New-Infrastructure: the LRT in Addis Ababa and its socio/urban transformation

Due to its drastic development and evolution from a unique urban model to a new form of an “African City”, Africa's capital city Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was presented as an exemplary city pointing out issues evolving from rapid urbanization and the implementation of Chinese mega-projects in the infrastructural sector. Like elsewhere in the continent, China's impact cannot be underestimated, especially in road and rail construction, which is leading to an entire urban as well as social transformation of the city. Based on this phenomena, the presentation shows one key project concerning the construction of Addis Ababa’s first light-rail transit system (LRT) which a) effects the mobility patterns of the people and simultaneously b) the production of space within the built environment.