(Re)making politics in a new urban Ethiopia: an empirical reading of the right to the city in Addis Ababa’s condominiums

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the Ethiopian transition, particularly its social and political dimension based on an urban situation. It contributes to the debate over the right to the city in a dynamic way by articulating the analytical fit between political experiments and city dwelling, which are apparent in an Ethiopian context in a triangle of political emancipation, urban relocation and access to private property. It focuses on the question of access to housing in a recent condominium development on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. The article uses a situated, qualitative and localist approach to analyse the social project of housing policies, and especially the drive to create an urban middle class. It breaks down the profiles and strategies of condominium dwellers and deconstructs the mechanical link between condominium and middle class. Finally, it addresses the capacity of citizens to produce a new social – and potentially a new political – order, or conversely, to reproduce the old socio-political order.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban redevelopment
• middle class
• access to housing
• right to the city
• city dwelling
• social order
• Ethiopia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. De Waal, “The Theory and Practice of Meles Zenawi”; Lefort, “A Response to Alex De Waal.”

2. Chinigo and Fantini, “Thermidor in Ethiopia.”

3. Yukichi Mano et al., “The Cut Flower Industry in Ethiopia.”

4. Di Nunzio, “Do not Cross the Red Line”; Lefort, “The Ethiopian Economy.”

5. Emmeneger et al., “Decentralization to the Household.”

6. Bach, “Abyotawi Democracy”; Vaughan, “Revolutionary Democratic State-Building.”

7. Planel, “A Bureaucratic Developmental State.”

8. Di Nunzio, “What is the Alternative?”

9. Addis Ababa is one of eight cities selected for the DALVAA programme.

10. Ezana Haddis Woldegebriel, “Urban Redevelopment Project.”

11. Ejigu, Places on Becoming.

12. Stonehouse et al., “Housing Risks and the Neoliberal Discourse.”

13. Manochin et al., “Visual modes of Governmentality.”

14. Yntiso, “Urban Development and Displacement in Addis Ababa.”

15. Pankhurst, Piguet, “Moving People in Ethiopia”; Bridonneau, “Déplacer au nom de la sauvegarde patrimoniale.”

16. Tesfa Teferi GebreEgziabher, Development Induced Displacement.

17. Ejigu, Places on Becoming.

18. Haregewoin, “Integrated Housing Development Programs.”

19. Cernea, “The Risks and Reconstruction Model.”

20. For example, Ondakie et al., “The Condominium Scheme as a Strategy.”

21. Olivier de Sardan, “La rigueur du qualitatif.”

22. Di Nunzio, “What is the Alternative,” 1181.

23. Bayart, “Le politique par le bas en situation autoritaire.”

24. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance.

25. Bjerkli, “Governance on the Ground.”

26. Lefebvre, “La Production de l’espace.”

27. Bosredon et al., “Vers une nouvelle ville éthiopienne?”; Pedrazzini, Vincent-Geslin, and Thorer. “Violence of Urbanization.”

28. Ejigu, “Socio-Spatial Tensions and Interactions.”

29. Elias Yitbarek Alemayehu, Revisiting ‘Slums’.

30. Wubneh, “Addis Ababa,” 262.

31. Di Nunzio, “Do not Cross the Red Line.”

32. Lefort, “The Ethiopian Economy.”

33. Lefebvre, Le Droit à la ville; Purcell, “Excavating Lefebvre”; Harvey, “The right to the city”; Parnell et Pieterse, “The ‘Right to the City’”; Huchzermeyer, “Cities with ‘Slums’,” Inter Alia.

34. Holm, “Urbanisme néolibéral ou droit à la ville”; Samara et al., Locating Right to the City.

35. Pommerole, “Routines Autoritaires et Innovations Militantes.”

36. Boudreau, “Taking the Bus Daily.”

37. Nicholls, “Rights through the City.”

38. Uitermark et al., “Cities and Social Movements.”

39. Clapham, “Controlling Space in Ethiopia.”

40. Lefort, “The Ethiopian Economy.”

41. Darbon et al., Les Classes Moyennes en Afrique.

42. Abbink and Hagmann, Reconfiguring Ethiopia; Bach, “Abyotawi democracy.”

43. Nallet, “Les “Classes Moyennes” éthiopiennes dans le Developmental State.”

44. Ibid.

45. Planel and Bridonneau, “Glocal Ethiopia.”

46. Duroyaume, “Addis Ababa and the Urban Renewal,” 407.

47. Haregewoin, “Integrated Housing Development Programs.”

48. Ibid.

49. UN-Habitat, Condominium Housing in Ethiopia.

50. Gumbo, “Microfinance Institutions and Urban Housing.”

51. Tesfa Teferi GebreEgziabher, Development Induced Displacement.

52. Nallet, Classes Moyennes éthiopiennes.

53. Yntiso, “Urban Development and Displacement in Addis Ababa.”

54. Elias Yitbarek Alemayehu, “Revisiting ‘Slums’”; Duroyaume, Addis Ababa and the Urban Renewal.

55. Tiumelissan, Pankhurst, Moving to Condominiums.

56. Yntiso, “Urban Development and Displacement in Addis Ababa”; Gebre, “The Impact of Urban Redevelopment-Induced Relocation”; Tesfa Teferi GebreEgziabher, Development Induced Displacement.

57. Planel and Ficquet, “Ethiopia.”

58. Hilgers, “À qui appartient la ville?”

59. Tesfa Teferi GebreEgziabher, Development Induced Displacement.

60. Chinigò, Historicising Agrarian Transformation.

61. Lefort, “The Ethiopian Economy.”

62. Nallet, Classes moyennes éthiopiennes.

63. Nallet, “Les “classes moyennes” éthiopiennes dans le developmental state.”

64. Ejigu, Places on Becoming.

65. Duroyaume, “Addis Ababa and the Urban Renewal.”

66. Darbon, Les classes moyennes en Afrique, 12.

67. UN-Habitat, Condominium Housing in Ethiopia.

68. Ferguson, “Declarations of Dependence.”

69. Names have been modified to protect identity of our informants. Yonas is a man of 26, tenant (interview conducted on 11 June 2015).

70. Sarina is a 25-year-old female tenant (9 June 2015).

71. Gumbo, “Microfinance Institutions and Urban Housing.”

72. Netsenet is a 48-year-old female, former owner of an apartment in Jemo (11 June 2015).

73. UN-Habitat, Condominium Housing in Ethiopia.

74. Seyfu is a 44-year-old male homeowner (8 June 2015).

75. Tesfay is a 72-year-old male homeowner (15 June 2015).

76. Tefasse is a 73-year-old male homeowner (12 June 2015).

77. Duroyaume, “Addis Ababa and the Urban Renewal in Ethiopia.”

78. See note 69.

79. See note 70.

80. Senayt is a 32-year-old female tenant (8 June 2015).

81. Anderkachu is a 35-year-old female tenant (10 June 2015).

82. Getenet is a 67-year-old male homeowner (8 June 2015).

83. UN-Habitat, Condominium Housing in Ethiopia, 38.

84. Aynale is a 32-year-old married woman, tenant (11 June 2015).

85. UN-Habitat, Condominium Housing in Ethiopia.

86. Ejigu, “Socio-spatial tensions and interactions.”

87. Clapham, “Controlling Space in Ethiopia.”

88. Jigayo is a 43-year-old female homeowner (13 June 2015).

89. Ephrata is the Committee Administrator at Jemo 3 (15 June 2015).

90. Vaughan, “Revolutionary Democratic State-Building.”

91. See note 89.

92. Abeba is a 70-year-old widow, owner (9 June 2015).

93. Mulu is a 26-year-old female owner (11 June 2015).

94. See note 89.

95. See note 89.

96. See note 88.

97. Yirgadew is a 45-year-old female homeowner (8 June 2015).

98. See note 69.

99. See note 70.

100. Selamawit is a 30-year-old female tenant (13 June 2015).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by DALVAA programme ‘Reconsidering the right to the city from a Southern city standpoint – converging perspectives between Sub-Saharan Africa & Latin America’, coordinated by Amandine Spire (Université Paris Diderot), by the French Center for Ethiopian Studies and by the research unit UMR LAVUE.