Abstract
The city administration of Addis Ababa is undertaking a massive integrated housing development program to address the acute housing problem of the city since 2005. Housing supply is not the only goal of this program; instead, its ultimate desire is to use the Integrated Housing Development Program (IHDP) as a tool to reduce urban poverty, which is the prime problem of the city. Since its launch, the program has supplied more than 100,000 houses to citizens and there are near to 100,000 houses that are under construction and expected to be completed in a half year time. This program has benefited more than 500,000 inhabitants of the city directly by providing decent and affordable housing. As the vision of the program is to address urban problems, the following activities are integrated as components of the program. • Job creation for unemployed residents of the city, • strengthening small scale enterprises involved in the construction industry, • Promoting affordable housing scheme, • Promote targeted subsidy to the urban poor, • Promoting a saving culture of the urban poor, • Upgrade/ renew environmentally polluted areas (slums), • Improve the provision of basic infrastructure including access road, clean water, power, green areas, education and health facilities, and the like, • Promoting innovative and adaptable construction techniques to reduce cost, wastage, and construction time. • Promoting economic usage of the urban land. The paper tries to explain how the program tried to address each of the above issues, which are crucial in tackling urban poverty. An explanation will be given about the importance of political commitment and mobilizing own resource to ensure the sustainability of the program. The program is trying to ensure housing ownership rights to the urban dwellers, which always is the question of the citizens in general and the urban poor in particular. The aim of this paper is to draw lessons from Addis Ababa’s housing development projects and try to show its shortcomings and open dialogues to enrich this housing program that aimed to alleviate urban poverty. It is also obvious that other developing countries can learn from this unique experience in the Addis Ababa government lead IHDP. This program is already acknowledged by UNHABITAT and many counties send delegates to learn from the program.
