A city under construction

Something that struck me right away in this city is the construction. Everywhere one looks, buildings are going up and roads are being put in. One big project that affects the core of the city is a partially- elevated rail line that is being built to alleviate traffic and to provide much needed mass transit.
The people I meet all talk about how much and how fast Addis is growing and changing. A good example of this growth and change is my neighborhood. 

The "A" marks the college.

Located on the southeast edge of the city, Hope University College is between two neighborhoods, Lebu and Jomo. (This is considered the remote suburbs by many Addis residents and most taxi drivers, all of whom like to exclaim about how "far away" I live. I also saw four hyenas on the road in front of the college last weekend.)

View of some of the Jomo condominiums.

Lebu (recently very rural) is being transformed by the construction of luxury apartment/condo buildings and some fancy villas. Jomo is a large cluster of public housing. These five-story towers have been the topic of much discussion and debate among our little group of on-campus residents. Some see them as akin to "projects" in American inner cities, while others see them as a reasonable and even desirable solution to the HUGE (and unmet) demand for housing in this city. While not "attractive," they certainly seem safe, and they definitely provide shelter and support vibrant communities. Either way, we all agree that they could use some more open space (for gardens and recreation) and much better services - especially trash collection! 

One aspect of all the construction that fascinates me is the ubiquitous use of eucalyptus poles for scaffolding. The poles are brought in by the truckload and then deposited in piles of various sizes at depots throughout the city. The dominant building materials are concrete and cinder blocks. Each concrete floor is poured onto forms held up by these wooden poles, and the concrete is usually carried up to each floor by a system of wooden pole ramps. It was amazing to watch the intense but efficient labor involved in one of these pours. Pairs of men brought trays of stone, sand, and cement to a mixer, and then other pairs carried the concrete up the ramps. 

There was a big push to complete some of the key road projects for this weekend's celebrations of the African Union's 50th anniversary, but there are so many other projects underway that it's hard to imagine the city feeling "finished" any time soon.