Addis Ababa, November 12, 2026 (FMC) – A city is more than the sum of its buildings. It is the rhythm of its streets, the memory carried by its rivers, the shade offered by its trees and the spaces in which strangers become neighbours.
Its true character is revealed not only in the height of its skyline, but in the quality of life unfolding beneath it.
That is why the global conversation taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, as part of COP31 carries significance far beyond architecture and infrastructure. While the conference is being held under the overarching theme of “Towards a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future,”
November 12 is dedicated to “Resilient Cities and Built Environment,” bringing the future of urban life into particular focus.
As world leaders turn their attention to this subject, a much larger question comes into view: how can cities grow without losing their relationship with nature, become modern without becoming less human, and withstand tomorrow’s climate pressures while improving life today?
Ethiopia has a story to bring to that conversation. In recent years, the country’s urban landscape has been undergoing a profound transformation under the Medemer Government.
What is taking shape is not simply a change in the appearance of cities, but an attempt to rethink their purpose: to make them more liveable, accessible, greener and economically vibrant, while reconnecting urban development with the needs of people and the natural environment.
In Addis Ababa, perhaps nowhere is this transformation more visible than along the rivers. For generations, many stretches of the capital’s waterways were associated with pollution, neglected surroundings and the vulnerability of communities living along their banks. Today, an altogether different urban picture is emerging.
River corridors are being reclaimed as places of greenery, movement, recreation and community life. Waterways that once divided or burdened neighbourhoods are increasingly being woven into the city’s public landscape.
The transformation of the Entoto–Kebena riverfront, extending across 87.6 hectares along a 10.5-kilometre stretch, brings together flood protection, bridges and expansive green public spaces. The more recently inaugurated Kechene–Ambassador–Gihon–Irreecha–Bambis riverside development extends this vision across 351 hectares and 10 kilometres.
Its pedestrian walkways, cycling lanes, playgrounds, public plazas, amphitheatres and sports facilities offer a different way of experiencing the capital. River management, soil and water conservation, and green spaces are integrated with infrastructure and opportunities for local economic activity.
These are not merely beautified riverbanks; they are attempts to return parts of the city to its people and to nature.
There is something deeply symbolic about a river finding its way back into the life of a city. It is a reminder that urban renewal need not mean conquering nature beneath layers of concrete. It can mean restoring the relationship between the built environment and the living systems on which it depends.
A river corridor can become a pathway for people, a refuge for greenery, a place for recreation and a natural line of defence against some of the risks that accompany urban growth.
The wider transformation of Addis Ababa follows a similar ambition. The city’s corridor developments are reshaping streets and public spaces, improving pedestrian access and mobility, and creating new settings for commerce and social interaction.
The purpose of such spaces extends beyond their visual appeal. A walkable street can reconnect neighbourhoods; a public square can give community life room to flourish; a green corridor can soften the hard edges of the urban environment.
When these elements are planned together, the city becomes more than a place through which people move. It becomes a place in which they can live more fully.
Nor is this urban renewal confined to the capital. Corridor development initiatives have expanded to 75 cities across Ethiopia, reflecting a national effort to extend improved urban infrastructure and more liveable public environments beyond Addis Ababa.
The significance lies in the possibility of a broader urban transformation: cities of different sizes and histories seeking to create cleaner, safer and more functional spaces for their residents.
The Medemer philosophy gives this transformation a wider meaning. It places emphasis on bringing people, institutions and resources together around shared national objectives. In the urban context, that means development cannot be measured by construction alone.
Its worth must also be seen in the opportunities it creates, the public spaces it opens, the natural resources it protects and the dignity it affords the people who inhabit the city. A beautiful city that excludes its residents would remain unfinished; a modern city that neglects its rivers and green spaces would be building against its own future.
This is also where the question of resilience becomes inseparable from the question of inclusion. Climate-resilient cities are not made only of stronger roads, bridges and buildings.
They are shaped by the ability of communities to withstand floods, heat and other climate-related pressures; by access to safe mobility and adequate housing; by functioning water and waste systems; and by public spaces that remain accessible to all.
The test of urban progress is ultimately whether the benefits of transformation reach the people whose lives give a city its meaning.
Addis Ababa’s recent international recognition has brought this wider urban story into sharper focus. On October 31, the Ethiopian capital received the 2026 Global Award for Sustainable Development in Cities, known as the Shanghai Award, presented through UN-Habitat and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government.
Selected among five winning cities from 92 applications representing 34 countries, Addis Ababa was recognized for an integrated approach combining adequate housing, green infrastructure, river restoration, safe and accessible mobility, and participatory governance.
The recognition places the city’s experience within a global exchange on how urban transformation can improve resilience and quality of life.
Yet an international award is not the end of an urban journey.
It is an invitation to deepen it. The real measure of recognition will be found in the durability of the improvements, the maintenance of public spaces, the protection of restored ecosystems and the extent to which residents across different neighbourhoods can share in the opportunities created.
Urban renaissance is not a single inauguration or a striking skyline; it is a continuing promise that must be renewed in everyday life.
This is the larger significance of bringing Ethiopia’s experience into the conversation in Antalya.
The world is confronting a common urban challenge, but no single blueprint can answer it everywhere. Each city must find ways to reconcile its history, geography, population and development ambitions with the demands of a changing climate.
Ethiopia’s experience offers one illustration of how river restoration, green infrastructure, mobility, public spaces and economic activity can be brought into a more integrated vision of urban development.
As Antalya hosts the global debate on resilient cities, Ethiopia’s urban renaissance tells a story of renewal rooted in its own landscape and aspirations.
From the hills and waterways of Addis Ababa to the expanding urban horizons of the country’s regional cities, a different relationship between people, infrastructure and nature is being pursued.
Ultimately, the cities of tomorrow will not be judged simply by how much they build, but by what they preserve, whom they serve and how well they prepare for the generations yet to come.
The most enduring urban renaissance is one in which progress does not silence nature, modernity does not erase identity, and development does not leave people behind.
A city truly comes alive when its rivers can breathe, its streets welcome people, its green spaces offer refuge and its future belongs to those who call it home.