Arada Park: How Addis Ababa Transformed Shanty Settlements into a World-Class Urban Landmark

Arada Park stands as one of Addis Ababa’s most ambitious urban transformation projects. Built on land once occupied by informal shanty settlements and aging kebele houses, the park represents a bold effort to reclaim unsafe river corridors and convert them into a modern public space.

This documentary explores the full story behind Arada Park—from the demolition of flood-prone housing and the relocation of residents to safer, modern homes, to the large-scale engineering works that reshaped ravines into landscaped urban corridors.

Today, Arada Park functions as more than a park. It includes basketball arenas, running tracks, bicycle lanes, children’s playgrounds, coffee shops, shopping malls, parking facilities, and wide pedestrian walkways. Located next to the Adwa Victory Memorial Museum, it has become one of Addis Ababa’s most important cultural and tourist destinations.

Through careful analysis and visual storytelling, this film examines the achievements, challenges, and social responsibilities of large-scale urban renewal in Africa’s rapidly growing cities.

This is the story of Arada Park—where environmental risk was transformed into public value, and where Addis Ababa continues to redefine its future.
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