Declining urban green space
Urban green spaces are essential assets in cities. These spaces form a mosaic across the city, a network of parks, sidewalks and the green spaces between buildings. Research from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has explored how the green spaces found within buildings such as government offices, school and hospitals, known as institutional green spaces, have changed over the past 20 years. This research used imagery from Google Earth to map how these unique spaces have changed in the Yeka district of the city.
Despite the limited public access, these green spaces contribute important infrastructure benefits to urban landscapes including carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat and aesthetic appeal. The study looked at 19 institutional compounds within Yeka Sub-City and used primary field surveys, satellite imagery, and GIS data. The findings revealed a 10.86 hectare (equivalent to 8%) decline in green space from 2003 to 2023, primarily attributed to the expansion of built-up areas and an increase in bare land. This loss of green spaces was found to occur most in government facilities, whilst education premises predominantly retained green space.
Research Recommendations
Given the crucial role of urban green spaces for urban ecology and creating climate change resilient cities, the authors recommend five approaches to support sustainable management of green spaces within institutions, especially in rapidly urbanising cities:
- Establish Minimum Green Space Requirements: Urban planners and policymakers should establish minimum green space requirements for institutional plots, particularly for new developments.
- Encourage Connectivity through Green Corridors: Promote landscape design practices that enhance visual and ecological continuity between green areas, even in fenced or restricted-access areas.
- Incentivise Sustainable Land Management Practices: Encourage strategies that incorporate ecological features, such as green roofs, rain gardens, or urban forestry projects through funding or financial incentives.
- Implement Regular Monitoring and Accountability Mechanisms: Undertake surveys or monitoring systems which provide data to support policies and regulations to maintain green spaces within building areas.
- Enhance Public Awareness of Institutional Green Space Benefits: Raising awareness about the ecological and social importance of institutional green spaces could encourage both public and private institutions to prioritise these spaces.
Debebe, Utant, and Alazar Assefa. “The evolution of green spaces within institutional plots in Yeka Sub-City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” Frontiers in Sustainable Cities 7 (2025): 1491781.
