Addis Ababa City Administration Mayor's Office
The Pitch
The Addis Ababa Riverside Project transformed the city’s polluted rivers into clean waterways, parks and accessible public spaces that improve health, reconnect communities with nature and create new economic opportunities. Through ecological restoration and inclusive urban design, the initiative helps reshape how the city lives with its rivers.
The Problem
Addis Ababa’s rivers were dumping grounds for waste and uncontrolled development, severely degrading river ecosystems, spreading waterborne diseases, and leaving millions of residents exposed to toxic waterways and without access to green spaces.
The Process
- Restored polluted river corridors by removing waste, rehabilitating degraded riverbanks, replanting native vegetation and establishing green buffers
- Built inclusive public infrastructure along restored corridors, including pedestrian walkways, cycling tracks, recreational parks, bridges and child-friendly playgrounds
- Applied universal design principles to new developments to improve accessibility for women, children, elderly residents and persons with disabilities
- Worked with local communities through stakeholder consultations and public awareness campaigns to build trust, address fears of displacement and encourage public ownership of restored spaces
- Coordinated action across environment, health and infrastructure ministries, replacing fragmented departmental governance with an integrated, cross-sectoral approach
- Employed local residents directly in construction, landscaping and maintenance roles, prioritizing low-income youth and women
- Piloted the approach at the Peacock River as proof of concept before scaling
- Integrated the initiative with Ethiopia's national Green Legacy tree planting campaign to extend ecological impact beyond riverbanks
- Enacted anti-dumping legislation with enforcement mechanisms and fines to protect restored waterways and institutionalize the project’s environmental gains
The Impact
- Directly benefited 1.3 million residents through the restoration of 69 kilometers of river corridors, reducing exposure to waterborne disease, improving sanitation along riverbanks and significantly enhancing air quality through green buffers and tree planting
- Created more than 10,000 jobs in construction, landscaping and maintenance, with most roles going to low-income youth and women
- Generated new economic activity for small businesses and informal traders along revitalized corridors
- Transformed neighborhoods, including Entoto, Kebena and Peacock, into safer, more active public spaces with pedestrian walkways, cycling tracks, parks, bridges and child-friendly playgrounds
- Drove measurable behavioral change, with more residents choosing to walk and cycle rather than use motorized transport, more outdoor recreation and community gatherings, and greater public awareness of environmental protection and river stewardship
- Positioned the model for citywide expansion across more than 70 streams and tributaries by 2028, with Ethiopian cities, including Bishoftu, Bahir Dar and Dire Dawa, as well as delegations from across Africa, expressing interest in replicating the approach
- Influenced citywide master planning, infrastructure investment and public health policy
