Challenges and oppOliunities fOl- the development and management of urban green areas in Addis Ababa: The Case of Cooperative Housing Green Areas and Street Trees in Nifas Silk Lafto Sub-City
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Date
2012-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
As urban green areas are centers of public recreation and rendezvous, they should be
incorporated in the c ity master plan in order to get proper ma nagement and development.
In add ition, th eir management and development should base the pla nned and active
participation of stakeho lders and sound loca l strategic practices. On the con trary, these
urban areas, especially cooperative housing green areas and street trees in Addis Ababa
are fac ing pro blems re lated to their deve lopment and management. The prime objectives
of th is study are there fore to lind out chal lenges and oppoltun ities fo r the deve lopment
and management of cooperative housing green areas and street trees by ana lyzing the
current loca l strateg ic practices and stakeho lders' in vo lvement in Nifas Si lk Lafto Subcity.
The research employed mixed rcsearch methods a nd used questi onn a ire, in-depth
interview, focu s group discu ss ion, observation, and desk review for data coll ect ion.
About 130 sampled households pa lticipated in filling the quest ionna ire. Government
officia ls a nd other stakeholders participated for interviews and focus group discussions.
The findin gs of t hi s study shows lack of awareness in the public and government
emp loyees, weak in sti tutio nal capacities, lack of coord ination among stakeholders and absence of clear ownerships and enforcement mechani sms were revealed as the major
challenges that affected the development and management of cooperative housing green
areas and street trees. Regarding the practices of local strategies, cooperative hou sing
green areas a re developed an d managed by the members of cooperative and Iddirs, but
the finding of the study revealed that as this strategy is not more effecti ve due to lack of
awareness and property deed about the areas. On the other hand, street trees are
developed a nd managed by BPCDM offices of the sub-city and woredas wi th the
invo lvement of other stakeholders; however, the strategy was implemented at minimal
level and constrained by lack of awareness, in su fficient fo llow up by the concerned
BPCDM expel1s, and absence of awards to volunteers.
Fina lly, to develop and manage these green areas by ex pl oi tin g the exist ing opportunities,
the study recommends that the good wil l, the coordination, and efforts of all stakeholders
including communities, government authorities, and non-governmental bodies should be
enhanced a nd coord inated.
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Keywords
urban green areas