‘‘Governance of green infrastructure planning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’’

Abstract

Green infrastructure is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas aimed to achieve sustainable development. Its planning and management are determined based on governance approaches. However, studies on the governance of green infrastructure in Ethiopian cities are scarce. This study, therefore, aims to analyze expert's perceptions on the planning and governance of green infrastructure: principles, policy and planning themes, land use regulations, and implementation that are expected to affect the planning and implementation of green infrastructure. A quantitative and qualitative research design was employed to obtain and analyze data. Our result reveals that relying on an authoritarian model of output-legitimacy, sectoral approach, and uncoordinated land-use led to weak governance of UGI. Our findings suggest the need to develop a governance arrangement that incorporates negotiations, participation, and inter and cross-sectoral policy approaches; developing zoning regulations and land use plans and changes in a participatory and transparent manner, and developing green infrastructure-based planning policies are important for the future development of UGI. Our findings could generate scientific debate by identifying the challenges that experts are facing when trying to integrate and implement GI principles in a particular governance context. Applying these green infrastructure planning principles can also guide future GI development efforts not only in Ethiopia but also in other African cities with similar contexts.