Urban Governance in African Megacities in a Dilemma between Western and Eastern Development Models
A Case Study of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Nikolaus Knebel (Architect) & Mrudula Kolhatkar (Political Scientist) (2008)
- presented at conference on 'Megacities between Boom and Stagnation - Urban Renewal in the Growing Metropolis of the South' - University of Kassel, Germany
- presented at the joint conference of the European Urban Research Association (EURA) and the Urban Affairs Association (UAA) on 'City Futures 09' in Madrid, Spain
In this urban age megacities are developing in Africa, too. Currently, the world’s poorest continent is experiencing the fastest urban growth. Steering the rapid development of these increasingly large, heterogeneous and complex cities presents a challenge for societies where so few financial, technical and political capacities are found. Therefore, external models and support for urban governance are being sought.
In this global age the West no longer offers the only role model for development to African countries as some East Asian economies have risen from third world to first within the last generation. The former North-South relation of development aid has changed to a new chapter of East vs. West in the South. As in the times of colonialism and cold war, Africa is once again a stage for a global competition between systems.
Today, urban governance in African megacities is in a dilemma of having to decide between a participatory, ‘good governance’ model of input-legitimacy promulgated by Western donors and a paternalistic, ‘soft-authoritarian’ model of output-legitimacy followed by Eastern agencies. These two models of urban governance exert conflicting pressures, e.g. in Addis Ababa - an African 'megacity in the making'.
This paper studies recent urban development policies in Addis and examines their dilemma between Western and Eastern influences. It will focus on the development and implementation of three selected programs:
- The revision of the Addis Ababa Masterplan
- The Addis Ababa City Charter
- The Addis Ababa Grand Housing Program
Thus it is observed that urban governance models of the West suit the complexity demands of a metropolis but as they produce slow and incremental change are likely to be abandoned for quicker and more visible programs. Eastern models, however, manage the metropolitan challenges of size and speed but as they only address isolated problems they lack sustainability in the long run.
Urban Governance in Addis Ababa will have to balance this dilemma for better or worse – a situation that is characteristic for African metropolis in this international era.
