized or uniformly implemented across agencies. by assessing the existing planning tools, gathering current
from the past and ensure that interventions are supplement-
The City is still using a paper-based planning and reporting indicators, conducting a benchmark of other city dashboards,
ing one another and continuously improved.
system, which is time consuming, does not enable real-time and developing outcome-focused metrics for major city
performance tracking, and is subject to false reporting. This activities. These metrics and indicators can also serve to take
The resulting lack of deep and meaningful public participation
approach has resulted in low collaboration and cooperation the pulse of the city’s resilience.
is leading to ineffective and poorly accepted policy
between the various departments and agencies operating in • Develop and test the dashboard system. Before official
interventions, which in turn have led to significant delays in
the city, and also in the overlapping of activities, generating release, the system must be tested and debugged internally.
project delivery, loss of public resources, and even protests
major inefficiencies in the delivery of basic infrastructure and • Train end users within each agency to be able to capture data
and civil rioting.
services. Key performance indicators currently used to track in the system and keep the information current and accurate.
and assess the performance of agencies tend to focus on
outputs rather than outcomes or impacts. This dashboard will improve the speed at which this
Over the past decade, the Addis Ababa City Administration This action aims to launch a comprehensive study that
information is captured and shared across city agencies
has introduced various public participation mechanisms, as will help identify locally appropriate public participation
ACTION DESCRIPTION and improve accountability. In the medium to long term,
part of the numerous reform programs that the country has mechanisms and formulate recommendations for their
This action proposes to develop an automated citywide the ambition is to ensure that the dashboard is accessible
been engaged with in its efforts to improve public service effective implementation and institutionalization within the
performance reporting and management dashboard, which to the general public, thereby enabling a culture of greater
delivery. At present, the City’s main public participation Addis Ababa context. The study will look back at previously
will create an online system for each agency in the city transparency and accountability.
mechanism is the “public wing,” a platform established at all introduced public participation mechanisms and assess their
levels (national, regional, local) to engage with a wide range respective successes and failures. To ensure that the process
of stakeholders from the private sector and civil society.31 of conducting the study is in itself highly participatory, a
Public wing members meet with the state wing to discuss wide range of stakeholder engagements methods and tools
strategic plans and their implementation. – such as door-to-door surveys, public meetings, and web-
based engagements – will be mobilized. Adequate attention
Despite these attempts to embed public participation in the will also be given to ensuring that the study captures the
City’s decision-making, planning, and implementation pro- inputs of a wide range of stakeholders from across the city,
cesses, public participation in Addis Ababa remains gener- with a particular emphasis on poor and vulnerable residents
ally weak. Efforts made to enhance community consultation whose voices are not always included in decision-making
and participation have had limited success due to a variety and planning process. The study’s final recommendations
of factors, including high politicization of these consulta- will be disseminated widely to the public for consultation and
tion mechanisms and low commitment of decision-makers. approval.
RESILIENCE • Enabling better understanding of citizens’ ACTION Addis Ababa Public Service and Human Resource RESILIENCE The citywide performance reporting and ACTION AAPDCo
CO-BENEFITS needs and more informed policies and OWNER/LEAD Development Bureau (AAPSHRDB) CO-BENEFITS management dashboard will: OWNER/LEAD
decisions. • Creating a standardized reporting format and
POTENTIAL AAPDCo , Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, POTENTIAL AAPSHRDB, MINT, AASTA, development partners
• Increasing transparency, accountability, and facilitate access for all users. PARTNERS
PARTNERS Building Construction and City Development
acceptability. • Informing decision-making for the Mayor
(EiABC), Ethiopian Civil Service University and City Administration, as there will be SCALE Citywide
• Creating ownership and empowering citizens.
(ECSU) a centralized system to monitor sector
• Enhancing public service delivery and access. TIME FRAME Short-term
• Restoring citizen trust. SCALE Citywide performance based on standardized indicators.
• Fostering improvement in service delivery. ACTION New
RELATED Riots and civil unrest TIME FRAME Short-term • Increasing transparency and accountability, STATUS
SHOCKS
ACTION New and building public trust. NEXT STEPS • Identify appropriate metrics and KPIs in
RELATED Corruption, Political instability, Poor governance STATUS RELATED Uncoordinated planning, Corruption consultation with key stakeholders.
STRESSES regulatory climate • Develop and test the dashboard system.
NEXT STEPS • Design the terms of reference of the study in STRESSES
CONNECTION SDG 11 partnership with key stakeholders and launch • Train end users and launch system across the
CONNECTION SDG 11, 17
TO SDGS tender. city.
TO SDGS
• Implement recommendations of the study.
31 T
hese include private sector representatives, youth associations, women,
professionals, cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders
identified as relevant by government organs.
78 79
ACTION
10 Develop a Smart City strategy and roadmap
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE Smart City pilots and technologies would do to enhance its
INSPIRATION
As in many other cities in the region, Smart city development is ability to efficiently deliver quality services to its residents.
gaining momentum in Addis Ababa. The City has implemented
several ICT-driven initiatives to improve the efficiency of ACTION DESCRIPTION
NEW YORK CITY (UNITED STATES) urban operation and services as well as overall quality of This action proposes to develop a comprehensive 10-year
ESTABLISHING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE TO DRIVE life. In 2017, the City inaugurated its first Smart parking at Smart City strategy and a five-year roadmap, which will guide
INITIATIVE DELIVERY Megenagna to alleviate road traffic congestion, and several and coordinate Smart city development in Addis Ababa
other similar facilities are being built in high-congestion around a shared vision. The Strategy will define what “Smart
areas across the city. More recently, the Addis Ababa City city” means to Addis Ababa, and will include the Smart City
New York City has developed a robust performance management
Administration launched the Smart woredas initiative in six vision and mission statements, goals, guiding principles,
infrastructure to support accountability and delivery on the city’s selected woredas with the objective of modernizing and as well as selected priority areas of interventions. The
agenda and initiatives, including those outlined in OneNYC, the city’s automating all their services. The City plans to scale up this accompanying five-year roadmap will outline key actionable
resilience strategy. At the core of this effort is a central unit established pilot to the remaining woredas of Addis Ababa. initiatives, programs, and projects to be implemented, along
with clear roles and responsibilities, timelines, and the KPIs
by the Mayor’s Office of Operations that partners with city agencies to
While the City recognizes the potential of technology- by which projects will be assessed.
monitor program progress, problem solve on any issues, and escalate enabled solutions to improve service delivery and foster
opportunities for collaboration to advance delivery of initiatives. economic development and job creation, what is lacking is The strategy will be developed as an integrated effort that
This central team works with individual initiative leads to: a vision of what being a Smart City could mean for the local aligns with other urban, economic, social, environmental
context. A better understanding of opportunities, challenges, strategies, policies, and plans of the city. The process will
and potential risks (related to cyberattacks, for instance) is ensure that the strategy builds on previous work and
- Develop a charter and conduct a project plan diagnostic for each initiative, to
also required to ensure that Smart city development works research related to Smart city development in Addis Ababa.
identify key opportunities for collaboration and provide project plan development for Addis Ababa and helps to meet the current and future The strategy and roadmap will be informed by relevant
support. challenges that the city faces. international best practices for using and leveraging existing
- Conduct regular progress reviews to measure performance against milestones and ICT assets, infrastructure, and legacy systems. Early and
identify actions to accelerate progress or resolve any challenges. Based on this vision, and before embarking on a specific frequent stakeholder engagement will be at the heart of the
- Formalize close-out of each initiative once complete. project, the City needs to develop an overarching strategy strategy development process to secure strong stakeholder
for what it wants to achieve, and guidelines for what specific buy-in and ensure its successful implementation.
In addition to this program delivery system team, the city has
established an online tracker tool that is publicly available on the City’s
website, which provides regular updates on the status and progress of
each initiative included under the umbrella of these city commitments.
PLEASE SEE THE MAYOR’S OFFICE OF OPERATIONS

RESILIENCE A Smart Addis Ababa will embrace new and ACTION AASTA
PERFORMANCE WEBSITE, FOR MORE INFORMATION. CO-BENEFITS creative solutions that ensure the City operates OWNER/LEAD
more efficiently and transparently, attracts and POTENTIAL MINT, AAU, Kotebe Metropolitan University
encourages businesses, and improves overall PARTNERS (KMU), INSA, Ministry of Urban Development and
quality of life - all while leveraging and enhancing
Construction (MoUDC), donors
its history and culture and reducing the threat of
cyberattacks. SCALE Citywide
RELATED Cyberattack, Infrastructure and building failure TIME FRAME Short-term
SHOCKS
ACTION New
RELATED Traffic congestion, Corruption, Aging STATUS
STRESSES infrastructure, Inadequate infrastructure
NEXT STEPS • Prepare a Request for Proposals (RfP) for
CONNECTION SDG 8,9,16 the Addis Ababa Smart City Strategy and
TO SDGS Roadmap, and launch tender.
• Implementation of pilot initiatives proposed by
the Strategy.
80 81
ACTION
11 Build a centralized data center
To support Smart city development, the City must ensure By providing a unified physical infrastructure and an
that it has the right infrastructure in place. Engagements accessible software platform, the action aims to improve
with stakeholders in the ICT sector revealed that there are coordination and optimization of ICT resources across
several public agencies in the city that have their own data city agencies. This in turn will help minimize operating
centers, but there is currently a lack of interoperability and maintenance costs, improve data-sharing workflows,
among these different platforms. This fragmentation and lack drive performance, and centralize IT support. In addition, a
of interoperability sacrifices opportunities to reduce costs centralized structure allows IT staff to have better oversight
and capital expenditure. Additionally, existing data centers and handle routine tasks (such as software installation,
do not meet the minimum requirements and standards updates, and security patches) from one location, thereby
when compared to data centers used by other comparable effectively using limited human resource capacity and
metropolitan areas. They fare poorly in terms of performance creating more opportunities for real-time experience sharing
(fast processing, backup, and ability to reset), resilience among personnel.
(ability to overcome single points of failure), scalability,
disaster recovery, and human capacity. We envision the creation of a centralized data center for
the city as the first step towards establishing an open data
ACTION DESCRIPTION portal for sharing information with the public, fostering data-
This action proposes to establish a new data warehousing driven planning, improving transparency, building trust, and
model and centralized data center, which serves both the increasing efficiency in government service delivery. It will
City Administration and residents, and which meets industry also support Smart city development.
standards for server administration, virtualization, cost
efficiency, service levels, and data security.
RESILIENCE • Creating adequate data storage infrastructure. POTENTIAL MINT, Ministry of Innovation and Technology,
CO-BENEFITS • Standardizing data collection and storage PARTNERS Ethio Telecom, Ethiopia Electric Utility (EEU)
practices.
SCALE Citywide
• Increasing transparency and fight corruption.
• Building resistance to cyberattacks and data TIME FRAME Short-term
breaches.
• Promoting data-driven planning.
ACTION Ongoing
STATUS
• Delivering cost savings across city agencies.
NEXT STEPS • Conduct benchmark study on data center
RELATED Infrastructure failure, Cyberattack
SHOCKS service models, facilities, and governance.
• Identify and define minimum citywide data
RELATED Aging infrastructure center facility standards and specifications.
STRESSES • Propose and document data center
CONNECTION SDG 9, 11 governance structure and service delivery
TO SDGS model.
ACTION AASTA
OWNER/LEAD
82 83
Resilient Addis Ababa Pillar 2 – Connected, inclusive, and safe communities city
Pillar 2
Connected,
inclusive, and
safe communities
Taking a more participatory, human-centric
approach towards planning the city of today
and tomorrow.
84 85
Fueled by rapid urbanization and increasing rural-urban migration, Addis

Ababa’s communities are growing. As we tackle the long-standing challenge
of providing affordable and adequate housing, it has become ever clearer
that the deficit is widening between available housing stock and the growing
demand expected over the next decade.
Our city’s transport system likewise faces acute challenges. The public
transport network has not kept pace with rising demand. As a result, our
communities are disconnected and residents unable to access jobs, markets,
and basic services. Urban infrastructure remains car-oriented, yet road traffic
congestion continues to have adverse effects on the city. At the same time,
inadequate consideration for pedestrians, the vast majority of the city’s
population, exposes them to high risk of road traffic accidents.
Our communities are also increasingly exposed to both known and unknown
disaster risks related to poorly managed urbanization and economic
activities. Despite these growing risks, the City has limited understanding
of the threats it faces, and currently lacks the appropriate systems and
protocols to protect residents, particularly vulnerable groups.
While Addis Ababa was long known for being a socially and spatially mixed
city, it is gradually transforming into a more divided city. This has the GOAL
Improve quality, access,
potential to undermine our social cohesion and threatens our ability to cope 2.1
with future shocks and stresses. and distribution of
This pillar is about transforming Addis Ababa’s communities into more affordable housing
inclusive, connected, and safe centers of resilience. Initiatives in this pillar
offer innovative strategies for improving urban housing and mobility, and for
empowering and protecting vulnerable groups, while also nurturing a sense
of community resilience and disaster preparedness among residents of Addis
Ababa.
There is a crucial need for a more participatory, human-centric, and rights-

based approach to planning the city of today and tomorrow.
GOAL 2.1 Improve quality, access, and distribution of affordable housing
GOAL 2.2 Promote human-centered, efficient, and integrated mobility
GOAL 2.3 Develop our capacity to manage risks
Foster a culture of resilience

GOAL 2.4
GOAL 2.5 Empower and protect youth, women, and other vulnerable groups
86 87
ACTION
Apply a resilience lens to the city’s affordable
12 housing program
construction costs, making the housing units unaffordable to
targeted low-income households. In addition, the IHDP design INSPIRATION
process lacks inclusion and involvement of a wide range of
stakeholders, particularly beneficiaries, resulting in designs
that do not always reflect local aspirations and lifestyles. While
BARCELONA (SPAIN)
efforts have been made to build condominium apartments
DIVERSIFICATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
in the city center, many of the developments are located
in the outskirts, where access to livelihood opportunities is
limited. Finally, inadequate construction supervision has Barcelona faces a myriad of housing challenges: insufficient public rental stock,
raised concerns over the quality, safety, and durability of the relocation and displacement of residents due to gentrification, difficulties faced by
condominium buildings. young people in accessing housing, and the need to adapt housing for an aging
population. To tackle these challenges, the City launched the Right to Housing Plan
ACTION DESCRIPTION 2016-2025, which places a strong emphasis on housing as a human right. As part of this
We plan to launch an international design competition that plan, which was approved in 2017, the City has launched a series of public competitions
will challenge built environment professionals to come up aimed at identifying new models of housing tenure and new ways of living together by
with innovative affordable housing concepts for pilot sites
partnering with cooperatives and philanthropic organizations that are also interested in
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE across the city. The competition is intended to inform the
making housing a basic right.
Since 2005, the Addis Ababa City Administration has IHDP’s improvements and to scale winning concepts across
been implementing the IHDP, a large-scale condominium Addis Ababa, thereby addressing the city’s affordable
construction program aimed at providing affordable housing housing problem. In August 2017, the City tendered four plots of land for the construction of nearly three
to low-income and middle-income households. So far, hundred protected homes. Two of the sites were intended for housing cooperatives, and
the program has produced and transferred a respectable Competition entries will be evaluated against a range the other two for non-profit organizations that create affordable rented homes. Each
200,000 housing units all over Addis Ababa,32 created of criteria, including affordability, replicability, resource cooperative owns the surface rights for a period of 75 years, with an option to extend
significant job opportunities, and helped strengthen the local efficiency, environmental performance, incorporation of that period to 90 years. The foundations and non-profit organizations are expected to
construction sector. Despite these achievements, the IHDP local building materials and techniques, responsiveness to offer limited rent prices equivalent to or less than the prices set out by law for protected
has encountered several challenges. While 734,712 residents local culture and lifestyles, risk awareness and resilience in homes (€7.28 per square meter).
have registered in three different ownership schemes, the building design, inclusivity, and accessibility.
program has managed to address only 24% of the anticipated Another model being pursued by the City of Barcelona is the assigned-for-use housing
beneficiaries. Moreover, the housing typology of the program Each submissions would need to be accompanied by
cooperative, or cohousing. In October 2017, the City launched a public competition
does not offer incremental stages for construction and there a business plan that demonstrates the affordability of
aimed at building 110 cohousing apartments on five plots of municipal land. The
has been little effort to use local construction materials. proposed units, as well as an implementation framework that
cohousing scheme involves the City Council or a private owner signing over the use of
Evidence suggests that this dependence on specific materials articulates the roles of various stakeholders involved in the
and lack of alternative approach has contributed to increasing delivery and management of the proposed housing units. an unused property or plot of land so that a cooperative can build on it. The cooperative
members design and build the physical project. Members pay a deposit and a monthly
lower-than-market fee for the use of the home. They can have lifelong access to a
home, even though they will never be the owners: ownership of the property rests with
RESILIENCE • Shortening project timelines and reducing CONNECTION SDG 9 and 11
CO-BENEFITS TO SDGS
the cooperative and the land remains publicly owned, thus guarding against property
costs of housing units.
• Spurring innovation in the housing and ACTION Addis Ababa Housing Development and
speculation.
construction sectors . OWNER/LEAD Administration Bureau (AAHDAB)
• Improving public participation in the design
and planning of the city’s affordable housing POTENTIAL AAPDCo, MoUDC, EiABC, banks, development In assessing the projects submitted, special attention was paid to environmental criteria,
programs. PARTNERS partners
• Enhancing the stock of decent and affordable
such as the use of building systems with a low environmental impact, and social criteria,
SCALE Citywide
housing, particularly for low-income groups such as how well projects fit in with the area, and the participation of cooperative
• Improving health and quality of life for low- TIME FRAME Medium-term
income and vulnerable households. members. Successful projects also featured a significant number of communal areas,
ACTION Ongoing
RELATED Infrastructure failure STATUS shared use of basic facilities, and joint management. Eligibility was restricted to
SHOCKS
NEXT STEPS • Secure political buy-in and funding for housing cooperatives fostering a housing model that is different from the traditional ownership
RELATED Lack of affordable housing, Homelessness, Lack design competition. or rental models. Besides making municipal plots available, the City Council is also in
STRESSES of social cohesion, Inflation, Rapid urbanization, • Identify pilot sites and develop competition
Lack of integrated planning brief. contact with ethical and cooperative banks to facilitate funding for the projects. Overall,
• Launch design competition and evaluate six cohousing projects are currently underway in different parts of the city.
submissions.
32 Data obtained from the Addis Ababa Housing Development Agency, October 2019.
88 89
ACTION
Enable the use of resilient and affordable ACTION
13 building materials and methods 14 Improve construction control and supervision
methods that are reflective of local culture and identity, as particularly affected. The rise in accidents is mainly attributed
well as being considerate of on-the-ground realities, in terms to the lack of health and safety measures, low commitment to
of hazards and geotechnical issues. enforcing construction policies, and low levels of awareness
among workers to use safety equipment.
ACTION DESCRIPTION
This action aims to create an enabling environment for the ACTION DESCRIPTION
promotion of resilient and affordable construction materials This action will redevelop construction quality and safety
and methods in Addis Ababa. To this end, the City will: control, and a monitoring and evaluation system to reduce
delays, accidents, and wastages, while improving efficiency
• Host a workshop that brings together key stakeholders in and economy.
the sector and leverages existing know-how and research to
identify opportunities and bottlenecks for the adoption of • Carry out a Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) survey that will
alternative building materials and methods. establish an inventory of buildings vulnerable to seismic and
• Revise codes to incorporate appropriate resilient and fire risks, and help identify priority structures that need to be
affordable building materials and methods. retrofitted along with associated costs.
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE • Prepare and adopt a legal framework promoting resilient and • Design and implement capacity-building activities for building
Ethiopia’s existing building codes and regulatory frameworks affordable building materials and technologies, including in inspectors and building code officials aimed at strengthening
Over the past decade, Addis Ababa’s booming construction
discourage the use of alternative construction materials, public construction projects. the capacity of public agencies to enforce building codes and
sector has played a key role in driving economic growth and
such as earth and bamboo, that are not only locally available • Design and implement a capacity building program on regulatory frameworks.
job creation. However, poor construction practices such as
and affordable, but are also more sustainable and resilient. construction standard customization as well as code and legal • Establish a professional accreditation system for engineering,
improper monitoring and quality control by contractors and
These regulatory restrictions, which also apply to self-built framework development, specifically focused on alternative construction management, and building professionals, to
government regulators, as well as overall lack of transparency,
and low-rise housing construction, are identified as one of building materials. provide quality assurance for individuals and serve as a tool
have had a detrimental impact on the cost as well as the
the bottlenecks to accessing affordable housing, especially • Develop manuals, and train homeowners as well as building for identifying and incentivizing high-performing professionals
quality and safety of buildings. This is further exacerbated by
for low-income households. At the same time, concerns over professionals (both high-capacity and artisanal professionals) and contractors.
poor planning, scope definition, and communication between
the higher costs of imported construction materials and the to acquire new skills and knowledge needed to design and • Introduce a digital permitting system that will help accelerate
stakeholders.
embodied energy of cement-block buildings are increasing construct buildings using these alternative and resilience permit application, review, and approval processes.
over time. There is also growing interest from stakeholders building materials. • Equip city departments and agencies with appropriate
While there are few current examples, infrastructure and
in the construction sector to use construction materials and hardware and software solutions (such as project management
building collapse is expected to become a higher future
software and Building Information Modelling, or BIM), and train
risk, unless appropriate action is taken. The lack of regular
staff in their use as well as their operation and maintenance.
and adequate maintenance of infrastructure and buildings
• Set up a training program for building professionals (engineers,
heightens the risk of future collapse.
architects, vocational workers, etc.) on risk-informed design,
good construction practice, and occupational health and
The construction boom has been accompanied by an
safety.
increase in accidents on construction sites. Daily laborers are
RESILIENCE • Delivering affordable and risk-aware houses. POTENTIAL EiABC, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology RESILIENCE • Increasing administrative efficiency, regulatory POTENTIAL EiABC, AAHDAB, AAPDCo
CO-BENEFITS • Encouraging sustainable sourcing and use of PARTNERS (AAIT), AASTA, MoUDC, professional CO-BENEFITS effectiveness, and transparency in the sector. PARTNERS
materials, thereby reducing environmental associations, real estate developers, The World • Enhancing the capacity of private building SCALE Citywide
degradation. Bank professionals.
• Creating decent livelihood and employment • Improving construction quality and safety. TIME FRAME Medium-term
SCALE Citywide
opportunities. • Decreasing risks in the built environment.
ACTION Scale-up
• Spurring innovation in the construction sector. TIME FRAME Medium-term
RELATED Infrastructure failure, Earthquake STATUS
• Reducing reliance on carbon-intensive
ACTION Scale-up SHOCKS
materials such as cement. NEXT STEPS • Conduct Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) survey.
STATUS
RELATED Corruption • Establish accreditation system for contractors
RELATED Urban fire, Earthquake STRESSES
NEXT STEPS • Host workshop on opportunities and and building professionals.
SHOCKS
bottlenecks to the use of alternative building • Procure software and hardware solutions
RELATED Lack of affordable housing, Homelessness, materials and methods. TO SDGS and train staff in their use, operation, and
STRESSES Informal housing / Settlements, Environmental • Revise codes to include resilient and maintenance.
degradation, Climate change alternative building materials. ACTION AACB
• Design professionals’ capacity-building OWNER/LEAD
TO SDGS program focusing on construction standard
customization and code and legislation
ACTION Addis Ababa Construction Bureau (AACB) development.
OWNER/LEAD
90 91
ACTION
15 Redesign and optimize the city’s bus network
including risky driver behavior (which further exacerbates

the city’s congestion and road accident problems), service
quality, and the roadworthiness of vehicles.
ACTION DESCRIPTION
The City will launch a comprehensive program aimed
at redesigning and optimizing the existing bus network
for greater operational efficiency, quality of service, and
environmental sustainability. More specifically, the City will:
• Accelerate efforts to expand the city’s bus fleet and implement

BRT lines proposed in the 2017 Addis Ababa Structure Plan.
• Redesign bus routes (based on demand and road hierarchy)
and introduce new numbering and schedules.
• Introduce bus priority measures such as segregated bus lanes,
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, priority bus access at
While recent efforts to increase the capacity of the public peak hours, priority traffic lights for buses, etc.
transport system are commendable – investment in an • Introduce off-board fare collection system and smart ticketing
electrified LRT system, launch of Sheger express bus service, technology.
ongoing construction of a new BRT line, to name only a few • Upgrade intermodal transit hubs, bus stops, and stations to
– much remains to be done to improve and optimize existing improve intermodal transfers, physical accessibility, waiting
GOAL
Promote human-centered, public transport services in Addis Ababa. environments, and passenger information.
2.2 • Launch a study to explore the future role of paratransit
efficient, and integrated The City currently faces challenges in increasing the frequency
of both the LRT and conventional bus services, due to weak
and private operators in the city’s evolving public transport
system.
integration among modes and an outdated operational • Leverage the learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic to
mobility system. Coordination among these services could be further
improved to provide a more seamless travel experience for
co-create a contingency plan aimed at maintaining minimum
public transport services during crises.
commuters. The introduction of effective bus prioritization
measures, such as dedicated lanes, could help improve bus To ensure effective enforcement of proposed measures, robust
speeds and service reliability. engagement of all stakeholders, including bus operators,
public transport users, relevant transport authorities, and
Service improvements are also urgently needed on the traffic police, among others, will be conducted. The City will
privately-owned minibus services (also known as “paratransit” also launch a multimedia campaign explaining proposed
or “popular transport”) which currently provide the bulk measures and expected results to citizens.
of the city’s public transport services, to address concerns
RESILIENCE • Enhancing the quality and attractiveness of the POTENTIAL Addis Ababa Transport Authority (AATA),
CO-BENEFITS bus network services and reducing the use of PARTNERS AAPDCo, Anbessa City Bus Service Enterprise
private vehicles. (ACBSE), development partners (e.g. ITDP, WRI,
• Improving accessibility to jobs and services. Bloomberg, C40)
• Reducing traffic congestion, enhancing
SCALE Citywide
economic productivity, and reducing air
pollution. TIME FRAME Medium-term
RELATED Disease outbreak ACTION Ongoing
SHOCKS STATUS
RELATED Inadequate public transportation systems, Traffic NEXT STEPS • Set up a working group to oversee the
STRESSES congestion, Traffic accidents, Poor air quality, optimization of the bus network and identify
Climate change appropriate strategies.
• Mobilize funding for the bus optimization
CONNECTION SDG 3, 9, 11, 13
TO SDGS program.
• Launch study on the future role of the
ACTION Addis Ababa Transport Bureau (AATB) paratransit system in the overall public
OWNER/LEAD transport system.
92 93
ACTION
Enhance accessibility, safety, and urban ACTION
16 integration along the LRT corridors 17 Manage peak-hour travel demand
important given the significant financial investment made

by the City to build this infrastructure and the key role that
it already plays in meeting the growing demand for public
transport in the city.
ACTION DESCRIPTION
Building on the foundational study on road safety along the
LRT conducted by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the
City will identify and apply a combination of traffic calming
measures, sound urban design practices, planning solutions,
and engineering solutions, to ensure that the LRT is well
integrated into its surrounding environment and that last-
mile connections from its stations are safe and accessible.
Potential measures and solutions could include:
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE • Pedestrian priority measures: clearly defined and well-

RESILIENCE CHALLENGE restrictions on main roads, introduction of a towing system for
Addis Ababa has invested in a LRT system, running for 34km lit pedestrian routes and crossings, continuous sidewalks,
Car ownership in Addis Ababa is on the rise. As a result, road illegal parking, and an IT-based fee collection and enforcement
along two corridors (north-south and east-west), serving 39 removal of barriers to pedestrian movement, piloting no
congestion has become a pervasive problem, particularly system.
stations and transporting 120,865 passengers per day. While vending zones and permissible vending areas, etc.
during peak hours, with crippling effects on the local • Where appropriate, apply reversible traffic lanes during peak
the LRT has undoubtedly helped to absorb demand along • Safety measures: speed limitations, physical traffic calming
economy, as well as on public health and safety. hours.
the two corridors, the system is already overcrowded, and measures (speed humps, chicanes, refuge islands, etc.),
• Accelerate the expansion of walking and cycling infrastructure
service frequency remains low (10 minutes during peak hours signalized pedestrian crossings, staggered midblock crossings,
The rise of traffic congestion also limits the attractiveness and facilities, in line with the NMT Strategy, and introduce
and 15 minutes during off-peak hours). banning U-turns at level crossings.
of public transport, as the city currently lacks effective bus appropriate cycling subsidies, particularly for low-income
• Modal integration measures: providing and coordinating
prioritization measures such as dedicated lanes. Commuters households.
The LRT has not been adequately integrated with the feeder bus services and routes within the station areas,
using public transport experience long waiting and travel • Partner with high traffic generators, such as large corporations,
surrounding urban environment, and has created new enforcing parking restrictions, banning paratransit loading
times. With public transport vehicles operating at 50% of hospitals, and government offices, to expand remote work,
barriers between neighborhoods, severing communities. and unloading at LRT stations, installing shared taxis stops,
capacity to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the flexi-working, as well as shared mobility solutions (e.g.
Integration with other modes of transport could also be introducing “Kiss and Ride” facilities, installing bicycle facilities
global pandemic has further placed pressure on the city’s carpooling) for their workers, building on measures introduced
further enhanced in order to improve transfers between at LRT stations.
public transport services and has highlighted the need to as part of the COVID-19 response.
modes and provide more seamless travel across the city. • Urban integration measures: identifying and adding additional
keep roads clear for emergency vehicles and critical workers. •
Improve safety and security on public transport by taking
at-grade or elevated pedestrian crossings based on the
different measures to combat spreading of diseases, terrorism
Pedestrian safety along the LRT corridor is compromised. suitability of the location, redesigning stairs according to
ACTION DESCRIPTION acts, theft and harassment.
At-grade pedestrian crossings are not signalized, making universal guidelines, installing clear markings and traffic
This action will introduce a series of cost-effective measures • In the long term, launch an opportunity study for the
pedestrians entering and exiting LRT stations vulnerable to signage, street lighting, street furniture, landscaping, and
to manage actual peak travel demand in the city and curtail introduction of congestion pricing with the objective of
traffic accidents. Lifts and escalators at pedestrian bridges greening the corridor.
the growing trend towards a car-centric development: curbing traffic congestion, while generating revenues for
are not always working, making it difficult for vulnerable
increased investment in sustainable transport solutions (public
users (i.e. the elderly, PWD) to access the system. There is an Efforts will be made to ensure that lessons learned from this
• Reduce and control on-street parking through increased transport, non-motorized transport).
urgent need to address the challenges faced by the LRT, and action will inform the design and implementation of ongoing
on-street parking fees in central locations, peak-hour parking
take action to further optimize the system. This is particularly and planned BRT systems.
RESILIENCE • Enhancing pedestrian safety and accessibility POTENTIAL AATB, AACRA, Addis Ababa River basins and RESILIENCE • Reducing peak-hour traffic congestion and ACTION AATB
CO-BENEFITS for all along the LRT corridor. PARTNERS green areas development and administration CO-BENEFITS associated challenges (traffic accidents, air OWNER/LEAD
• Reducing traffic congestion at stations and agency (AARBGADAA), development partners pollution, GHG emissions). POTENTIAL AATA, development partners (e.g. WRI,
along the corridor. (e.g. WRI, Bloomberg, C40, ITDP), Ministry of • Enhancing economic productivity. PARTNERS Bloomberg, C40, ITDP)
• Enhancing integration and convenience of Transport (MoT), bilateral and multilateral donors • Promoting sustainable mobility solutions (such
public transport services. as mass transport, NMT, and carpooling). SCALE Citywide
SCALE Local
• Restoring spatial and community connectivity. • Improving quality of life.
• Enhancing urban landscaping and improving TIME FRAME Long-term • Raising city revenue for financing sustainable
the city’s image. transport solutions. ACTION Ongoing
ACTION Ongoing STATUS
RELATED Traffic accidents, Inadequate transportation, Lack STATUS RELATED Infrastructure failure, Disease outbreak, Terrorism
STRESSES of integrated planning, Lack of social cohesion SHOCKS NEXT STEPS • Identify high-traffic and congested corridors
NEXT STEPS • Conduct further analysis on necessary
where dedicated bus lanes should be
CONNECTION SDG 3, 9, 11, 13 measures and solutions to implement along the RELATED Traffic congestion, Traffic accidents, Inadequate
STRESSES prioritized.
TO SDGS LRT corridor, and prepare an action plan with transportation, Pollution, Climate change
• Identify high traffic-generating/attracting
clear timelines.
ACTION Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) and AATMA organizations and explore willingness to pilot
OWNER/LEAD • Mobilize funding for implementing appropriate
CONNECTION SDG 11, 13 mobility programs.
measures and solutions. TO SDGS
• Implementation of appropriate measures and
solutions.
94 95
ACTION
18 Explore the future of Addis Ababa’s ring road
The ring road is however gradually evolving. The City is

INSPIRATION
planning to build a BRT system that will run partly on sections of
the ring road. Additionally, the AACRA and AATMA are taking
various steps to enhance overall accessibility by signalizing
existing intersections and adding new junctions. While these SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA)
efforts are commendable, global evidence suggests that CHEONGGYECHEON RESTORATION PROJECT
addressing the challenges created by urban highways often
requires a long-term, visionary, and holistic response. In the 1940s, the Cheonggyecheon river running through Seoul deteriorated into an
open sewer due to increasing pollution. The City of Seoul decided to pave it over with
ACTION DESCRIPTION
concrete for sanitary reasons. Thirty years later, a six-lane elevated highway was built
The action will investigate and reimagine the future of Addis
over it, further removing the river from the public. However, by the end of the twentieth
Ababa’s ring road, in a way that maximizes the benefits
delivered by this critical investment for all users, and helps century, structural problems started to emerge as the highway aged, posing serious
achieve this city’s overall vision for sustainable urban growth safety concerns and requiring a significant amount of money to repair and maintain it.
and mobility. More specifically, the City will: Furthermore, the infrastructure had become highly congested and polluted. Residents of
the area were more than twice as likely to suffer from respiratory disease as those living
• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of existing conditions in other parts of the city. The space beneath the elevated highway was mostly avoided
Addis Ababa’s ring road is an orbital and multi-lane highway
along the ring road (including safety, traffic, mobility choices, by the public due to criminal activity and illegal waste dumping, which led to the decline
that connects all the five main gates in and out of the city
accessibility, urban integration, land-use, and pollution), and of the downtown area.
with the rest of the country. The ring road has a total length
commission other technical studies to inform decision-making
of 36.8 km and a speed limit of 50-80 km per hour. While
and planning, as required. At the turn of the millennium, Lee Myung-Bak, the then mayor and future president
the ring road was initially built to pass through peripheral
• Organize multidisciplinary stakeholder convenings to
areas of Addis Ababa, most segments of this massive of Korea, successfully campaigned on a promise to remove the freeway and restore
collectively explore the current and future role of the ring
infrastructure are currently located in high density urban the Cheonggyecheon. As part of the restoration project, the elevated highway
road.
areas due to the city’s rapid outward expansion. As a result, was dismantled, the river was uncovered and revived, and landscaping works were
• Conduct an opportunity assessment for transforming the ring
the ring road disconnects neighborhoods, communities, and undertaken along the corridor. To alleviate fears of traffic congestion, the city
road into a safe, accessible, and multimodal complete street.
businesses. Furthermore, the infrastructure mainly caters to government also invested heavily in public transportation, including a dedicated bus
• Learn from and exchange with cities that have embarked on
cars, and other road users, particularly pedestrians, are not lane. The City established the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Citizens’ Committee,
urban highway transformation projects.
benefiting from it. The ring road is not physically accessible,
• Draw up a long-term vision for transforming the ring road, a comprising professionals and citizen groups, to gauge public opinion, communicate the
and the intervals between pedestrian bridges are longer
vision supported by robust technical studies and stakeholder project goals through public information sessions, and elevate concerns.
than average walking distances. Existing foot bridges are not
consultations.
located where pedestrians typically cross the road, making it
• Conduct extensive stakeholder consultations to ensure that The Cheonggyecheon Restoration project has brought many benefits to Seoul. It
inaccessible and extremely unsafe for pedestrians, especially
the visioning process is inclusive, has strong buy-in from provides flood protection for up to a 200-year flood event, and has reduced the urban
for vulnerable road users (the elderly, children, PWD).
stakeholders, and leads to robust social cohesion and urban heat island effect, with temperatures along the stream 3.3° to 5.9°C cooler than on a
regeneration outcomes (i.e. connected neighborhoods, mixed-
parallel road four to seven blocks away. Overall biodiversity has significantly increased
use function).
in and around the river. The project has reduced small-particle air pollution by 35%,
down from 74 to 48 micrograms per cubic meter.
RESILIENCE • Enhancing safety and accessibility for all. POTENTIAL AATB, AATA, AARGADAA, development partners
CO-BENEFITS • Improving the city’s image and boosting the PARTNERS (e.g. ITDP, WRI, Bloomberg) The project has also increased the number of businesses, as well as property values,
local economy. adjacent to the area. The restored area has enhanced quality of life downtown, and has
SCALE Citywide
• Restoring community cohesion.
• Reducing local air pollution and improving TIME FRAME Long-term become a major tourist attraction, with an average of 64,000 visitors daily.
public health.
• Reducing rainfall flooding risk.
ACTION Ongoing
STATUS
Photo taken from: https://inhabitat.com/plans-forge-on-for-la-river-restoration-with-the-opening-of-the-glendale-narrows-riverwalk/
RELATED Rainfall flooding
SHOCKS
NEXT STEPS • Set up a multidisciplinary working group
responsible for collectively exploring the future
RELATED Traffic accidents, Inadequate transportation, role of the Addis Ababa’s ring road.
STRESSES Lack of integrated planning, Lack of universal • Design TOR for baseline assessment study.
accessibility, Air pollution • Design and initiate a robust stakeholder
engagement process.
CONNECTION SDG 3, 9, 11, 13
TO SDGS
ACTION AATMA, AACRA, AAPDCo, AARPO
OWNER/LEAD
96 97
ACTION
19 Improve road users’ awareness and behavior
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE on how to share the roadway between different users will be
Road safety has become an issue of great concern in recent crucial in reducing traffic accidents.
years. Since 2006, the city has registered 400 fatalities per
year on average, out of which a significantly high proportion ACTION DESCRIPTION
(88%) involve pedestrians. Many factors contribute to traffic The action will continue and expand existing road safety
accidents, including reckless driving, poor road design, speed programs to further educate and bring about lasting
Develop our capacity to

limits, inadequate enforcement of traffic rules, and vehicle behavioral change in Addis Ababa’s road users. The action GOAL
roadworthiness. proposes to:
2.3
According to Addis Ababa’s annual road safety report,
83% of road crashes in the city are attributed to behavioral
• Improve enforcement of traffic rules by introducing more
severe penalties for traffic violations (e.g. penalty points and
manage risks
factors.33 This implies that there is a huge potential to fines), taking more serious steps to preventing corruption in
significantly reduce the number of road traffic accidents traffic law enforcement, and adopting speed cameras, among
through educational programs that raise awareness of other solutions. A review of international best practices and
traffic rules and the road safety of all road users (drivers, consultations will be conducted, with relevant stakeholders, to
pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists), and through more identify the most effective enforcement measures to adopt.
stringent enforcement of traffic rules. Traffic dynamics in • Launch a multi-media educational program targeting drivers,
Addis Ababa are becoming complex, as new transport pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users (e.g.
solutions (LRT, BRT, bicycles, motorcycles, and three- children), to enhance awareness of basic rules of the road and
wheelers) are being rapidly introduced. Improved awareness road traffic safety.
RESILIENCE • Increase enforcement and compliance with SCALE Citywide

CO-BENEFITS traffic rules.
• Improve road safety and public health.
• Reduce road traffic congestion. ACTION Scale-up
STATUS
RELATED Traffic injuries, Traffic congestion
STRESSES NEXT STEPS • Conduct best practice review and
consultations with stakeholders to identify
CONNECTION SDG 3, 4, and 11
TO SDGS effective measures to improve road users’
awareness and behavior.
ACTION AATMA • Design and launch a multi-media road
OWNER/LEAD awareness campaign.
POTENTIAL AATB, Addis Ababa Police Commission (AAPC),
PARTNERS MoT, AACRA, schools, AAU, NACTO
33 Addis Ababa City Administration. (2017). Addis Ababa Annual Road Safety Report,
2017-2018.
98 99
ACTION
Conduct a comprehensive citywide disaster ACTION
Establish a policy, strategy, and legal framework
20 risk assessment 21 for citywide disaster risk management
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE The proposed policy, strategy, and legal framework will be
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE people, property, services, livelihoods, and the environment
Despite being vulnerable to multiple hazards, Addis Ababa developed in alignment with the 2017 FDRE National Policy
Addis Ababa currently lacks a robust understanding of the on which they depend. Key related activities include:
currently lacks a citywide disaster risk management policy and and Strategy on Disaster Risk Management.
disaster risks it faces. While there have been recent efforts
strategic framework that can serve as a guidance document
aimed at enhancing risk knowledge,34 decision-makers do • Systematic inventory and evaluation of the existing situation.
for decision-making regarding the design and implementation Led by the AAFDRMC, its preparation will involve:
not have a detailed assessment of disaster risks posed on the • Hazard, exposure, and vulnerability assessment, as well as
of disaster risk management related plans and programs. In
city, comprehensive risk profiles with organized information loss/impact analysis
addition, the City has no regulatory tools that can be used to • Formulation of a citywide DRM Policy and Strategy based on
on each hazard, vulnerability, and coping capacity, as well • Risk scenario assessment (including an analysis of potential
establish responsibilities, duties, plans, concepts, and priorities robust assessment and consultation of relevant stakeholders.
as other related baseline information. When available, data cascading failures across the city under each scenario).
in a coordinated manner with the participation of all actors. As This will be accompanied by an action plan containing strategic
and information on risks is usually not organized for different • Risk profiling and evaluation.
a result, the City has very limited capacity to plan for, withstand, activities, expected outcomes, and an implementation timeline.
audiences, or easily accessible to all relevant stakeholders,
and respond to a broad range of threats and hazards, as well to • Formulation and approval of related regulation.
including at-risk communities. This in turn hinders the city Recognizing that local communities possess knowledge of
respond and adapt to foreseeable and unforeseeable risks. • Preparation of mainstreaming guidelines.
from undertaking informed disaster preparedness, response, risks and are generally the first responders when disasters
• Identification of priority programs and projects for policy and
and recovery. occur, great emphasis will be placed on ensuring that the
ACTION DESCRIPTION strategy execution.
risk assessment is conducted in a participatory manner, with
The City will establish a policy, strategy, and legal framework • Capacity-building activities for effective compliance monitor-
ACTION DESCRIPTION deep and meaningful involvement of all members of society,
for disaster risk management (DRM), which will strengthen ing and enforcement by all city agencies and bodies.
This action proposes to develop a comprehensive and and particularly at-risk communities.
citywide emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
citywide multi-hazard risk assessment that will lay the
building blocks for effective disaster risk management The action will also involve communicating information about
policies and contingency planning for Addis Ababa. The hazard exposures and vulnerabilities to the general public.
assessment will determine the nature and extent of city risk, Communication efforts will be informed by lessons learned
by analyzing hazards and evaluating the existing conditions from past disasters and the current COVID-19 pandemic.
of vulnerability that together could potentially harm exposed
RESILIENCE • Improving understanding of the wider risk POTENTIAL MoUDC, National Disaster Risk Management RESILIENCE • Enhance decision-making and leadership in POTENTIAL NDRMC, MoUDC, AAPC, AAPDCo, AAEPGDC,
CO-BENEFITS landscape. PARTNERS Commission (NDRMC), MoH, AAWSA, AACRA, CO-BENEFITS DRM. PARTNERS AAU, Bahir Dar University Institute of
• Enhancing decision-making and leadership. Addis Ababa Health Bureau (AAHB), Addis • Enhance long-term planning, coordination, and Disaster Risk Management and Food Security,
• Enhancing long-term planning, coordination, Ababa City Electric Utility, AAPC, INGO/NGOs collaboration between DRM actors. development partners active in DRM (e.g.
and collaboration between actors. (Red Cross, Tebeta Ambulance, Community Care • Reduce and eventually prevent disaster risk UNDRR, US Department of Forest), Tebeta
• Building a sense of ownership and Coalitions), bilateral and multilateral donors (e.g. and vulnerability. Ambulance, CCCs.
empowerment for all actors. US Department of Forest, UNDRR). • Build the capacity of actors in the sector.
SCALE Citywide
• Increased public risk awareness, and improved
SCALE Citywide RELATED Disease outbreak, Flooding, Urban fire,
channels and mechanisms of communication. TIME FRAME Long-term
SHOCKS Landslides, Earthquakes, Infrastructure failure
RELATED Disease outbreak, Flooding, Urban fire, ACTION New
SHOCKS
RELATED Civil unrest and riot, Aging infrastructure,
Landslides, Earthquake ACTION New STATUS
STRESSES Overburdened infrastructure, Unplanned urban
STATUS
RELATED Civil unrest and riot, Infrastructural failure, Aging growth NEXT STEPS • Establish steering and technical committees
STRESSES infrastructure, Overburdened infrastructure NEXT STEPS • Develop RfP for the comprehensive citywide responsible for overseeing the preparation of
CONNECTION SDG 9, 11
disaster risk assessment, and launch tender. the citywide DRM policy, strategy, and legal
CONNECTION SDG 9, 11 TO SDGS
• Conduct comprehensive citywide risk framework.
TO SDGS
assessment. ACTION AAFDRMC • Develop RfP for DRM policy, strategy, and legal
ACTION AAFDRMC OWNER/LEAD framework, and launch tender.
OWNER/LEAD
34 A
ddis Ababa City Administration. (2015). Addis Ababa City Risk Profile Program Report.
100 101
ACTION ACTION
22 Prepare Disaster Mitigation and Contingency Plans 23 Establish an Emergency Operation Center (EOC)
ACTION DESCRIPTION
This action will involve preparing Disaster Mitigation and
Contingency Plans for the city of Addis Ababa.
The Disaster Mitigation Plan will identify priority hazards

that threaten the city, and appropriate mitigation actions
for avoiding or minimizing the potential losses from those
hazards. It will include an action plan detailing how mitigation
actions identified will be priorities and implemented.
The Contingency Plan will identify, prior to a disaster, all

critical procedures and resources necessary to improve
timely response and recovery from the impact of likely
hazard events citywide. It will establish clear decision-making
criteria, recovery times, technical and logistical responses,
and coordination and communications procedures to be
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE adopted by relevant stakeholders, as well as roles and RESILIENCE CHALLENGE ACTION DESCRIPTION
Despite being repeatedly affected by different kinds of responsibilities. Addis Ababa lacks dependable technology and protocols to This action consists of establishing an Emergency Operation
disasters, the City does not have an established arrangement support centralized emergency monitoring and response, Centre (EOC), which will be hosted under the City Fire and
to enable timely, effective, and appropriate responses prior To ensure that the Disaster Mitigation and Contingency Plans and so the City has limited ability to collect and analyze Disaster Risk Management Commission. The facility will serve
to, during, and after an emergency. For instance, there are are evidence-based and risk-informed, their development disaster risk management data, and to interpret that data. as the city’s central coordination, command, and control centre
currently no hazard mitigation plans that would typically will build on the analysis of the comprehensive citywide risk As a result, there is inadequate provision of early-warning for emergency related operations and activities. Activation of
help raise awareness of threats and vulnerabilities, as well as assessment (Action 20). These plans will also incorporate information to the community in the event of an emergency. the EOC will facilitate the City’s overall emergency response
identifying long-term strategies for risk reduction. Previous lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and past disaster operations by providing a working platform and resources
efforts have focused more on responding to disasters, rather response efforts. Once the plans have been produced, tests There is insufficient sharing of information, poor communi- to support response staff through established structures,
than on preventing or minimizing impacts by addressing the and operational drills will be conducted on a regular basis to cation, and poor coordination and collaboration between ac- capabilities, and procedures. Furthermore, the facility will
root causes of disasters. assess their adequacy and effectiveness. Furthermore, staff tors involved in disaster risk management at all levels. provide an opportunity to bring relevant response actors
of relevant stakeholders involved in the execution of the together to establish common objectives and strategies,
Furthermore, there are currently no contingency plans in plans will receive continued training and capacity-building in Community participation in disaster risk reduction and creating unity of effort. The proposed EOC would have all
place to coordinate available services and assistance for their roles dealing with disaster events. emergency response is also very limited, leaving residents, the necessary infrastructure and capacity to respond to a
affected citizens and businesses, or to ensure continuity of particularly vulnerable groups (children, the elderly, PWD), variety of potential shocks affecting the city, from climate
critical services (power, water, hospitals, etc.) during and often unprepared for extreme events. However, the City’s disasters to public health emergencies. This action will also
after a disaster. recent effort to mobilize youth volunteers as part of its develop guidelines detailing the EOC’s activation, operation,
COVID-19 response effort is a step in the right direction and deactivation mechanisms for various disaster scenarios.
and needs to be further strengthened. The pandemic has Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic response efforts will
also revealed the key role played by the private sector in inform the design of such guidelines, including mechanisms
developing home-grown solutions to tackle the public health for effectively mobilizing community groups and private
emergency. sector actors.
RESILIENCE • Increased public risk awareness, improved POTENTIAL NDRMC, MoUDC, MoH, AAWSA, AACRA, AAHB, RESILIENCE • Improved collection and analysis of emergency ACTION AAFDRMC
CO-BENEFITS channels and mechanisms of communication. PARTNERS Addis Ababa City Electric Utility, AAPC, CSOs CO-BENEFITS information. OWNER/LEAD
• Increased provision of effective Early Warning (Red Cross, Tebeta Ambulance, CCCs), donors • Communicating EWI clearly and quickly to POTENTIAL NDRMC, MoUDC, MoH, AAWSA, AACRA, AAHB,
Information (EWI) for communities at risk. (e.g. US Department of Forest, UNDRR). at-risk communities. PARTNERS Addis Ababa City Electric Utility, AAPC, CSOs,
• Assuring continuity of services in the event of • Deploying resources more efficiently.
SCALE Citywide (Red Cross, Tebeta Ambulance, Community
an emergency. • Improved collaboration, coordination, and
Care Coalitions), donors (e.g. US Department of
• Enhancing decision-making and leadership. TIME FRAME Long-term information sharing between CPA owners.
Forest, British Embassy).
• Enhancing long-term planning and • Improved safety, stability, security, and
coordination and collaboration between actors.
ACTION New continuity of critical physical assets and the SCALE Citywide
STATUS
services they provide.
RELATED Disease outbreak, Flooding, Urban fire, TIME FRAME Long-term
NEXT STEPS • Assemble a multi-stakeholder working group • Enhancing decision-making and leadership.
SHOCKS Landslides, Earthquake
responsible for overseeing the preparation of ACTION New
RELATED Disease outbreak, Flooding, Urban fire,
RELATED Civil unrest and riot, Infrastructural failure, Aging the Contingency and Mitigations Plans. STATUS
SHOCKS Landslides, Earthquake
STRESSES infrastructure, Overburdened infrastructure • Complete development of Contingency and NEXT STEPS • Gather information and experience from other
Mitigation Plans. RELATED Civil unrest and riot, Infrastructural Failure, Aging
CONNECTION SDG 9, 11 cities on establishing and operating an EOC.
• Test the Plans through drills. STRESSES infrastructure, Overburdened infrastructure
TO SDGS • Explore core features, functions, and benefits
CONNECTION SDG 9, 11 of an EOC.
ACTION AAFDRMC
TO SDGS
OWNER/LEAD
102 103
ACTION
24 Collaborate to launch a Resilience Academy

Inadequate technical capacity is identified as a major and This action proposes to collaborate with the Addis Ababa City
cross-cutting challenge in resilience-building across all urban Plan and Development Commission, academic institutions
systems in Addis Ababa, including urban planning, transport, such as Addis Ababa University and Kotebe Metropolitan
solid waste management, and disaster risk management. University, donors, and potential private sector and industry
Lack of adequate skills and trained manpower at all levels actors, to establish a “Resilience Academy.” The academy
has contributed to uncoordinated planning and poor service will be dedicated to delivering a demand-driven and practical
delivery, threatening the city’s daily functions and its ability capacity-building program on urban resilience for city
to recover after a shock. leaders, managers, and technical staff. The program intends
to fill the city’s capacity gaps by establishing customized
Public servants, and other urban professionals working in the programs that focus on resilience theory and on systems
public and private sectors, currently lack the practical and thinking, as well as the city’s resilience challenges (water
technical knowledge to diagnose problems, and to prescribe and sanitation, urban mobility, solid waste management,
and implement innovative, holistic, and tangible solutions disaster risk reduction, community engagement, etc.).
to Addis Ababa’s main resilience challenges. This is partly
caused by our educational and capacity-building systems The Resilience Academy will build on and strengthen
reliance on conceptual or theoretical teaching approach. existing capacity-building interventions in the city. We
Another reason is the weak integration between universities, envisage its curriculum being designed in partnership with
the public sector, and the private sector. a wide range of stakeholders from both inside and outside
city government. The Resilience Academy should provide
both on-the-job and off-the-job training. In terms of its
institutional arrangement, the action proposes to house the
GOAL Academy in an anchor institution to be identified at a later
2.4 Foster a culture of resilience

stage in close collaboration with the Plan and Development
Commission and other key partners. Lessons and experience
from other Resilience Academies (i.e. Singapore, Paris,
Cape Town) across the Global Resilient Cities Network
will also be leveraged to inform its institutional set-up and
curriculum design.
RESILIENCE • Enhancing municipal staff’s skills and POTENTIAL All Addis Ababa City Administration bureaus,
CO-BENEFITS understanding of resilience. PARTNERS departments and agencies, AAU, KMUECSU,
• Ensuring effective implementation of city donors, foreign universities, 100RC
plans, strategies, and policies.
SCALE Citywide
• Improved service delivery across the city.
• Enhancing effective utilization of resources. TIME FRAME Long-term
RELATED Inadequate education system, Inadequate ACTION New
STRESSES governance STATUS
CONNECTION SDG 4, 8 NEXT STEPS • Identify an anchor institution for the Resilience
TO SDGS Academy.
• Identify potential partners for the Resilience
ACTION AAPDCo
OWNER/LEAD Academy, formalize partnerships, and establish
roles and expectations.
104 105
ACTION
25 Pilot the Addis Ababa City Currency
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE Under this first pilot, the city currency will be used to
INSPIRATION
The Addis Ababa City Administration is taking various actions incentivize the following behaviors:
to encourage volunteerism and community service that create
environmental awareness, elevate vulnerable social groups, • Waste collection and recycling: residents will receive a public
PARIS (FRANCE) and build social cohesion. Recent clean-up and tree-planting transport ticket in exchange for every three plastic bottles
CREATE AN OPEN-SOURCE, MULTI-TARGET RESOURCE, RESEARCH, AND TRAINING campaigns conducted in the city, in partnership with the national collected, thus contributing to a cleaner and greener city.
CENTER FOR RESILIENCE government, have enjoyed wide public participation. However, • Volunteerism: residents who volunteer their time to work
the City currently lacks a system for rewarding residents for with local associations, such as elderly care centres, will be
socially and environmentally responsible behaviors. Experience rewarded with the newly introduced city currency.
As part of the implementation of its Resilience Strategy, the City of
from across the Global Resilient Cities Network has shown that • Tax compliance: residents will be encouraged to collect
Paris is setting up an open-source, multi-target resource, research, and new technologies make it easier for cities to adopt and use value-added tax (VAT) receipts for business transactions and
training center for resilience. This center will be responsible for: digital local currencies to incentivize behaviors that strengthen report them to the city tax authority using the digital app. In
the economic and social well-being of a city. exchange, residents will accrue a percentage of their shared
- Developing research programs around the resilience strategy and urban resilience in invoices in the form of the new city currency.
general. ACTION DESCRIPTION
- Supporting the design of dedicated training courses and MOOCs on resilience- Building on recent successes at the city level, and leveraging The accrued city currency can be used to pay for various
the opportunities provided by new technology, the City will municipal services, such as utilities, but also to access a
related issues.
pilot a digital currency that can help Addis Ababa become number of cultural and sports facilities managed by the City
- Creating specialized Master courses and training courses for staff members of
more resilient by motivating residents towards impactful and (theatres, cinemas, sports facilities, etc.).
local authorities as well as private and not-for-profit organizations. Courses will be
positive behaviors, such as increased local spending, healthy
designed in collaboration with various stakeholders, including local municipalities, living, recycling, civic activity, etc. The city currency will
universities, and corporations. be deployed via a smartphone app that conducts standard
- Training senior City staff on risks and resilience. transactions and directs giving to selected actions and
causes. The Arada sub-city has been selected as the pilot
The research, training and resource center relies on existing bodies at all location as the district has a high population density, has a
large youth population that is more likely to adopt the app,
levels in the City of Paris, including: the Smart City partners committee, and is a central hub for local businesses, as well as for sports
the Parisian Climate Agency, and leaders of the Sustainable Paris agenda. and leisure centers.
RESILIENCE • Encouraging civic engagement. POTENTIAL Mayor’s Office, MINT, Arada Sub-City
CO-BENEFITS • Promoting environmental responsibility. PARTNERS Government Administration, Colu, relevant
• Increasing local spending and supporting local city agencies (transport authority, solid waste
businesses. Management Agency, etc.), financial institutions,
• Building social cohesion with a place-based utility companies, residents, local businesses,
sense of community. universities and academic institutions, sports and
• Promoting recycling and facilitating a circular leisure centers, local charities
economy
SCALE Citywide
• Improving tax compliance by local businesses
and local tax collection. TIME FRAME Short-term
RELATED Inflation, Poverty, Economic inequality, Lack ACTION New
STRESSES of social cohesion, Corruption, Environmental STATUS
degradation
NEXT STEPS • Address potential challenges related
CONNECTION SDG 3,8,9,11,12, 16 to technical connectivity and financial
TO SDGS infrastructure.
• Conduct outreach to residents, businesses,
ACTION AASTA
OWNER/LEAD and institutions in Arada to identify potential
participants.
• Launch the pilot city currency in Arada.
• Evaluate the Arada pilot and potentially
develop a plan for scaling up the action.
106 107
INSPIRATION
BELFAST (NORTHERN IRELAND)

BELFAST COIN
Belfast’s population has decreased, from 416,679 in 1971 to 339,579

in 2017, with neighboring towns and cities increasing in population.
Currently there is a limited number of residents living in the city center.
The structure of the city center is changing rapidly, partly due to this
demographic shift, but also due to the changing nature of retail. In
addition, Belfast experienced an acute shock in August 2018, when Bank
Buildings, a historic listed building in the city center that housed a major
multinational retailer, was destroyed by fire. The impact of the fire was
felt immediately and directly in terms of spend in the city in the lead-up
to the Christmas period, but a longer-term risk exists in the potential for
consumer behaviors to change permanently, over time, ultimately making
Belfast City Centre a less attractive destination, in opposition to all the
GOAL
Empower and protect
city’s goals and objectives. 2.5
youth, women, and
Following a successful application to the 100 Resilient Cities global
currency challenge, held in partnership with Colu, Belfast is set to vulnerable groups
introduce its own app-based city currency later this year, to incentivize
residents and visitors to visit and shop in the city center, helping to grow
the local economy.
Belfast Coin will be an incentive-based digital currency – the first in

Northern Ireland – aimed at rewarding positive actions by residents,
encouraging economic growth, and helping to achieve environmental
goals. As part of the challenge, Belfast City Council has worked alongside
Colu, a Tel Aviv and UK-based company, and has shared best practice
with several global cities.
In May 2019, Colu announced the formal commencement of the pilot

initiative, and work is now underway to sign up a range of partners and
build an eco-system of stakeholders before the currency is formally
launched. Once it goes live, residents will be able to download the app
and set up their own Belfast Coin account. Each “coin” will be worth £1,
and can be used to make purchases in participating shops, restaurants,
and businesses. Residents will be able to accumulate Belfast Coin in
return for a range of activities, including shopping locally, recycling,
volunteering, and taking part in civic activities.
108 109
ACTION
Shape the next generation of resilience ACTION
26 champions through education and volunteerism 27 Develop a youth empowerment program
generation of leaders and resilience champions. This is crucial to participants in society. This is however rapidly changing with
strengthening the city’s ability to effectively respond to shocks the City’s numerous initiatives to encourage youth volunteerism,
and stresses. including the involvement of youth volunteers in the current
COVID-19 response.
ACTION DESCRIPTION
The City will work with a network of schools, educational ACTION DESCRIPTION
partners, and civil society organizations to: The action aims to increase the participation of Addis
Ababa’s youth in the city’s decision-making, planning, and
• Design and implement an Ethics Education course that will be development process generally, and in resilience-building
integrated into the lower-level curriculum to promote values efforts more specifically. The City will:
and ethics to children and young people.
• Partner with selected schools to pilot extra-curriculum • Partner with relevant CSOs working with youth to identify
activities and after-school clubs covering a range of areas appropriate mechanisms that can help amplify young
(e.g. reading, writing, debating, languages, arts and crafts, ICT, voices and foster their participation in city planning and
etc.) as well as after-school community service programs that development, thereby allowing them to shape their current
will allow students to be involved in resilience-building efforts and future lives. These mechanisms will be identified through
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE RESILIENCE CHALLENGE
in their city from an early age. Pilot schools will be selected a deep engagement process with various youth groups across
Schools plays a vital role in shaping tomorrow’s leaders. Addis Ababa’s youth (aged 15-29) account for 35.3% of the
based on a number of criteria (capacity, vulnerability, HIV the city.
However, the current education system in Addis Ababa is not city’s total population. This large youthful population represents
prevalence, rate of orphanhood, etc.) to ensure a good mix of • Create a youth volunteer management platform to encourage
adequately empowering youth to become tomorrow’s problem a double-edged sword for the city, offering the potential to
geographic locations and achieve wider co-benefits. them to participate in the city’s resilience-building efforts,
solvers, innovators, social leaders, and resilience champions. spur growth, but also posing a great challenge in terms of job
• As part of the existing environmental sciences curriculum, both in day-to-day life and times of crisis.
Elementary courses are mainly focused on theoretical learning, creation, which could have wider social implications for social
organize educational visits and trips for students to various • Further engage with youth volunteers involved in the COVID-19
offering limited opportunities for students to turn theory into cohesion, crime and violence, and substance abuse.
sites and facilities across the city (the botanical garden, response and recruit new volunteers to form a youth volunteer
practice and apply their knowledge to real-life situations. Very
ecological areas, museums, wastewater treatment plant, reserve. The reserve could be deployed in future emergencies,
few schools support the formal curriculum with extra-curricular Effective policies and measures are critical to harnessing the
factories, etc.) to raise awareness of risks and environmental and in good times, volunteers could participate in future urban
activities, which are known to provide a productive break from benefits of this “youth bulge.” Measures taken in the past have
issues facing the city, while also opening their minds to new development projects.
study, help students expand and diversify their interests and mainly focused on job creation, which is important considering
interests, skills, and career paths. • Train and prepare youth response volunteers for all types of
skills, and foster personal growth and development. that 21% of young people are unemployed. Less has been done
• Organize a citywide competition to inspire and support young emergencies that the city might face (e.g. pandemic, flood,
to meaningfully engage with youth on topics directly concerning
people to design projects that address one or more of the terroristic attack) and identify opportunities for engaging
There is a growing concern that the inadequacies in the them, to promote their active participation in resilience-building
city’s shocks and stresses. them in non-emergency, daily resilience building efforts.
education system is one of the factors contributing to the city’s efforts, and to empower them to become active citizens and
poor governance, whether it is the lack of skilled and committed
These various activities will be organized in partnership with
professionals or prevalence of corruption at all levels. It is
active members from civil society organizations and the
important, therefore, that the City start cultivating the next
private sector.
RESILIENCE • Nurturing useful life skills (such as teamwork, POTENTIAL Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Science RESILIENCE • Enhancing meaningful youth participation and ACTION Addis Ababa Youth and Volunteers Coordination
CO-BENEFITS leadership, problem-solving skills) from an PARTNERS and Higher Education (MoSHE), donors, public CO-BENEFITS engagement, decision-making, and leadership. OWNER/LEAD Bureau
early age. and private schools, private sector organizations, • Strengthening relations between government
POTENTIAL Addis Ababa Sport Bureau, AALSAB, Addis
• A greater sense of citizenship among children civil society organizations and citizens.
PARTNERS Ababa Women and Children Affairs Bureau
and young people. • Empowering youth to address the city’s
SCALE Citywide (AAWCAB), donors, CSOs, Rotaract and Rotarian
• Increasing young people’s awareness of local resilience challenges and take ownership of the
clubs, CCCs.
and global challenges. TIME FRAME Long-term solutions.
• Embedding deeper understanding of resilience • Preventing and reducing violence, rioting, and SCALE Citywide
into the education system.
ACTION Ongoing civil unrest.
STATUS TIME FRAME Short-term
RELATED Inadequate education system RELATED Riot and civil unrest, Disease outbreak
STRESSES
NEXT STEPS • In consultation with relevant partners, develop SHOCKS ACTION Ongoing
criteria for selecting pilot schools to launch STATUS
CONNECTION SDG 3, 9, 11, 13 after-school community service program. RELATED Unemployment, Lack of social cohesion, Youth
TO SDGS STRESSES disenfranchisement, Political instability
NEXT STEPS • Approach relevant CSOs and launch
• Co-design extra-curricular activities,
engagement with youth across the city to
ACTION AAEB educational visits, and after-school community
CONNECTION SDG 10, 16 identify appropriate youth empowerment
OWNER/LEAD service programs in partnership with pilot TO SDGS mechanisms and evaluate interest in
schools, education stakeholders, city agencies,
participating in daily resilience activities.
and private sector actors.
• Design a volunteer management platform.
• Design and launch a resilience competition for
students across the city.
110 111
ACTION ACTION
28 Create safer public spaces for women and girls 29 Ensure universal accessibility across the city
It also puts limitations on women in the workforce, who are Most efforts aimed at improving accessibility have mainly
forced to plan their days based on their safety needs instead focused on the physical environment, neglecting other critical
of their economic aspirations. Additionally, lack of investment aspects such as access to information, communication, and
limits women’s engagement with the natural and built services.
environment, tying them to spaces that they deem safe, which
limits their health and freedom. ACTION DESCRIPTION
This action aims to create the proper enabling environment
ACTION DESCRIPTION that promotes the achievement of universal design in Addis
Inspired by Safe City, an internationally available app that Ababa. Leveraging efforts made by PWD associations,
crowdsources reports of incidents of sexual abuse and consortiums, civil society organizations, and the AALSAB, the
displays them as hotspots on a map, this initiative aims to: action proposes to launch a comprehensive and participatory
needs assessment of PWD based on the respective range of
• Construct a platform for women and girls to anonymously different disability types, as follows:
report sexual abuse and harassment in public spaces in real
time. This data gathering can be done by developing a phone • Assess government institutions’ accommodation levels and
application where people can directly input information, and understanding of inclusive planning and implementation.
by establishing a dedicated, toll-free call centre where women • Conduct a citywide accessibility audit and formulate
Despite the city’s progress in tackling gender biases and Ethiopia has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Right
can log in incidents of abuse appropriate recommendations to ensure that critical services
discrimination, gender-based violence in the form of catcalling, of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and devised laws, policies,
• Physically map public spaces, including but not limited to and public buildings, such as hospitals, health centers, clinics,
harassment and sexual assault in public spaces and transport and proclamations to ensure the rights of PWD. However, Addis
parks, streets, transportation hubs, and neighborhoods where schools, universities, colleges, and public transport, are
systems is common and remains unaddressed. As it stands, there Ababa has failed to implement and enforce inclusive planning
women and girls feel most unsafe. inclusive and universally accessible.
is no comprehensive data that provides accurate information on effectively in all arena of life. In recent years, there has not been
• Utilize the map of reports as a planning tool to design and • Provide capacity-building training for professionals in the
areas in which women feel unsafe, what forms of abuse they meaningful progress in addressing the issue of accessibility at
implement actions that address safety concerns, ranging from public and private sectors on universal design, to address
face, and the profiles of their attackers. This makes it difficult the city level, often due to a lack of awareness.
improving street lighting and expanding safe transit options, critical implementation gaps.
to plan and implement projects that directly address the safety
to increasing policing. • Promote adaptable, accessible, and universal design for new
of women in public spaces, limiting meaningful investment in Additionally, there is currently no clear framework to ensure
buildings and infrastructures, as well as retrofits.
protecting them. This in turn diminishes the sense of safety that those who violate laws or regulations aimed at protecting
By documenting the challenges faced by women every • Create a platform for PWD to engage with the City
that women feel when navigating the city, restraining half the the rights of PWD (including accessibility issues) are held
day and making informed investments in increasing the Administration and continuously advocate for universal
population of Addis Ababa from feeling ownership of the city accountable.
accessibility of public spaces for the city’s largest vulnerable accessible design.
and freely benefiting from its developments.
group, this initiative aims to improve the safety and usability • Raise awareness of universal design and the rights of PWD.
of public spaces for all residents of Addis Ababa.
RESILIENCE • Enabling an understanding of the level of ACTION AAWCAB RESILIENCE • Ensuring equal access to the city, its POTENTIAL MoLSA, FENAPD, CSOs working with and for
CO-BENEFITS gender-based sexual abuse and violence in OWNER/LEAD CO-BENEFITS infrastructure, and services for PWD, the PARTNERS PWDs (e.g. Humanity and Inclusion, Light for the
Addis Ababa. elderly, and other vulnerable and marginalized World, World Vision, ICRC), donors (e.g. Embassy
POTENTIAL AALSAB, AAJOCEDB CSOs (e.g. Network of
• Creating informed project design and PARTNERS groups. of Finland, Irish Aid).
Ethiopian Women’s Associations, Setaweet
implementation geared at addressing gender- • Ensuring access to employment and livelihood
Movement, Yellow Movement, Euruyan SCALE Citywide
based violence. opportunities.
Solutions), technology start-ups
• Improving the safety and accessibility of public • Empowering PWD to fully participate in TIME FRAME Medium-term
spaces in Addis Ababa for all residents. SCALE Citywide society on equal terms with others.
• Improve the sense of citizenship that women • Minimizing casualties to PWD when a shock,
ACTION Ongoing
TIME FRAME Short-term STATUS
have when navigating their city and contribute such as fire or flooding, occurs.
to their economic and social development by ACTION New • Enhancing social cohesion. NEXT STEPS • Launch a comprehensive and participatory
providing protection against violence. STATUS needs assessment study.
RELATED Lack of social cohesion, Unemployment,
STRESSES • Conduct outreach targeting government
RELATED Gender-based violence, Gender inequality, NEXT STEPS • Establish a platform for collecting and storing Economic inequality, Urban poverty,
STRESSES institutions to assess accommodation levels
Unemployment, Urban poverty data related to gender-based violence in public Homelessness, Inadequate transport
and understanding of universal design.
Economic inequality, Lack integrated planning spaces.
CONNECTION SDG 10, 11 • Conduct citywide accessibility audit and
• Establish mechanisms for utilizing the gathered
CONNECTION SDG 5, 8 TO SDGS formulate appropriate recommendations.
data in the design and implementation of
TO SDGS
projects that address gender-based violence. ACTION AALSAB and Addis Ababa Persons with
OWNER/LEAD Disabilities Association
112 113
Strengthen social protection schemes and

ACTION
Build community-based resilience in collaboration ACTION
maximize their integration to enhance the

30 with Community Care Coalitions (CCCs). 31 resilience of the urban poor
groups that are trusted by residents, and which already play RESILIENCE CHALLENGE other vulnerable groups to the virus, and puts the general
a critical role in their lives by helping them navigate difficult The City of Addis Ababa, in partnership with the Federal population at greater risk.
setbacks, could be further leveraged to cultivate a culture of Government, is currently implementing various social protection
resilience at the local level and maintain social cohesion. actions in an effort to address the multiple dimensions of urban ACTION DESCRIPTION
poverty. Through the National Price Stabilization Program, the This action aims to enhance the resilience of the urban poor
ACTION DESCRIPTION Government is distributing selected food commodities (wheat, by maximizing the synergy and integration of existing social
Through this action, the City will ensure that CCCs are legally oil, and sugar) at subsidized prices through shops owned and protection schemes. To this end, the City will:
established at the city level and engaged in a more integrated operated by Consumer Associations, thereby containing the
and consistent way, enabling the City to build community- impact of high price inflation on the urban poor. Since 2015, • Harmonize and align existing databases of various social
based resilience via the following actions. the GoE, with the support of the WB, has been implementing protection schemes (CBHI, UPSNP, National Price Stabilization
the Urban Productive Safety Net Program (UPSNP) across 11 Program, etc.) to improve targeting mechanisms. of the
• Disseminate crucial information regarding emergency cities, including Addis Ababa. This flagship program aims to poorest of the poor.
preparedness (including alerts during crisis) through the CCCs. improve the income of poor households through urban safety • Explore alternative solutions (e.g. food vouchers) to provide
• Provide training to CCCs so that they can act as first net mechanisms, including both conditional and unconditional fully subsidized food items to the poorest of the urban poor.
responders during shock events. cash transfers to target beneficiaries. Another example is the • Strengthen the UPSNP by incorporating more frequent
• Connect CCCs with other volunteer networks and frontline Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) programme, which reviews and adjustments of cash transfers to reflect
responders in times of crisis. provides free medical services to the poorest of the poor37 inflationary pressure and increase the number of days on which
Addis Ababa has a large network of social groups that actively
• Support and enhance CCCs’ involvement in delivering social recognized by the respective woredas.38 beneficiaries can engage in public work. Additionally, the City
operate in the city: Ïddïrs (informal social protection systems
support to help vulnerable households cope with shocks (e.g. will clarify the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders
whose main function is to help members during bereavement),
price inflation, COVID-19). Greater impact could be achieved by strengthening the related to public works and make recommendations aimed
mahbär (neighborhood or religious associations) and Ïqqub
• Capitalize on the trust and connectedness of CCCs to enhance linkages between these various initiatives. Coordination among at strengthening coordination between the UPSNP and
(rotating credit schemes). It is estimated that 85.4% of people in
existing community policing, and to create mechanisms for these social protection programs and other development mandated city agencies.
Addis Ababa belong to these CCCs.35
reporting abuse, exploitation, and violence (including gender- activities conducted by city agencies could also be further • Create a forum for the owners of different social protection
based attacks). improved. For instance, the agencies implementing the Addis schemes to regularly meet, align their interventions, share
These social groups provide a unique opportunity to build
• During disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Ababa UPSNP have identified the need to create synergy best practices, and continuously learn from each other on
resilience to shocks and stresses at grass-roots level. However,
partner with CCCs to ensure safe burials and management with agencies responsible for solid waste management, urban issues of common interest (project governance, accountability
the City Administration has not been engaging them in its
of deaths, as well as support families psychologically and greening, etc. to ensure that beneficiaries of the program’s mechanisms, etc.).
resilience-building efforts in a consistent and integrated manner.
financially. conditional cash transfers have greater access to public • Provide training and capacity-building activities to project
Furthermore, unlike their counterparts in other regions across
• Provide psychosocial support for vulnerable and marginalized works opportunities. There is also a significant opportunity owners of various social protection schemes to ensure
the country,36 CCCs in Addis Ababa are not legally empowered
groups through CCCs. for these various initiatives to learn from each other on successful delivery and maximization of impact.
to mobilize either in-cash or in-kind resources to provide a
• Disseminate awareness and prevention messages regarding a variety of topics (appropriate governance for delivery, • Provide financial support or temporary shelter for homeless
variety of community-support services at the city level. The City
public health risks through CCCs. targeting mechanisms, etc.). The recent COVID-19 pandemic populations as part of the COVID-19 response effort, and
is currently taking steps to address this bottleneck. If supported
has revealed a critical need to expand social protection explore sustainable shelter solutions.
adequately through training, financial resources, etc., social
mechanisms to include emergency shelter solutions, which • Expand safe houses and provide emergency accommodation
are currently inadequate. The lack of adequate emergency for women and children who become victims of domestic
shelter increases the exposure of homeless populations and violence and abuse during and following the current crisis.
RESILIENCE • Empowering social groups and residents to CONNECTION SDG 2, 3, 10, 11
CO-BENEFITS enhance public participation and community TO SDGS
engagement in decision-making. ACTION AALSAB in collaboration with CCCs
• Creating a sense of ownership for the OWNER/LEAD RESILIENCE • Mitigating the impacts of high price inflation ACTION AALSAB
community to take matters into their own
CO-BENEFITS and economic crisis on the urban poor. OWNER/LEAD
hands and contribute to development and POTENTIAL AAWCAB, Youth and Volunteerism Coordination
PARTNERS Office, MoLSA, AAPC, Addis Ababa City Trust • Improved food security and access to health
resilience-building efforts. POTENTIAL AAHB, AATIDB, AAJOCEDB, Consumers
Fund services for the poor and vulnerable. PARTNERS
• Improving public safety. Associations, MoUDC, WB, Ethiopian Health
• Enhancing livelihood opportunities.
• Increasing awareness of disaster risk and Insurance Agency
SCALE Citywide • Fostering greater coordination among city
response.
agencies and social protection programs. SCALE Citywide
• Applying asset-based community development TIME FRAME Medium-term
• Ensuring safe shelter for vulnerable groups,
to mitigate the challenges faced in the areas TIME FRAME Short-term
ACTION New including in times of crisis.
of livelihood, education, public health, and STATUS
meeting basic needs.
ACTION Ongoing
RELATED Disease outbreak
STATUS
NEXT STEPS • Organize a series of meetings with CCCs to SHOCKS
RELATED Rioting and civil unrest, Inflation, Flooding, identify how they can help Addis Ababa in its
SHOCKS
NEXT STEPS • Convene partners of various social protection
Earthquake, Fire, Disease outbreak RELATED Inflation, Unemployment, Poverty, Lack of social
COVID-19 emergency and recovery efforts. schemes and identify areas for greater
STRESSES cohesion, Drug and alcohol abuse, Economic
RELATED Inflation, Homelessness, Urban Poverty, Crime Prepare and sign MoU with CCCs. integration and alignment.
inequality, Food insecurity
STRESSES and violence, Internal displacement, Lack of • Co-design a proposal to define potential • Co-develop a roadmap for joint design and
social cohesion areas of collaboration with CCCs and define CONNECTION SDG 1, 2, 3, 8, 11 aligned implementation for greater impact.
guidelines for future engagements. TO SDGS
35 UN-HABITAT. (2003). 37 The “poorest of the poor” are low income households earning less than ETB 1,000
36 In Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR (Southern, Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region), per month (UN-HABITAT, 2017).
and Tigray Regions, CCCs are legally empowered to mobilize resources both in-cash 38 The CBHI programme was launched in four regions of the country in 2011, and was
and in-kind, to issue receipts, and to work in a variety of community-support services. rolled out in Addis Ababa in 2018.
114 115
Resilient Addis Ababa Pillar 3 – Healthy and livable places
Pillar 3
Healthy and
livable places
Creating a livable city that promotes the health

and well-being of its residents.
116 117
Over the years, Addis Ababa has expanded and developed at the expense
of its natural ecosystems. As a city, we have embraced environmental
protection in our policies and bylaws. However, in practice, economic
development and urbanization have consistently taken precedence over the
protection of our natural resources.
Coupled with residents’ lack of environmental awareness and practice, our

local and regional environment has taken a turn for the worse. Our once-
lush mountains have undergone rapid deforestation, our water sources are
depleting, our rivers have become open sewers, and the air we breathe grows
dangerously polluted. These challenges, especially when combined with a
changing climate, make us extremely vulnerable to risks such as flooding and
water scarcity, which threaten the livelihoods, health, and well-being of Addis
Ababa’s residents.
This pillar is about improving the city’s ability to effectively protect its natural
resources and ecosystems, and thereby secure a more sustainable future.
Initiatives in this pillar address water as a finite resource and an economic
good, improving access to sanitation, modernizing solid waste management,
reclaiming our mountain ranges, accelerating air quality improvement,
promoting energy efficiency, and the development of new green spaces. GOAL
Provide adequate, safe
3.1
and reliable water and
GOAL 3.1 Provide adequate, safe, and reliable water and sanitation services for all
sanitation services for all
GOAL 3.2 Manage our resources sustainably
GOAL 3.3 Improve the quality of our environment
GOAL 3.4 Embrace risk-aware and participatory urban design practices
GOAL 3.5 Ensure the provision of healthy, affordable, and reliable food for all
118 119
ACTION
32 Build a Water Resilient City
to water shortage by improving detection of leakages and

INSPIRATION
addressing inefficiencies in the distribution system.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to ensure

that everyone in the city has access to clean and affordable CAPE TOWN (SOUTH AFRICA)
water for handwashing, one of the most effective ways to WATER RESILIENCE AND AVOIDING DAY ZERO
combat the spread of the virus. It has also reinforced the need
to scale-up investment in water and sanitation infrastructure Near exclusive reliance on surface water from drought levels – effectively reducing the demand
for water scarce areas, beyond current efforts to set up
rainfall makes Cape Town and its surrounding for water, alleviating pressure on low dam
portable handwashing facilities and supply water using water
area very vulnerable to drought shocks. The levels, and making a momentous contribution to
tank trucks.
prospect of an imminent “Day Zero” – a scenario avoiding the projected Day Zero of 2018.
ACTION DESCRIPTION
in which city government would turn off certain Still Day Zero loomed closer. This
The action aims to strengthen AAWSA’s capacity to manage parts of the reticulation system, literally turning necessitated business continuity planning by
the public water supply system more efficiently, and transform off the taps – made international headlines all spheres of government, businesses, and
Addis Ababa into a water-Smart city. It proposes to: throughout 2017 and 2018. Yet the shock to Cape communities for what would need to happen
Town’s water system can be traced back to a should the reticulation system be turned off.
Addis Ababa’s current water demand greatly exceeds the
• Carry out a City Water Resilience Assessment (CWRA) to complex confluence of events, as early as 2015, The city and provincial governments worked
amount of water that can be supplied by the AAWSA through
establish a resilience profile of risks and vulnerabilities, and which began the driest three-year period since tirelessly with businesses to share information,
its public supply system. As a result, AAWSA is currently
identify areas of intervention to enhance the resilience of the the 1930s in the region’s dam catchment area. hear concerns, and tweak plans. Business groups
working on increasing water availability through dam capacity
urban water system. The city’s predominant lever of response was developed their own task teams. Neighborhood
enhancement. It is also encouraging institutions (both
• Develop and maintain a robust leak detection program and
governmental and private) that have high water consumption to increase water restrictions, which were first watches and other community organizations
provide guidance on selection of leak detection systems using
rates to source their own water through wells. instituted at the beginning of 2016 and which developed responses unique to their own
a risk-based approach.
grew more and more strict over the next two communities. Cape Town was becoming a shock-
• Identify high water consumers and prioritize 10 of them for a
While supply-side interventions are important, dam capacity years, until Capetonians were allotted only 50 ready city.
targeted intervention to reduce water consumption, promote
augmentation projects currently in the pipeline are often slow liters per person per day. Steps that contributed to the city’s
alternative use of water, and enhance water stewardship.
to complete and have already faced delays. As for borehole While city government grappled with growing resilience in the face of the crisis
• Develop and implement a water conservation program for
development, global experience suggests that while this
households, residential developments, and housing projects, uncertainty in the system, implementing small- included the public sector improving its approach
might be a solution in the short term, it risks compromising
which will include regulatory and pricing measures, incentives scale augmentation projects to bring a limited to partnering, and City Council establishing
the sustainability of the city’s water supply in the long run if
for conservation, and consumer education. amount of new water into the system, Capetonian a “Section 80 Water Resilience Advisory
not adequately managed. There is thus a need to complement
• Accelerate urgently required water supply investments into households and businesses took remarkable Committee,” comprising external experts from all
these efforts with demand-side interventions such as water
water insecure and underserved areas. action to contribute to the drought response. spheres of government, academia, the agriculture
conservation, which typically yield faster results and are cost-
• Leveraging lessons from the COVID-19 outbreak and past Lawns and water-sensitive plants were replaced sector, non-governmental organizations, and
effective. With close to 40% non-revenue water, of which
shock events, establish emergency and contingency planning
29% is currently being lost due to poor maintenance and with alternatives requiring less water. Bathing business, which began meeting in late 2017
procedures, alongside a communications plan that keeps staff,
replacement of old and dilapidated infrastructure, there is time was slashed and the resulting grey water to support the city’s drought response and
customers, and other stakeholders informed of developments.
also a significant opportunity to reduce the city’s vulnerability collected for use in toilet flushing. Residents investment choices. Cape Town also installed
invested in water-saving devices such as low- Smart process controllers, which enable
RESILIENCE • Improve water service provision, particularly ACTION AAWSA flow taps, water-efficient shower heads, and managing water pressure on a zone-by-zone
CO-BENEFITS for the urban poor, and reduce water scarcity. OWNER/LEAD
smaller toilet cisterns. Capetonians who had the basis, greatly decreasing water consumption.
• Minimize waste and make the most of POTENTIAL AACB, AAHB, AAHDAB, AAEB, AAEPGDC, WB,
resources, while protecting ecosystems and PARTNERS
means to do so installed rainwater harvesting Another important contributor to Cape Town’s
Splash Ethiopia, residents
preventing pollution. tanks and drilled boreholes and well points. A water resilience was the city’s public-facing Day
• Boost economic development, and enhance SCALE Citywide
equity and social cohesion. few corporate entities even went entirely off- Zero Campaign, which heightened in intensity
TIME FRAME Short-term
• Enhance the capacity of AAWSA to maintain
grid, turning to groundwater or desalination. in January 2018 to provide weekly information
essential services, and improve financial ACTION New
viability of service provision. STATUS New businesses emerged that offered water updates. These updates allowed Capetonians to
• Reduce vulnerability of residents and
businesses to water-related shocks and
NEXT STEPS • Complete the CWRA and prepare an action saving solutions, demonstrating a noteworthy understand dam behavior and water consumption
plan based on the findings.
stresses (e.g. waterborne and infectious
• Identify hotspots of water insecurity for which
entrepreneurial spirit. This impressive collective in various rainfall scenarios. The Water Outlook
disease).
to plan and implement contingency measures. response would eventually drive down water publication helped inform businesses as they
RELATED Disease outbreak • Identify and engage with 10 high water-
SHOCKS consuming institutions to build a coalition for consumption by over 50% compared with pre- made their own investment decisions.
advancing and improving wise water use.
RELATED Water scarcity, Aging infrastructure, Inadequate
STRESSES • Initiate the household water management
infrastructure
program.
CONNECTION SDG 3,6,11 and 12
TO SDGS
120 121
ACTION ACTION
Enhance water security through improved
33 Establish a Water Fund 34 groundwater abstraction monitoring and regulation
Traditional urban water management systems, with their RESILIENCE CHALLENGE major benefits to ecosystems, including more reliable water
focus on built solutions or lack thereof, have had a devastating Groundwater serves as a main source of water in Addis supplies. However, the City lacks thorough understanding
effect on the rivers, floodplains, and wetlands that provide the Ababa, in meeting the city’s current and future water demand. of its potential role and responsibility, as well as the current
city with water and create habitat for wildlife. However, the relevant authorities lack sufficient and up-to-date legal and regulatory framework and institutional capacities to
information on the condition of the aquifer, overall abstraction monitor and regulate groundwater abstraction and use.
ACTION DESCRIPTION volumes, and the sustainable yields of the aquifers. The City is
The action will focus on mobilizing investment for the therefore unable to monitor and regulate water abstraction ACTION DESCRIPTION
protection and restoration of river systems and water sheds, and consumption. Mismanagement of groundwater resources The action aims to ensure that groundwater resources are
to improve water security, and to leverage long-term and and overexploitation have caused a continuous decline of managed in a sustainable manner in close cooperation with
cost-effective solutions that allow both the city and nature to groundwater levels in the aquifers on which Addis Ababa’s the relevant authorities through robust monitoring and
thrive together. It will comprise the preparation of a feasibility water supply depends. Additionally, rapid urbanization and regulation of abstraction. The action will help the City and
study on establishing a water fund, an organization that economic development have increased the city’s water AAWSA to:
designs and enhances financial and governance mechanisms, demand and have led to uncontrolled drilling of boreholes
and unites public, private, and civil society stakeholders and abstraction of water. Wetlands, upland forests, and other • Establish institutional capacity to monitor and regulate
around the common goal of contributing to water security in crucial ecosystems, including relevant watersheds, are being groundwater abstraction within their mandates.
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE the city and the region through nature-based solutions and depleted, reducing opportunity for groundwater recharge. • Establish a comprehensive geo-referenced inventory of
Development pressures are degrading the land and rivers on sustainable watershed management. private, commercial, and industrial boreholes, and prepare
which Addis Ababa depends to sustain its water supply. The In recent years, government has encouraged large consumers minimum technical standards, including metering for
degradation of watersheds is a key challenge for sustainable The work will build on the experience of The Nature to invest into decentralized, independent systems to meet boreholes, to monitor and regulate water abstraction, and to
water management in the city and the region. Addis Ababa’s Conservancy (TNC) with over 30 water funds around the the growing water demand and to reduce the burden on prevent pollution.
drinking water supplies are greatly affected by how land is world. The action will allow the city to play an active role in the public supply system. With increasing groundwater • Develop a licensing approach for drilling companies and
managed. Practices that clear forests, increase erosion, and protecting its water sources, while helping the city to connect development and reduced water availability, there is growing introduce procedures that require newly drilled boreholes to
create pollution reduce both water quality and the reliability with the region and relevant partners – because source awareness that an integrated management approach is be formally registered before commissioning.
of the water supply. Rapid urbanization, poor governance, watersheds are a nexus for action for those working to build needed to ensure the sustainable use of precious groundwater • Develop a sustainable system for raw water charges to
pollution, and climate change aggravate the problem. Water urban resilience, improve water security, drive sustainable resources, to monitor and regulate abstraction and equitable disincentivize over-abstraction (and/or limit abstraction).
insecurity is one of the greatest risks impacting the city’s development, and create a stable climate. use of the resource, as well as optimize the opportunities for • Develop and implement awareness campaigns with relevant
resilience and sustainable development, considering that groundwater recharge and water reuse. This must include stakeholders on appropriate and safe use of well-points and
water consumption is on the rise while large parts of the The action will focus on identifying opportunities to invest in reversing the current degradation of the catchments through boreholes.
population are still not supplied with sufficient amounts of safe nature, including protecting and restoring forests, wetlands, new investments and Smarter policies, which would bring
water. In addition to providing water of a sufficient quality and and grasslands, reducing agricultural runoff, building roads
quantity to meet the needs of agriculture, industry, energy, so as to minimize sediment entering rivers and streams, and
and households, preserving the integrity of environmental helping to retain freshwater, filter pollutants, and reduce
systems is critical to all dimensions. erosion.
RESILIENCE • Enhancing water availability, and therefore ACTION AAWSA and AARPO RESILIENCE • Decreasing the depletion of ground water. POTENTIAL AAPDCo, AAEPGDC, donors, CSOs, PSOs
CO-BENEFITS improving water service provision and OWNER/LEAD CO-BENEFITS • Improving water supply and reducing water PARTNERS
reducing water scarcity. consumption.
POTENTIAL Mayor’s Office, AAEPGDC, ONRS, AARPO, TNC, SCALE Citywide
• Boosting economic development. PARTNERS • Reducing groundwater pollution.
donors (e.g. The World Bank), PSOs.
• Improving ecosystem services. TIME FRAME Short-term
RELATED Disease outbreak, Drought
• Improving public health. SCALE Metropolitan
SHOCKS ACTION New
• Reducing water pollution.
TIME FRAME Short-term STATUS
• Enhancing cooperation and trust between the RELATED Water scarcity, Water pollution, Environmental
city and the region, as well as between urban ACTION New STRESSES degradation NEXT STEPS • Establish the legal frameworks and standards
and rural areas. STATUS for sustainable groundwater use.
CONNECTION SDG 3,6,11 and 12
• Initiate a capacity-building program for
RELATED Flooding NEXT STEPS • Assess feasibility and generally determine TO SDGS
AAWSA.
SHOCKS how a Water Fund can positively contribute to
ACTION AAWSA • Maintain a database of geo-referenced
water security in Addis Ababa. OWNER/LEAD
RELATED Water scarcity, Aging infrastructure, groundwater boreholes.
STRESSES • Decide if the Water Fund should proceed to
Environmental degradation • Conduct awareness-raising programs.
the Design Phase.
CONNECTION SDG 3,6,11 and 12 • If approved, design and implement the Water
TO SDGS Fund.
122 123
ACTION
Promote decentralized waste treatment and water- ACTION
35 sensitive design 36 Improve sanitation service provision
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE real estate ventures in Addis Ababa and their residents’ RESILIENCE CHALLENGE ACTION DESCRIPTION
AAWSA has launched an ambitious plan to expand the city’s ability to pay for basic services such as waste management. An estimated 50% of Addis Ababa residents lack access This action aims to capitalize on the structure that AAWSA
sewer network from its current 7% to cover the whole of the It will incentivize investments in decentralized wastewater to adequate sanitation facilities, let alone safely managed has created to implement its Public Restrooms and Rest
city, by gradually expanding the network of secondary sewer infrastructure in higher income neighborhoods, to avoid sanitation services, and approximately 5% continue to practice Stops Project, expanding it to cover more than facility
lines in order to give more people access to the sewerage untreated wastewater and fecal sludge being released into open defecation. Besides affecting individual wellness, public provision, and endeavor to create businesses that provide
system. To enhance its treatment capacity AAWSA has also the environment. It will enhance the cooperation between health, and economic activity, inadequate sanitation is one of services across the whole sanitation value chain. Through
invested significantly in the construction of multiple waste AAWSA and private sector developers to utilize private the most serious environmental problems the city faces. the creation and franchising of 100 businesses addressing
treatment facilities with the capacity to treat 100,000 m3 of sector funding to create water-sensitive neighborhoods that issues such as the collection, transportation, treatment, and
wastewater per day. have self-initiated access to waste treatment. At the same In response to these challenges, AAWSA launched the Public reuse of waste, this action aims to tackle the parts of Addis
time, the action will encourage the application of circular Restrooms and Rest Stops Project in 2007, an initiative Ababa’s sanitation value chain that are ripe for business
Despite these efforts, a majority of the city’s households economy approaches that allow for the reuse of wastewater that aims to build shared sanitation facilities. These shared development. The action will also:
depend on onsite sanitation facilities that either release up as an alternative source of water for non-drinking purposes, sanitation facilities include public restrooms serving high-
to 75% of waste to nearby rivers and drains, or need to be and will design elements that minimize the wastage of water. traffic urban areas, and communal latrines shared between • Conduct a baseline study to identify high priority areas for
emptied by a limited fleet of vacuum trucks. With most of Related actions include: clusters of households in low-income communities. Through intervention, and gather primary data for designing and planning
the city’s waste ending up far from treatment plants, and a a partnership with the City’s Job Creation and Enterprise infrastructure investments covering the whole sanitation chain.
5% open defecation rate, the city’s onsite sanitation facilities • Review legal and regulatory framework, and identify risks Development Bureau, AAWSA franchises these facilities to • Develop sustainable and financially viable management
do not comply with common minimum standards and fecal and gaps that may hinder the adoption of water-sensitive co-operatives that are mostly comprised of vulnerable and concepts that ensure these businesses are operated and
sludge management is highly insufficient. This reality puts urban design and water efficiency measures for housing and unemployed groups, including women and PWD. In addition maintained in a professional manner, while at the same time
significant financial and technical pressure on AAWSA to residential developments. to increasing sanitation access and providing employment delivering multiple co-benefits that enhance livelihoods of
provide adequate services to its residents, particularly those • Develop a minimum standard for decentralized wastewater opportunities, these facilities are designed to have green poor and vulnerable communities.
living in underserved or informal neighborhoods. At the same treatment facilities that will allow for the safe and sustainable areas, providing accessible public spaces for residents. • Establish service level agreements that incentivize meeting
time, Addis Ababa is experiencing a significant rise in high-end reuse of wastewater at the plot level. agreed-on goals and targets, while giving operators space
real estate development. Residents of these development can • Establish a collaboration with private developers to pilot Although AAWSA has over a decade of experience in to be creative with how they meet them (including operators
afford to pay for safe sanitation access (including transport innovative housing and development-scale sustainable design designing and implementing public and communal latrines, that stack multiple revenue streams, community-based
and treatment of waste), but are not receiving that service and construction, to demonstrate that high performance insufficient sanitation service provision still poses a large risk management structures, and creative community engagement
due to AAWSA’s constrained capacity. water-sensitive and energy-efficient homes and developments for building urban resilience in Addis Ababa. Additionally, and education efforts).
can be built at a comparable cost and timeframe to existing given that AAWSA is the main provider of services including • Design, construct, and pilot businesses across all points of the
ACTION DESCRIPTION developments. collection, transportation, and treatment of waste, the sanitation chain.
This action aims to capitalize on the rising construction of financially burdened utility is encountering difficulties in • Gather learnings from pilot projects and use them to expand
addressing the needs of the growing urban population. businesses to higher numbers.
• As part of the City’s COVID-19 response, train and partner with
sanitation workers to protect them and customers by ensuring
that infection risks are minimized.
RESILIENCE • Providing poor and vulnerable households with ACTION AARBGADAA

RESILIENCE • Reducing water demand and providing ACTION AAWSA
CO-BENEFITS access to safely managed sanitation services OWNER/LEAD
CO-BENEFITS alternative water sources for non-drinking uses OWNER/LEAD
and income-generating activities.
of water. POTENTIAL AAWSA, AAHB, AAJOCEDB, AALSAB, cooperatives
POTENTIAL AAHB, AACB, MoUDC, real estate developers, • Strengthening the capacity of AAWSA and local
• Reducing pollution and environmental PARTNERS managing public restrooms and rest stops,
PARTNERS donors government.
degradation, leading to improved water quality development partners (e.g. World Bank, World
• Reducing environmental impact through
and human health. SCALE Citywide Vision).
reduction of fecal pollution.
• Decreasing the load on wastewater treatment
TIME FRAME Medium-term • Reducing carbon emissions by applying circular SCALE Citywide
plants’ investment cost for the expansion of
economy approaches to fecal sludge and
the city’s main sewerage grid, thereby enabling ACTION New TIME FRAME Medium-term
wastewater management, while encouraging a
AAWSA to focus on areas of need. STATUS
culture of reuse. ACTION Ongoing
• Private developers will gain brand recognition
NEXT STEPS • Identify existing residential developments • Reducing investments and facilitating STATUS
for their contribution to the cleanliness of the
suitable for refurbishing, and potential new partnerships with the private sector, and
city by the city administration and AAWSA. NEXT STEPS • Design and deliver training on COVID-19 risks for
developments that would allow for the potentially also with civil society organizations.
• Enhancing energy production. sanitation workers.
application of water-sensitive designs.
• Reduce GHG emissions. RELATED Disease outbreak • Conduct citywide sanitation baseline survey
• Establish a collaboration with at least one
SHOCKS covering the whole sanitation chain, as well as
RELATED Disease outbreak private developer to pilot innovative housing
SHOCKS
required business models.
and development-scale sustainable design and RELATED Inadequate sanitation systems, Environmental
STRESSES • Design appropriate business models and service
construction. degradation, Unemployment, Poverty, Energy
RELATED Inadequate sanitation system, Environmental level agreements.
STRESSES • Co-develop standards, protocols, and insecurity
degradation, Water scarcity • Construct pilot facilities and scale up best practices.
guidelines for decentralized treatment plants.
CONNECTION SDG 3,6,11 • Pilot innovative water-sensitive housing
TO SDGS
TO SDGS development project and scale up best
practices.
124 125
ACTION
37 Develop a sustainable public procurement policy

A growing number of cities across the globe are strategically Through this action, the City aims to lead by example by
using procurement as a tool for pursing wider social, economic, embedding sustainability into its procurement policies
and environmental goals. While the City has been using and practices. Concrete steps will be taken to implement
procurement to advance social and economic priorities (e.g. sustainable public procurement:
job creation, local manufacturing capacity), much remains to
be done when it comes to leveraging public procurement to • Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the City’s
promote environmental objectives (e.g. resource efficiency, procurement policies, procedures, and practices, to identify
low carbon development). Limited awareness among potential challenges and opportunities to the implementation
stakeholders, from policy and decision makers to procurement of sustainable public procurement.
officers, means that sustainability is not considered in current • Engage with local suppliers and the private sector to assess
procurement policies and practices. As a result, the City the scope for change and determine the extent to which local
Administration has not always shown strong environmental suppliers can respond to stricter standards.
leadership. • Identify priority sectors for implementing sustainable public
procurement and launch pilot initiatives that can deliver both
With roughly 60 to 70% of its total budget (25-30 billion birr “quick wins” and “big wins.”
for the 2018/19 Ethiopian fiscal year) going into procuring • Revise procurement procedures to incorporate sustainability
various works, goods, and services, the City has a significant criteria and standards.
opportunity to use its market power to influence local suppliers • Develop guidelines and trainings on how to incorporate
and producers to shift more rapidly towards sustainable sustainability criteria throughout the procurement process for
consumption and production patterns, while at the same procurement officers.
time reducing its own environmental impact and promoting • Create awareness-raising schemes for city government officials,
GOAL
Manage our resources environmentally responsible behavior among all stakeholders civil servants, and procurement professionals across the city
3.2
in the city. administration.
sustainably
• Monitor, evaluate, and learn to continuously improve the city’s
sustainable public procurement operational framework.
RESILIENCE • Reducing the Administration’s environmental ACTION AAEPGDC

CO-BENEFITS impact and overall environmental degradation OWNER/LEAD
in the city. POTENTIAL All relevant city government offices, the Mayor’s
• Promoting efficient and responsible resource PARTNERS Office, development partners (e.g. UNEP, foreign
utilization.
embassies)
• Encouraging sustainable consumption and
production patterns. SCALE Citywide
• Encouraging supply chain innovation.
TIME FRAME Medium-term
• Generating long-term cost savings.
• Stimulating job creation and growth in the ACTION New
green and circular economy. STATUS
RELATED Hazardous material release NEXT STEPS • Conduct assessment of current procurement
SHOCKS practices.
• Design and implement awareness-raising
RELATED Environmental degradation, Air pollution, Climate
STRESSES activities on the benefits of sustainable public
change
procurement.
CONNECTION SDG 9, 11, 12, 13 • Launch engagement process with suppliers
TO SDGS and private sector.
126 127
ACTION ACTION
38 Scale up adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels 39 Design and implement energy-saving measures
While both government and non-government actors have The ubiquitous use of inefficient incandescent light bulbs
taken various steps to encourage the adoption of clean across the city generates substantial wastage of already
cookstoves and fuels in Addis Ababa, much remains to be scarce power. Lack of adequate standards for energy-efficient
done to create more coordinated and effective action. The lighting means that LED light bulbs and other efficient lighting
sector continues to suffer from a lack of legislated standards technologies are scarce on the local market and generally
for cookstoves, lack of strong political championing, and the unaffordable, particularly for low-income groups.
poor monitoring and enforcement capacity of authorities.
Furthermore, local SMEs manufacturing improved cookstoves
lack the technical and financial capacity to improve their ACTION DESCRIPTION
design and production, or to scale up manufacturing and This action aims to relieve pressure from the power grid by
distribution to a large segment of the population, a crucial implementing demand-side measures that will help reduce
step for lowering the initial upfront cost of some improved demand for electricity. The City will:
cooking solutions and fuels.
• Introduce and enforce rigorous standards for energy-efficient
ACTION DESCRIPTION lighting, in compliance with international standards.
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE This action aims to scale up adoption of cleaner cookstoves RESILIENCE CHALLENGE • Provide technical support and institutional capacity-building
The use of solid biomass (e.g. charcoal, wood, dung) for and fuels, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations. Addis Ababa is faced by the major stresses of power outages for enforcing entities.
cooking, typically using inefficient or traditional cookstoves is The City will: and energy scarcity, which negatively impact economic • Promote energy-saving behaviours through awareness raising
still a prominent source of energy practice in Addis Ababa. activity and delivery of critical services (water supply, activities.
While electric and improved biomass-powered cookstoves • Introduce and enforce rigorous standards for clean cooking hospitals, etc.). Factors contributing to constant disruptions • Design and implement innovative financing mechanisms to
are now being produced domestically, they are not affordable equipment. include heavy reliance on hydropower, which is highly support uptake of energy-efficient lighting by low-income
for the low-income households and dwellers of informal • Provide technical support and institutional capacity-building vulnerable to climate change, as well as the use of outdated households.
settlements who are greatly affected by energy poverty. In for enforcing entities. equipment, including aging transformers that are susceptible • Identify and partner with champion institutions to roll out
the absence of financial incentives to switch to cleaner energy • Design and introduce financial incentives for low-income to continual breakdown. lighting retrofit projects.
sources and technologies for cooking, and limited consumer groups and residents in informal settlements to switch to
awareness, households continue to rely heavily on polluting clean cookstoves and fuels.
fuels and cookstoves, making them particularly vulnerable to • Design and launch broad-based awareness-raising campaigns
indoor air pollution. Women and adolescent girls are greatly aimed at promoting improved cookstoves and fuels. RESILIENCE • Minimize power wastage, relieve pressure on POTENTIAL AACB, MoWIE, Ministry of Revenue (MoR),
impacted as they are primarily responsible for cooking. In • Support local MSEs (such as biomass briquette and improved CO-BENEFITS the power supply, and generate cost savings. PARTNERS Ethiopian Standards Agency, Ethiopian Solar
• Ensure access to reliable and sustainable Energy Association, donors (e.g. GiZ, USAID)
addition to poor health outcomes, reliance on solid fuels is cookstove producers) to grow a thriving market for clean fuels energy.
SCALE Citywide
driving forest degradation. and cookstoves, through capacity-building along the entire • Reduce energy poverty.
value chain, innovative financing schemes, and greater market TIME FRAME Medium-term
RELATED Power outage
SHOCKS ACTION Scale up
linkages (by leveraging CCC groups, integrating cookstoves
STATUS
into existing government programs, etc.). RELATED Energy scarcity
STRESSES NEXT STEPS • Identify locally appropriate and cost-effective,
CONNECTION SDG 7, 11 energy-efficient lighting solutions.
TO SDGS • Convene and initiate discussion between
MoWIE,MoR, and other relevant stakeholders
ACTION AAEPGDC for the introduction of relevant policy
RESILIENCE • Ensuring access to reliable and sustainable POTENTIAL Ethiopian Standards Agency, AAHB, Ministry OWNER/LEAD instruments.
CO-BENEFITS energy. PARTNERS of Health (MoH), TVET institutions, cookstoves
• Reducing energy poverty. manufacturers, donors (e.g. GiZ, SNV), INGOS
• Reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution and and NGOs working in the clean cookstoves and
improving public health. fuels space, CSOs (Ïddïrs, CCCs, consumers’
• Protecting forest resources and minimizing associations, etc.)
environmental degradation.
SCALE Citywide
• Generating employment opportunities through
production of improved cookstoves and TIME FRAME Medium-term
renewable biomass sources.
ACTION Scale-up
RELATED Energy scarcity, Poor air quality, Environmental STATUS
STRESSES degradation
NEXT STEPS • Convene and coalesce a cross-section of
CONNECTION SDG 7, 11,13 government, private sector, academic, donor,
TO SDGS and civil society stakeholders around a
common platform for action.
ACTION AAEPGDC
OWNER/LEAD • Take stock of previous interventions (research,
studies, policies, programs, etc.) and identify
barriers impeding at-scale adoption of clean
cookstoves and fuels.
• Agree on priority activities and design
a roadmap for concerted and effective
implementation of proposed interventions.
128 129
ACTION ACTION
Develop a participatory mountain range
40 Establish a recycling park 41 rehabilitation program
recycling companies from participating in the entire recycling ACTION DESCRIPTION

value chain. However, if adequately supported, the recycling The City will partner with the Oromia National Regional State
sector could help address the city’s long-standing solid to design and implement a joint program aimed at conserving,
waste management problem, while at the same time creating restoring, and sustainably managing its surrounding mountain
green jobs and helping the city shift towards a more circular and urban forests ecosystems. The program will build on
economy. past and ongoing efforts to restore mountains and manage
forest resources sustainably, thereby incorporating lessons
ACTION DESCRIPTION learned from previous successes and failures. The program is
The action proposes to establish a recycling park dedicated intended to be highly participatory in nature, and will focus
to local recycling companies in Addis Ababa. In addition on local communities as key stakeholders in designing and
to easing access to space for conducting their activities, implementing the program and its proposed activities. Key
the facility will provide recyclers with access to reliable proposed activities will include:
power and water, as well as other services such as access
to finance and opportunities for technology, knowledge, and • Rehabilitate degraded upstream gullies through reforestation
skills transfer. This will be achieved through the following programs, physical interventions, traces, gabion building, etc.
proposed interventions: • Area enclosure and community-based natural resource
conservation activities.
Addis Ababa’s recycling sector currently faces several Addis Ababa is surrounded by hills and mountains that are
• Build a dedicated park for recyclers in Addis Ababa. • Launch agroforestry and ecotourism initiatives to provide
challenges that limit its expansion. Local recycling companies covered with forests. The city is overlooked by the Entoto
• Create a dedicated revolving fund to support local recycling employment and income generation.
have difficultly accessing land to establish recycling plants mountain range to the north, Yerer Mountain to the east, and
companies in purchasing machinery and equipment, or for any • Expand Gullele Botanical Garden and develop recreational
or facilities. Lack of access to reliable power and water also Menagesha and Wachacha mountains to the west. The city’s
other reasonable business purposes, thereby enabling them to activities.
hinders their activities. Various financial barriers also exist, mountain landscape is under serious threat from the combined
participate in the entire recycling value chain.
such as the high cost of vehicles, equipment, and facilities, effects of rapid urban expansion, informal settlement
• Provide capacity-building to support recyclers in accessing Efforts will be made to ensure that the implementation of this
and limited access to finance. Local recyclers also face high proliferation, unsustainable harvesting of forests to produce
global funding opportunities. action will be closely coordinated with Action 33. Establish a
competition from international companies who have easier biomass fuel, and lack of adequate forest management. This
• Foster industry-university partnerships to support R&D in the Water Fund.
access to capital and global markets. Financial, technological, is leading to deforestation, soil erosion, and land degradation,
sector.
and human capacity constraints further prevent local which in turn exacerbate the city’s vulnerability to existing
shocks and stresses, such as flooding, landslides, urban heat
island effect, air pollution, drought, and water scarcity.39
RESILIENCE • Support the growth of local recycling POTENTIAL AATIDB, AAIC, AAU, AACCSA, TVET and RESILIENCE • Combating illegal land grabbing activities RELATED Environmental degradation, Poor air quality, Lack
CO-BENEFITS businesses and a thriving circular economy. PARTNERS research institutions, Cleaner Production Centre, CO-BENEFITS along mountainsides and degraded upstream STRESSES of green spaces, Informal settlement
• Reduce the amount of waste that reaches the donors (e.g. WB, UNIDO, UNEP, UNDP, GEF, AFD) gullies in the city.
CONNECTION SDG 3, 6, 8,11, 13, 15
city’s dumpsite and reduce environmental • Increasing green and open spaces and
SCALE Metropolitan TO SDGS
degradation and pollution. enhancing recreational opportunities.
• Promote the efficient and sensible use of TIME FRAME Medium-term • Reducing flooding and landslide incidents. ACTION AARBGADAA
natural resources. • Improving groundwater recharge and water OWNER/LEAD
• Create more decent and sustainable jobs.
ACTION New availability.
STATUS POTENTIAL ONRS, EFCCC, development partners (UNEP,
• Future-proof and diversify the economy. • Improving air quality and increasing carbon PARTNERS UNDP, The World Bank, WRI, TNC)
NEXT STEPS • Launch extensive engagement process with all sink.
RELATED Inadequate waste and sanitation, Environmental
relevant actors to secure buy-in for the project • Creating sustainable livelihood and SCALE Citywide
STRESSES degradation, High unemployment
and identify a suitable site. employment opportunities through ecotourism
CONNECTION SDG 8, 9, 11, 12 • Establish the governance of the recycling and agroforestry activities.
TO SDGS revolving fund and operationalize it. • Enhancing collaboration with the surrounding ACTION Scale up
region. STATUS
ACTION Addis Ababa Solid Waste Administration Agency
OWNER/LEAD NEXT STEPS • Establish a joint task force of the Addis Ababa
RELATED Flooding, Landslide City Administration, Oromia National Regional
SHOCKS State, and the EFCCC to oversee the design
and implementation of the program.
• Prepare a detailed work plan and schedule.
39 Addis Ababa Environment Protection Authority and Kotebe Metropolitan University.

(2017). Addis Ababa City State of Environment and Outlook.
130 131
ACTION
42 Modernize solid waste management
Last, and crucially, lack of finance remains a bottleneck for

the sector. Considering the principle of waste as a resource,
there is untapped potential to apply financing mechanisms to
waste collection and disposal, which can help raise additional
financing for the sector and reduce the burden on the City’s
budget.
ACTION DESCRIPTION
The City will launch a program aimed at modernizing its solid
waste management. The program will comprise the following
components:
• Improve solid waste data and knowledge: the City will

conduct several studies, including a comprehensive municipal
waste generation, composition, and characterization study,
a detailed analysis on plastic waste, and a feasibility study of
the application of the “Polluters Pays Principle” (PPP) in waste
Addis Ababa currently lacks reliable and up-to-date data
management.
on waste generation levels and characterization. This in
• Prepare a citywide integrated solid waste management (ISWM)
turn hinders the city’s ability to design effective policies
master plan.
and interventions to address its long-standing solid waste
• Organize training and capacity-building activities for all waste
management challenges. Government actors, SMEs, and
actors on ISWM and safe handling of hazardous waste. In the
informal workers engaged in the sector all have limited
GOAL
Improve the quality of our capacities for managing the city’s growing waste.
medium term, the City will establish a solid waste training and
3.3
research center at Bole Arabsa.
environment
• Construct waste management facilities, including a well-
In addition, the City lacks adequate equipment and facilities
equipped and capacitated waste vehicles maintenance and
to conduct regular maintenance and repair of its waste
repair facility at Repi open dump site, an integrated compost,
collection vehicles, which hinders the timely collection and
biogas, and electricity facility at Bole Arabsa, and a state-of-
disposal of waste. Hazardous waste management is another
the-art hazardous waste management facility that will serve
pressing challenge. To date, there is no facility dedicated
other cities in the country.
to safely handling and disposing hazardous waste in the
• Raise public awareness of waste management problems and
city, posing a great threat to public health. The COVID-19
proper waste disposal that includes waste segregation at
pandemic has highlighted the need to improve the sector’s
household level.
capacity to handle health care waste safely, and to provide
• Partner with health facilities to improve management of
adequate protection to frontline waste workers facing
health-care waste.
increasing health risks.
RESILIENCE • Improving health and quality of life, especially CONNECTION SDG 3, 11, 12, 13, 15
CO-BENEFITS for marginalized groups, including informal TO SDGS
waste pickers. ACTION Addis Ababa Solid Waste Administration Agency
• Reducing environmental pollution and flooding OWNER/LEAD (AASWAA)
risk.
• Diverting waste from landfills and encouraging POTENTIAL Addis Ababa City Manager Office, AAHB, AACRA,
sustainable consumption and production. PARTNERS ONRS, donors (AFD, JICA, WB, UN Habitat).
• Creating job opportunities and supporting the
SCALE Citywide
local economy.
• Improving the city’s image. TIME FRAME Medium-term
• Generating municipal cost savings and
enhancing financial sustainability of city
ACTION New
STATUS
agencies
NEXT STEPS • Design and deliver capacity-building programs
RELATED Hazardous materials release, Disease outbreak,
SHOCKS
for all waste workers on ISWM, health risks,
Flooding
and how to avoid COVID-19 contamination.
RELATED Inadequate waste and sanitation systems, • Develop and launch RfPs for municipal
STRESSES Environmental degradation, Insecure municipal waste characterization, hazardous waste
finances management, and PPP feasibility studies.
• Develop and launch RfP for setting up a
regional hazardous waste management facility.
132 133
ACTION
Build institutional capacity and partnerships to
43 reduce air pollution
monitoring stations installed by the US Embassy. Recently,

INSPIRATION five additional stations have been installed at Merkato, Piassa,
Koshe, Gurd Shola, and Mexico Square. However, the City
does not currently have reliable and up-to-date air quality
data, and lack of adequate real-time and historical data has
SANTIAGO METROPOLITAN REGION (CHILE)
hampered decision-making. Additionally, in-depth studies on
GENERATING AND IMPLEMENTING A COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL WASTE
air pollution and its socio-economic impacts could improve
MANAGEMENT MODEL
general awareness and help shape more informed policies and
strategies for improving air quality.
Since 2005, Chile has had a Comprehensive Solid Waste Management
Policy. In recent years, this has enabled the country to achieve a level ACTION DESCRIPTION
This action seeks to build the institutional capacity and the
of household waste disposal in landfills with health and environmental
partnerships necessary for the successful implementation
guarantees of about 60% at the national level. Progress is being made of Addis Ababa’s Air Quality Management Plan, which is
in implementing a new approach on waste, aimed at reducing waste currently under preparation. It proposes to:
generation and promoting reuse.
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE • Establish additional monitoring stations across the city.
Various air quality policies, regulations, and standards have • Promote research and development on air pollution, its impacts,
Despite these advances, through its Resilience Strategy development been introduced both at the national level and at city level to and monitoring and control systems.
process, the Santiago Metropolitan Region identified solid waste address worsening outdoor air pollution. However, air quality • Assist in drafting legal instruments and legislation of emissions
management as one of the chronic problems facing the metropolitan standards do not have clear implementation guidelines, -reducing mechanisms from multiple sources, including
resulting in poor enforcement. The lack of coordination vehicles, industry, and construction.
area. Waste management challenges have been accentuated by the lack
mechanism between relevant government agencies has • Design and implement capacity-building activities to improve
of central coordination with existing comprehensive long-term waste resulted in disjointed efforts with limited impacts on air quality local technical capabilities.
management plans, a dearth of education on domestic and commercial improvement.40 • Support relevant bodies in accessing funding for air quality
recycling, and the high concentration of illegal landfills and small dump monitoring and improvement actions.
The City has limited air quality monitoring infrastructure and • Assist regulatory institutions by establishing and strengthening
sites in suburbs and vulnerable neighborhoods.
institutional capacity. Until recently, there were only three national and international partnerships on air quality monitoring
air quality monitoring stations across the whole city: one and improvement.
To combat these challenges, Santiago Metropolitan Region is taking a maintained by Addis Ababa University and two air quality
three-pronged approach to generate and implement a comprehensive
regional waste management model:
- Launch a Waste Management Technology Center: Design a center for the

development of new waste management techniques, technologies, markets, and
business models.
- Design and deploy “Santiago Recicla” Waste Recovery Program: Promote integrated
RESILIENCE • Enhancing institutional capacity to monitor air ACTION AAEPGDC
waste management through the implementation of a network of “clean points” in CO-BENEFITS quality and enforce regulatory instruments. OWNER/LEAD
the metropolitan region; renovate existing recycling facilities; launch organic waste • Improving air quality through reducing POTENTIAL AATA, AATB, AAHB, AACB, USEPA, UNEP, UNDP
emissions from the transport, industry, and
recovery plans; develop a waste picker formalization plan; and create mobile apps to construction sectors.
PARTNERS
promote recycling. • Reducing the number of cases of respiratory SCALE Citywide

diseases and associated healthcare costs.
- Implement “Basura Cero” Illegal Solid Waste Landfill and Dump Site Eradication TIME FRAME Short-term
• Making reductions in other environmental
Program. externalities, such as acidic rain and the failure ACTION Ongoing
of buildings and infrastructure. STATUS
- Create a program focused on minimizing illegal load and transportation of waste, as
RELATED Hazardous materials accident, Infrastructure NEXT STEPS • Draft appropriate legal instruments and
well as converting the use of the spaces allocated for waste disposal. SHOCKS failure legislation.
• Support and strengthen air quality monitoring
RELATED Poor Air Quality station selection and establishment.
STRESSES
CONNECTION SDG 3, 11, 13
PLEASE SEE THE SANTIAGO RESILIENCE STRATEGY, PAGES TO SDGS
92-94, FOR MORE INFORMATION.
40 U
NEP and Environmental Compliance Institute. (2018). Addis Ababa City Air Quality
Policy and Regulatory Situational Analysis.
134 135
ACTION
Establish an accredited environmental pollution
monitoring laboratory and data management
44 system
is often unorganized, further limiting the City’s ability to design

and implement evidenced-based environmental interventions.
As a result, worsening environmental pollution (e.g. water, air,
soil, noise pollution) is compromising public health and quality
of life in the city.
ACTION DESCRIPTION
This action aims to improve the City’s environmental
monitoring, enforcement, and planning capacity by
establishing an accredited environmental pollution monitoring
laboratory and data management system within the Addis
Ababa Environmental Protection and Green Development
Commission (AAEPGDC). This action proposes to:
• Set up a state-of-the-art and accredited laboratory, and

RESILIENCE CHALLENGE equipping it with the necessary resources (trained staff,
While various environmental protection legislations, policies, laboratory equipment, vehicles, etc.).
and strategies have been introduced both at the federal and • Conduct regular environmental inspections and take samples
municipal level, environmental protection action in Addis to ensure compliance with environmental protection
Ababa is currently hampered by a lack of planning, monitoring, legislation.
and enforcement capacity of relevant agencies. The absence of • Create an environmental data management system accessible
up-to-standard and accredited laboratory facilities in the city, online to all government agencies as well as non-government GOAL
Embrace risk-aware
3.4
coupled with inadequate institutional and technical capacities end users.
and participatory urban

of regulatory bodies, makes continuous and/or regular • Leverage collected data to produce a periodic State of the
pollution monitoring very challenging. Reliable environmental Environment report, policy briefs, and research to inform
data and information is not readily available, and existing data environmental policy design and implementation.
design practices
RESILIENCE • Strengthening AAEPGDC’s monitoring, POTENTIAL AAHB, Ethiopian Standards Agency, Conformity
CO-BENEFITS enforcement, and planning capacity. PARTNERS Assessment Agency, research and academic
• Reducing environmental pollution, and institutions (e.g. AAU, GeoHealth Hub/TASH),
enhancing biodiversity conservation and development partners (e.g. USEPA)
protections.
SCALE Citywide
• Reducing pollution-related diseases and
improvement in public health. TIME FRAME Medium-term
• Economic benefits from health cost savings.
ACTION New
RELATED Disease outbreak, Hazardous material release STATUS
SHOCKS
NEXT STEPS • Set up a cross-sectoral Working Group, led
RELATED Environmental degradation, Poor air quality, by the AAEPGDC, which will be responsible
STRESSES Inadequate sanitation systems, Poor regulatory for overseeing implementation of proposed
climate interventions.
• Take stock of existing inter-sectoral
CONNECTION SDG 3, 6, 11, 12, 15
TO SDGS environmental data and information from
various city agencies, and identify gaps and
ACTION AAEPGDC needs.
OWNER/LEAD • Identify core features of the environmental
pollution monitoring laboratory and required
resources.
136 137
ACTION ACTION
Improve participatory design in resilient public
45 Design and build green and multifunctional streets 46 spaces
not only found to be deterrents to crashes and injuries, but provided by multifunctional public spaces to protect from
which can also contribute to a more comfortable environment environmental hazards such as flooding and urban heat island
for all users. effect. By adding a resilience lens to public space design and
implementation, Addis Ababa could achieve wider social,
ACTION DESCRIPTION environmental, and economic benefits.
This action aims to integrate green infrastructure into the
design and construction of new and existing streets in Addis ACTION DESCRIPTION
Ababa. Green Infrastructure (GI) consists of a network of This action will contribute to the creation of resilient public
multi-functional natural and semi-natural features that provide spaces in Addis Ababa by proposing a transparent and
ecological services and quality of life benefits. GI elements for participatory approach that considers resilience as a new
streets include green drainage systems (swales, bioretention), planning paradigm.
street trees, rain gardens, and permeable pavements.
More specifically, this action will:
This action will seek to:
• Commission studies that will help identify critical challenges
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE • Design a manual for integrating green infrastructure into RESILIENCE CHALLENGE and opportunities that exist regarding the design, development,
In recent years, Addis Ababa has witnessed an increase in heavy street design and construction, and integrate criteria into Demand for new recreational and green open spaces in Addis and management of resilient public spaces in Addis Ababa.
rainfall and flooding events. The combination of inadequate procurement processes. Ababa is increasing. However, the majority of existing public • Revise existing public spaces design manuals and standards.
drainage, loss of green spaces and associated expansion of • Provide capacity-building and training to relevant city staff on spaces –parks, public squares, cemeteries, river buffers, urban The action will propose a standard design for all types of parks
impermeable surfaces, and clogging of drains and ditches how to integrate green infrastructure into new road projects forests, streets, and road medians – do not reach the desired in the city (i.e. neighborhood, woredas, sub-city, and City parks),
by improper disposal of solid waste, causes flooding on or projects aimed at retrofitting existing roads. standards. Detailed studies have been conducted, and manuals that will be flexible to allow for variations appropriate to each
roads during the rainy season. This, in turn, generates traffic • Launch pilots to demonstrate the technical and financial and guidelines for public space design have been produced type of park. The manual will include key principles for adding
congestion and accidents. Pedestrians are forced to pay for feasibility of the project. by the City, but the recommendations stemming from these a resilience lens to public space design and development.
piggyback rides to traverse roads. • Scale up the integration of GI across the city. activities have not been adequately implemented. The Workshops will be organized to train municipal staff on the
• Involve residents and community groups in both the design participatory process to establish these spaces (either with the revised manual and standards.
Moreover, Addis Ababa’s streets are generally designed and and implementation of green streets, and leverage these community, with design professionals, or with other related • Launch a resilient public space design competition. An open
constructed to move cars rather than people, although the participatory events to improve public awareness of waste stakeholders) has also generally been weak. As a result, the competition will solicit design approaches for resilient public
majority of trips in the city are made on foot. Current street disposal and environmental issues such as flooding. existence and locations of many public spaces are not known spaces adapted to the local context. Submissions will be
design disregards the safety and comfort of pedestrians. • Improve awareness among key stakeholders of the functions to residents, and public spaces are often underutilized. Public assessed against a range of criteria, such as inclusion of a
Pedestrian walkways lack green sheds and buffers, which are and multiple benefits delivered by green infrastructure. spaces in Addis Ababa are also mainly designed with the sole participatory process with the community, and potential for
purpose of providing recreational space for residents. The strengthening the city’s overall resilience (flood or urban heat
City has not fully capitalized on the significant opportunities mitigation, serving as emergency assembly point, etc.).
RESILIENCE • Creating attractive and safe streets for all CONNECTION SDG 3, 6, 11, 13, 15 RESILIENCE Creating a practice for resilient public spaces will: ACTION AARBGADAA
CO-BENEFITS users. TO SDGS CO-BENEFITS OWNER/LEAD
• Improving stormwater management, reducing • Set a standard framework for designing and
ACTION AACRA POTENTIAL AARPO, AAPDCo, AACRA, AAFDRMC, AAEPGDC,
flood risk, replenishing groundwater aquifers, OWNER/LEAD building public parks. PARTNERS AAWSA, MoUDC, EiABC, development partners
and improving water quality. • Promote parks that are not only spaces for
(e.g. 100RC, UN Habitat, C40), CSOs (Ïddïr
• Contributing to urban cooling. POTENTIAL AAPDCo, AARBGADAA, AAWSA, AAEPGDC, recreation, but which address other resilience
PARTNERS Committee, Addis Ababa Resident Forum).
• Improving air quality by trapping pollutants universities, development partners (WB, 100RC, challenges that the city faces, such as flooding.
and enhancing GHG absorption. ITDP) • Promote mental and physical health in urban SCALE Citywide
• Reducing traffic congestion and accidents, residents by providing psychological relaxation
SCALE Citywide TIME FRAME Medium-term
especially during rainy seasons. and stress alleviation.
• Improving the health of our residents through TIME FRAME Long-term • Stimulate social cohesion through physical ACTION Ongoing
the removal of pollutants from runoff water activity. STATUS
ACTION New
and the provision of clean and safe spaces. STATUS
• Provide spaces for respite from air pollution,
NEXT STEPS • S ecure funding and prepare RfPs for proposed
• Creating better public spaces and enhancing noise, and excessive heat.
studies and revision of manuals and standards.
our city’s image. NEXT STEPS • Develop a manual or toolkit to guide the
RELATED Rainfall flooding • Establish a committee to oversee the resilient
design and implementation of green streets
RELATED Flash flooding, Infrastructure failure SHOCKS public spaces competition and develop a
(both new and retrofits).
SHOCKS competition brief.
• Launch pilots to demonstrate proof of concept. RELATED Lack of green space, Environment degradation,
STRESSES • Launch the resilient public spaces competition.
RELATED Traffic congestion, Traffic accident, Inadequate Loss of biodiversity, Poor air quality, Lack of
STRESSES green and public spaces, Urban heat storm or social cohesion, Urban heat island effect, Crime
heatwave, Water insecurity, Poor air quality, and violence
Environmental degradation, Climate change
CONNECTION SDG 3, 11,13 ,15
TO SDGS
138 139
ACTION
47 Launch a tactical urbanism program
ACTION DESCRIPTION
INSPIRATION
This action proposes to launch a tactical urbanism program to
repurpose vacant and underutilized places across the city and
transform them into vibrant public spaces, in partnership with
JUÁREZ CITY (MEXICO) the community. Tactical urbanism is a citizen-led approach
PLAZA JUAN GABRIEL DESIGN COMPETITION to placemaking which departs from the traditional “design-
present-defend” method of planning, and instead uses short-
term, low-cost, and scalable interventions intended to catalyze
The City of Juárez in Mexico has seen a rebirth in the last five years. It
long-term change.
was previously notorious for drug-related violence and crimes against
women, and the urban fabric of the city deteriorated as the citizens Tactical urbanism has previously been applied in Addis Ababa,
of Juárez ceased making use of public spaces. However, the city specifically at La Gare and Sebategna intersections, to test
new designs for making intersections safer for pedestrians.
recently undertook the redevelopment of its downtown historic district,
The proposed program aims to continue and expand this work
and dedicated one of the main plazas to the most famous Juárense to a variety of other public spaces (green parks, playgrounds,
entertainer, singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel. The space acts both as a RESILIENCE CHALLENGE streets, plazas, squares, etc.), across the city.
memorial in his honor, and as a signifier of the resilience of a people Addis Ababa currently has 18 functional recreational parks,
with a total coverage of 113.7 ha. This puts the city’s green area A number of key activities will be implemented to help
putting their difficult past behind them and looking forwards.
coverage at 1.52 m2 per capital, far below the WHO standard generate creative, low-cost, and implementable projects to
of 9 m2 per capita. Moreover, many of the existing public respond to Addis Ababa’s multiple resilience challenges:
In 2017, 100 Resilient Cities partnered with Rebuild By Design and the spaces are fenced off and underutilized by the public.
Municipal Planning Institute to issue an open call for the beautification • Conduct stakeholder engagement (workshops, community
Recognizing the broad environmental, social, and economic asset mapping, etc.) to identify local needs and priorities, build
of Plaza Juan Gabriel. The design competition solicited ideas for low-
benefits provided by quality public spaces, the Addis Ababa community support, and co-design tactical interventions.
cost, high-impact interventions that would be informed by community City Administration has launched several large-scale public • Launch pilot interventions in partnership with the community
and stakeholder input and be connected to the City’s resilience goals. space projects. Many of these projects, however, follow a to test various public space transformation options.
One of the requirements for the proposals was the inclusion of green traditional approach to placemaking, which often requires • Monitor and evaluate the pilots to understand how the project
complex planning processes and major capital investments. intervention is impacting the local area, and design a plan to
infrastructure that could have multiple benefits, such as storm water
Additionally, these public space projects are often designed scale the solution to other public spaces.
management and heat mitigation. Another key input for the proposals and built without adequately engaging the community and
was the result of a placemaking exercise that took place before the end-users.
design competition, in partnership with Gehl Institute. This exercise
included a Public Life Study survey performed by architecture students.
The competition was initially geared toward architecture and design

students from the local university, and later expanded to design firms RESILIENCE • Improving Addis Ababa’s overall image, POTENTIAL AARPO, AAEPGDC, AACRA, AATB, AATMA,
CO-BENEFITS attracting tourism, and supporting local PARTNERS Woreda administrations, residents, schools,
from across the country. The shortlisted teams were required to attend businesses. artists, private sector organizations and civil
• Encouraging people to work together in new society organizations located in the proposed
a public workshop where they showcased their proposals and had the ways, strengthening relationships, and building intervention areas, academic institutions (EiABC,
opportunity to receive feedback from the community. They then had a trust.
• Allowing people to physically experience a
Fine Arts schools)
SCALE Citywide
few weeks to adjust their designs and present their final proposals during different urban reality, “learn by doing,” and
test project ideas before larger investments TIME FRAME Short-term
a public event. The winning design proposal was created by a local firm are made.
ACTION Scale up
of recent graduates. The design eliminated “blind spots” in the plaza, RELATED Rainfall flooding STATUS
SHOCKS
allowing full visibility from any vantage point, and included the installation RELATED Inadequate public parks and recreational spaces,
NEXT STEPS • Conduct a community asset mapping exercise
to identify pilot areas.
of drainage to collect rainwater. The design contemplated adding floor STRESSES Lack of social cohesion, Urban heat island effect, • Organize a co-creation workshop to re-imagine
Environmental degradation how public space could be used.
and wall lighting to the existing small auditorium to improve safety, while CONNECTION SDG 3, 11
• Design the intervention depending on the type
of project and resources available.
the lower part of the auditorium would serve as a rainwater catchment TO SDGS
• Implement a temporary demonstration
ACTION AARBGADAA
area during the rainy season. OWNER/LEAD
intervention and maintain the transformed
space with the community.
140 141
INSPIRATION
SANTE FE (ARGENTINA)
TACTICAL URBANISM ON PARQUE DEL NORTE
A key initiative of Santa Fe’s Resilience Strategy, Parque del Norte involves recovering
and revitalizing 80 hectares of land formerly used as a landfill site, as well as the
municipal Botanical Garden and several other underutilized green spaces. Key features
of the project include building new pedestrian corridors, recreational spaces, sports
facilities, a School of Labor, and a District Governance center. Owing to its extensive
green-blue infrastructure, the park is expected to serve as a reservoir during the rainy
season, making it an important flood mitigation asset. Parque del Norte is envisioned by
the City as the anchor for the wider development of the northern region of Santa Fe, a
previously peripheral area which is now poised for substantial population growth. The
City also plans to attract large-scale public-private investments to build much needed
houses and new neighborhoods to accommodate the growing population.
Since releasing its Resilience Strategy, the City of Santa Fe has been very successful
in using tactical urbanism as a tool for advancing this flagship project with the GOAL
Ensure the provision of
participation of citizens. Tactical urbanism was also the first step in creating the basis
3.5
for communicating the larger initiative and next steps of this district-scale revitalization.
healthy, affordable, and
The City first organized a workshop for community members and leaders to brainstorm
and identify short-term, low-cost, scalable interventions that could add value to reliable food for all
underutilized spaces in Parque del Norte. Nearly 40 participants, including the mayor of
Santa Fe, neighbors of the park, business owners, cultural organization representatives,
and youth groups, took part in the tactical urbanism workshop and proposed ideas to
transform Parque del Norte into an actively programmed neighborhood destination.
The proposed interventions included community programming, public art, furniture,
lighting, and educational activities about resilience, recycling, and botanical gardening.
In addition, community members proposed to remove parking for the main entrance
and create artistic crosswalks to make the park more accessible to pedestrians. The
materials to be used, and the partners to involve, were also determined during the
workshop.
On June 5, 2018 World Environment Day, Santa Fe’s CRO gathered the community to
plan the build-day for the interventions in Parque del Norte. The activities then took
place over the weekend of June 29 as a way to celebrate the one-year anniversary of
the release of Santa Fe’s Resilience Strategy.
142 143
ACTION
Build a sustainable and resilient city-region
48 food system
are of great concern to stakeholders engaged during the

INSPIRATION
strategy process, pose threats to the effective production
and supply of food to residents in Addis Ababa. In addition,
the COVID-19 pandemic and the desert locust invasion
are beginning to disrupt food value chains in Ethiopia and QUITO (ECUADOR)
elsewhere, impacting the livelihoods of farmers and the diets BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEM
of rural and urban households. Recognizing these challenges,
the City has recently launched an initiative to promote urban The City of Quito is embarking on multiple initiatives to strengthen the local food
agriculture in Addis Ababa and tackle food insecurity. This
production system and provide livelihoods to the local community. In 2002, the
provides a unique opportunity to promote a more integrated
Metropolitan District developed AGRUPAR, the Participative Urban Agriculture Project,
approach to food planning and further protect the city’s food
which fosters food production by making use of empty public and private lots. The
system from both known and unknown shocks and stresses.
However, it requires addressing existing data and knowledge initiative is run through ConQuito, the city’s Economic Development Agency. It has
gaps in understanding the risks facing the city’s food system, improved access, availability, and quality of the food consumed, and has allowed
as well as stronger partnership with the surrounding ONRS. participants to generate an income from food production. The district now uses the
RESILIENCE CHALLENGE success of this program as a sustainability indicator, and its practice has contributed to
Price inflation, coupled with low incomes and structural ACTION DESCRIPTION reducing vulnerabilities in the food system.
poverty, have put pressure on residents’ ability to access The overall objective of this initiative is to enhance the
nutritious and healthy food. Lack of access to affordable food resilience and sustainability of Addis Ababa’s food system. AGRUPAR promotes organic production based on agricultural ecology, small species
can have an enormous impact on people’s health. Food price This will be achieved by conducting an in-depth and breeding, direct sale of production surplus, economic and social inclusion of vulnerable
hikes and food insecurity can also exacerbate inequalities and extensive assessment of Addis Ababa’s food system at the sectors, responsible consumption, and an emphasis on a local, fresh, and healthy
lead to civil unrest and discontent. city-region level.
diet. The project provides training and continuing support for agriculture and food
processing for approximately 1,300 gardens (domestic gardens, community centers,
In addition to food affordability, availability and quality are The assessment will comprise a scenario analysis that will
schools, and with services for PWD, children, senior citizens, refugees, immigrants,
also important. Urban encroachment, which is taking away evaluate the food system’s vulnerability to key shocks and
land dedicated to farming and contaminating water sources, stresses (price inflation, transport closure, water scarcity, and other vulnerable groups), where 84% of participants are women. AGRUPAR
constitutes a threat to the city’s fresh food supply. An pollution, etc.). In addition, it will formulate recommendations has 17 weekly markets for direct sale of production surplus, where over 105 types
estimated 40% of vegetables supplied in the city are irrigated for strengthening the resilience of the entire food system, of crops are sold, generating a revenue of US$200-300. It has been estimated that
with wastewater drawn from polluted rivers, resulting in from food production to consumption. participating growers sell 47% of their production and use the remaining 53% for
high levels of contamination in the city’s fresh food supply. their own consumption. The project operates throughout most of Quito, occupying
Excessive flooding and unanticipated droughts induced by Based on this analysis, the City will then develop a strategy over 30 hectares of city property. Additionally, ConQuito offers free and low-cost
climate change further threaten Addis Ababa’s food system for building a sustainable and resilient food system, in close courses on organic urban farming, orchard management, propagation, growing crops
and the livelihoods of actors engaged in the sector, particularly cooperation with the neighboring ONRS. The strategy will in greenhouses, and establishing drip irrigation systems. Quito’s local food production
the 1,300 smallholder vegetable farmers who practice urban include priority action areas with clearly defined baselines, programs have been internationally recognized by the United Nations Food and
agriculture within the city’s boundaries. goals, and metrics. It will be informed by good practices from
Agriculture Organization and the World Future Council.
cities working on protective and resilient food systems across
Shocks such as civil unrest and infrastructure failure, which the globe, and by lessons from the urban agriculture initiative.
RESILIENCE • Stabilized food commodity prices. CONNECTION SDG 1, 2, 3, 8, 11, 13

CO-BENEFITS • Enhancing access to affordable and nutritious TO SDGS
food. ACTION AARPO
• Improved food security, nutrition, health, and OWNER/LEAD
well-being.
• Generating decent jobs and income POTENTIAL Addis Ababa Food Security and Developmental
opportunities, especially for smallholder PARTNERS Safety Net Agency, Ministry of Agriculture (MoA),
farmers and vulnerable groups involved across Regional Bureaus of Agriculture, Trade Practices
the food supply chain. and Consumers’ Protection Authority (TPCPA),
• Fostering stronger linkages and greater Addis Ababa Consumer Associations, AACCSA,
cooperation with surrounding cities and rural Ethiopian Public Health Institute, development
areas. partners (FAO, UNDP, WB).
• Protecting ecosystem services. SCALE Regional
RELATED Riots and civil unrest, Infrastructure failure, TIME FRAME Medium-term
SHOCKS Disease outbreak
ACTION New
RELATED Inflation, Food insecurity, High unemployment, STATUS
STRESSES Poverty, Environmental degradation, Inadequate
waste and sanitation NEXT STEPS • Conduct food system assessment.
• Develop strategy for building a sustainable and
resilient city-region food system.
144 145
Resilient Addis Ababa
Summary of actions
INITIATIVE ACTION OWNER TIMEFRAME STATUS INITIATIVE ACTION OWNER TIMEFRAME STATUS
Goal 2.5. Empower and protect youth, women, and vulnerable groups
26. Shape the next generation of resilience champions through education and MoE, MSHE, AAEB Long Ongoing
Pillar 1. A Smart and thriving city volunteerism
27. Develop a youth empowerment program Youth and Volunteers Short Ongoing
Coordination Bureau;
AALSAB
Goal 1.1. Nourish the ecosystem for innovation and job creation
28. Create safer public spaces for women and girls AAWCAB Short New
1. Enable growth-oriented businesses to thrive AAJOCEDB Medium New
29. Ensure universal accessibility across the city AALSAB; Addis Medium Ongoing
2. Expand the digital jobs program to target youth, women, and PWD AASTA, AAJOCEDB Medium Ongoing
Ababa Persons with
3. Establish an incubator program for start-ups AASTA Medium New Disabilities Association
4. Bridge Addis Ababa’s skills gap AAEB Medium New 30. Build community-based resilience in collaboration with Community Care AALSAB & CCC group Medium New
Coalitions (CCCs)
Goal 1.2. Leverage our existing environmental, cultural, and human assets to help sustain economic growth
31. Strengthen social protection schemes and maximize their integration to AALSAB Medium Ongoing
5. Develop an integrated and sustainable tourism strategy AACTB Short New enhance the resilience of the urban poor
6. Launch a study on the informal economy to develop more effective policy AAPDCo Short New
interventions
Goal 1.3. Foster an efficient and transparent governance for the city
Pillar 3. Healthy and livable places
7. Leverage technology for citizen-centric public service delivery MINT, AASTA Long Ongoing
8. Undertake a study on locally appropriate public participation mechanisms AAPSHRDB Short New
9. Set up a citywide performance reporting and management dashboard AAPDCo Short New Goal 3.1. Provide adequate, safe, and reliable water and sanitation services for all
10. Develop a Smart City strategy and roadmap AASTA Short New 32. Build a Water Resilient City AAWSA Medium New
11. Build a centralized data center AASTA Short Ongoing 33. Establish a Water Fund AAWSA Medium New
34. Enhance water security through improved groundwater abstraction monitoring AAWSA Short New
and regulation
Pillar 2. Connected, inclusive, and safe communities 35. Promote decentralized waste treatment and water-sensitive design AAWSA Medium New
36. Improve sanitation service provision AAWSA Medium Ongoing
Goal 3.2. Manage our resources sustainably
Goal 2.1. Improve quality, access and distribution of affordable housing 37. Develop a sustainable public procurement policy AAEPGDC Short New
12. Apply a resilience lens to the city’s affordable housing program AAHDAB Medium Ongoing 38. Scale up adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels AAEPGDC Medium Scale up
13. Enable the use of resilient and affordable building materials and methods AACB Medium Scale-up 39. Design and implement energy-saving measures AAEPGDC Medium Ongoing
14. Improve construction control and supervision AACB Medium Scale-up 40. Establish a recycling park AAEPGDC Medium New
Goal 2.2. Promote human-centered, efficient, and integrated mobility 41. Develop a participatory mountain range rehabilitation program AAEPGDC Long Scale up
15. Redesign and optimize the city’s bus network AATB Medium Existing Goal 3.3. Improve the quality of our environment
16. Enhance accessibility, safety, and urban integration along the LRT corridors ERC Long Ongoing 42. Modernize solid waste management AASWAA Medium New
17. Manage peak-hour travel demand AATB Long New 43. Build institutional capacity and partnerships to reduce air pollution AAEPGDC Medium Ongoing
18. Explore the future of Addis Ababa’s ring road AACRA Long Ongoing 44. Establish an accredited environmental pollution monitoring laboratory and AAEPGDC Medium New
19. Improve road users’ awareness and behavior AARTMA Long Scale up data management system
Goal 2.3. Develop our capacity to manage risks Goal 3.4. Embrace risk-aware and participatory urban design practices
20. Conduct a comprehensive citywide disaster risk assessment AAFDRMC Short New 45. Design and build green and multifunctional streets AACRA Long New
21. Establish a policy, strategy, and legal framework for citywide disaster risk AAFDRMC Short New 46. Improve participatory design in resilient public spaces AAEPGDC, AARPO Medium Ongoing
management 47. Launch a tactical urbanism program AAEPGDC, AARPO Medium Scale up
22. Prepare Disaster Mitigation and Contingency Plans AAFDRMC Short New Goal 3.5. Ensure the provision of healthy, affordable, and reliable food for all
23. Establish an Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) AAFDRMC Long New 48. Build a sustainable and resilient city-region food system AARPO Short New
Goal 2.4. Foster a culture of resilience
24. Collaborate to launch a Resilience Academy AAPDCo , AARPO Medium New
25. Pilot the Addis Ababa City Currency AASTA Short New
146 147
The Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy is the result of nearly

two years’ extensive research and engagement with different
stakeholders from across the city who are impacted by and
committed to building the city’s resilience.
Following the release of the Resilience Strategy, the next

step will be the implementation of the identified resilience-
building initiatives, further institutionalizing and embedding
resilience into city systems, monitoring progress, and
communicating and amplifying our results and impacts.
An action plan will be prepared to guide the implementation

of the 48 actions of the Resilience Strategy, and will be
Way forward
launched within two to three months following the Resilience
Strategy release event.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for holistic

urban resilience planning. The Addis Ababa Resilience
Strategy has served as a useful roadmap for the City’s
COVID-19 emergency response. It will continue to play a
key role in ensuring that resilience is embedded in recovery
planning. Of the 48 actions discussed in this Strategy, 13
actions will have a key role in supporting current emergency
efforts and advancing a resilient recovery,41 and the
implementation of these actions will be prioritized.
The role of the AARPO in the implementation phase will

primarily be that of a coordinator, integrator, and resource
mobilizer. We will continue to engage with stakeholders
from across the city to build a broad and diverse coalition
for successful implementation of this strategy.
41 Actions 6, 7, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23, 27, 30, 31, 32, 42, and 48
148 149
Call for action Acknowledgements
The Addis Ababa Resilience Strategy would not have been possible without the
We call on all stakeholders in Addis Ababa – residents, government agencies,
contribution of our stakeholders. The Addis Ababa City Resilience Project would
private sector and civil society organizations, academic and research institutions –
like to express sincere gratitude to government, non-government, development
to join us in building a more resilient Addis Ababa.
partners, private organizations, and academic institutions who have been involved
in different capacities throughout the strategy development stage. Your invaluable
comments, suggestions, and support have been instrumental to our success.
If you are a resident, here are some ways you can start contributing to a more
resilient Addis Ababa:
Special thanks go to:
- Practice proper hygiene and - Plant a tree and ensure that it is

physical distancing regularly maintained. Addis Ababa City Administration 100 Resilient Cities, pioneered by the Rockefeller
Foundation
- Obey traffic laws and respect all - Take part in the monthly street Deriba Kuma, Former Mayor, Addis Ababa City
Administration Dana Omran, Managing Director, Africa, GRCN
road users. cleaning campaign, mass sports Assegid Getachew, Former Head of the Mayor’s Caroline Raes, Senior Program Manager, GRCN
event, and car-free day. Office and Cabinet Affairs Bureau Head Fitsum Gelaye, Associate, City Resilience Delivery
Dr. Solomon Kidane, Former Deputy Mayor, Braulio Eduardo Morera, Director, Strategy
- Choose to walk for your health and Economy Cluster; Former Bureau Head, Addis Delivery
to protect our city’s environment. - Save emergency contact numbers Ababa City Transport Bureau Katrin Bruebach, Associate Director, Innovation
Endawok Abite, Deputy Mayor, Social Cluster and for Urban Water, Drainage, and Sanitation,
to your phone and report any Trade; Bureau Head, Industry Bureau Solution Development and Innovation
- Replace plastic bags with reusable emergency promptly. Foeno Folla, Former Bureau Head, Addis Ababa Rebecca Laberenne, Associate Director,
materials such as zembil for Bureau of Finance Innovation in the Built Environment, Solution
Wakuma Abebe, Commissioner, Addis Ababa City Development and Innovation
shopping. - Say no to any form of abuse, Plan and Development Commission Brett Mons, Senior Manager, Strategy Delivery
harassment, or exploitation. Dereje Fekadu, Former Commissioner, Addis Alex Ryan, Senior Manager, Strategy Delivery
Ababa City Government Plan and Development Nicole Bohrer-Kaplan, Senior Manager, Global
- Separate waste materials by type Commission Communications
and dispose them only in dedicated - Actively support the community Eshetu Lemma, General Manager, Addis Ababa Alex Quinto, Associate Designer, Communications
places. policing program to minimize the City Administration Solid Waste Management and Marketing
Administration Agency
risk of crime and violence. Eng. Alem Assefa, Commissioner, Addis Ababa Dalberg
- Use water efficiently and report City Environment Protection and Green
Development Commission Jordan Fabyanske, Partner
leaks immediately to local - Get involved in your community Eng. Zerihun Abate, Addis Ababa City Water and Lilian Kidane, Ethiopia Country Director and
authorities. and volunteer for a cause you are Sewerage Authority Associate Partner
Nesibu Yasin, Former Commissioner, Addis Ababa Herma Gebru, Associate Consultant
passionate about. Fire and Disaster Risk Management Commission Nejat Abdella, Associate Consultant
Tesfaye Abbdisa, Addis Ababa City Road
Authority Addis Ababa City Resilience Project Office
Solomon Wakuma, Addis Ababa City Electric
Utility Daniel Shitaye, Communication and Outreach
Organizations can help make Addis Ababa a more resilient city by taking the Eng. Senait Damtew, Bureau Head, AAHDAB Specialist
following steps: Dr. Frehiwot Gebrehiwot, Bureau Head, Addis Dawit Degefa, ICT Specialist
Ababa Public Service and Human Resource Etsub Assefa, Environmental Specialist
Development Bureau Girmaye Teshome, Environmental Specialist
- Switch to energy-efficient light - Incorporate universal design in all Gomeju Taye, Transport Specialist
Ethiopian Federal Government Khasse G/Kidan, Monitoring and Evaluation
bulbs, and turn off lights and your projects and invest in making Specialist
unplug electronics when not in use. your facility accessible to all. Dagmawit Moges, Minister, Ministry of Transport Nebyou Azabnaw, ICT Specialist
Tesfaye Tarekegn, Ministry of Urban Development Nebyou Bikilla, Socio-economic Specialist
and Construction Temesgen Negash, Environmental Specialist
- Reduce paper use with double- - For government organisations, Wubanchi Teso, Environmental Specialist
sided printing and by holding break silos within your own Local organizations Yohannes Ameha, Environmental Specialist
Yordanos Hailu, Urban Planning Specialist
paperless meetings. institutions, and involve other Dr. Abiy Zegeye, Assistant Professor, Addis Ababa Melkamu Daba, Senior Finance Officer
agencies in joint planning and University Misrak Reta, Finance Officer
Dr. Araya Asfaw, Assistant Professor, Addis Ababa Habtam Eshete, Procurement Officer
- Properly manage waste materials. implementation activities. University Kebebush Lemma, Executive Secretary
Tamirat Gebremariam, Chairman, Addis Ababa Anteneh Haile, Driver
- Look into collecting rainwater or - Reach out to the Addis Ababa Ïddïr Council Amaru Misganaw, Cleaner and Messenger
Mekonnen Kassa, Freelance Consultant Bemnet Hailemicheal, Cleaner and Messenger
installing greywater systems. Resilience Project Office and learn Dr. Yeraswork Admassie, Executive Director, Lidya Wubshet, Cashier
how you can join our coalition of Forum for Social Studies Abdurazak Gorja, Volunteer
First Consult PLC Jodahi B. Petros, Volunteer
- Adopt sustainable procurement partners working to implement this
processes. Strategy.
- Engage with citizens on a routine

basis and integrate their feedback
into your decisions.
150 151
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Image credits
Abinet Teshome (p.35) Hilena Tafesse Ayalew (p.131, 139) Nafkot Gebeyehu/AARPO (p.14, 32, 33,
Ammi Kifle (p.10,11) ICE ADDIS (p.70) 40, 54, 55, 65, 76, 87, 116, 117, 120, 122,
Addis Ababa Fire and Disaster Risk ITDP (p.34,37, 38, 88, 94, 95, 96, 111, 113, 128, 132, 137,148, 149)
Management Commission (p.46, 47, 119, 135, 138) Petros Teka (p.45, 133)
99-103) Kattanapilot, Flickr user (p.83) Ras Eyob Kelali (p.24, 25)
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Brook Fanta (p.26) Muhammad Jamal (p.92)
Centers for Disease Control and NACTO’s Global Designing Cities Various icons from Nounproject (Made,
Prevention (p.136) Initiative (p.41, 141) Chanut is Industries, IconfactoryTeam,
Eyerusalem Adugna (p.114, 130) Nader Adem (p.62, 63) Gregor Cresnar, Jeff Portaro).
Geremew Tigabu (p.119) Nafkot Gebeyehu/Menged Le Sew (Front
Gomeju Taye (p. 90) cover, p.48, 49, 84, 85, 104, 110, 112)
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What are the three pillars of Addis Ababa's resilience strategy?

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ADDIS ABABA

JUNE 30, 2020

Letter from the Mayor............................................................................ 2

Letter from the Chief Resilience Officer............................................ 3

Letter from the Outgoing Chief Resilience Officer......................... 4

Letter from the Global Resilient Cities Network.............................. 5

Addis Ababa’s context........................................................................... 25

Addis Ababa´s resilience challenges and opportunities............... 33

Vision for a Resilient Addis Ababa...................................................... 54

Pillar 1 – A smart and thriving city....................................................... 63

Pillar 2 – Connected, inclusive, and safe communities................... 85

Pillar 3 – Healthy and livable places.................................................... 117

Summary of actions................................................................................ 146

Way forward............................................................................................. 148

Call for action........................................................................................... 150

Takele Uma Benti Dr. Moges Tadesse

LETTER FROM THE GLOBAL RESILIENT

Pillar 1: A Smart and thriving city

that the environment, and most importantly people, are at

Pillar 3: Healthy and livable places

About the Global Resilient Cities The Addis Ababa Resilience

CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER (CRO)

100RC helped to support the development of the Addis Ababa Resilience

City resilience The City Resilience Framework

Bui andar ent

About this Resilience Strategy

Strategy Development Process

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Cross-cutting Themes Discovery Area 2

Addis Ababa’s resilience journey

2016 2017 2018

AUGUST SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Highlights of the stakeholder

Addis Ababa’s engagement with

AARPO PARTICIPATES IN A WORKSHOP

AARPO HOSTED 100RC’S FIRST NETWORK EXCHANGE IN AFRICA WHICH

ADMINISTRATIVE SPATIAL CONTEXT

ADDIS ABABA IS...

WORLD BANK, 2015.

POPULATION ANNUAL POPULATION PROJECTED POPULATION UNDER

3.7 3.8% 5.1 58%

WB, 2015A. ATLAS OF URBAN EXPANSION, 2016.

ADMINISTRATIVE EDUCATION, LIVELIHOOD, AND EMPLOYMENT

ADDIS ABABA IS...

THE SEAT OF THE OROMIA

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION OF ADDIS ABABA

EMPLOYMENT BY MAJOR OCCUPATION, 2015

x 1.2 million MODAL SPLIT

420,000 daily trips

Slum housing makes up nearly housing units needed are

ADDIS ABABA STRUCTURE PLAN, 2017.

WATER AND SANITATION

ACCESS TO SAFE ACCESS TO IMPROVED

SOLID WASTE COLLECTION UN-HABITAT, 2017. UN-HABITAT, 2017.

items, coupled with lower incomes, have put pressure on the

Addis Ababa’s residents also face the challenge of rising costs of

7 N-HABITAT (2010), The Ethiopia Case of Condominium Housing: The Integrated

Summary of our 2.1. Improve quality, distribution, and

13 goals 2.5. Empower and protect youth, women,