infrahub.africa

Background

‘Menged Le Sew ', meaning ‘Streets for People’ in Amharic, is a car-free day initiative that began in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and has since expanded to other Ethiopian cities. During these events, streets are regularly closed to cars and opened to people, allowing residents to enjoy activities such as cycling, sports, art and music. Seble Samuel, an Ethiopian-Canadian geographer, was inspired by similar initiatives in Latin America and the Open Streets initiative in South Africa. Motivated to bring a similar concept to her hometown of Addis Ababa, she partnered with Muluken Nega to found an NGO called ‘Lem Ketema’, meaning ‘Green City’ in Amharic. They secured an initial $10,000 grant from the US embassy in Ethiopia to pilot the idea.

A search for similar examples in Africa led to a connection with Marcela Guerrero Casas, co-founder of Open Streets Cape Town. During a meeting at an Open Streets exchange for African cities in Cape Town, 'Lem Ketema' collaborated with Addis Ababa's Traffic Management Agency, Transport Program Management Office (TPMO), World Resources Institute (WRI) and other city bureaus, ultimately agreeing to implement the initiative in Addis Ababa. This team, including city officials and civil society members, began meeting weekly, eventually forming a collective with offices like Transport, Health and Youth. By December 2018, the initiative gained national attention when the former Minister of Health announced a national car-free day. Menged Le Sew was officially launched in February 2019, and today 23 streets of different lengths across the city are closed to vehicles on a weekly or monthly basis.

Approach

In cities like Addis Ababa, there is a shortage of public open spaces. Menged Le Sew addresses this issue by transforming streets typically dominated by cars and other motorised vehicles into vibrant areas where residents, especially children, can play and engage in community-building activities like skating, biking, football, street music and public sports events. With 85% of Addis Ababa's residents not owning a private vehicle, the initiative has become extremely popular. Moreover, due to the limited access to public spaces and parks in the city, Menged Le Sew provides many more residents with accessible public spaces - sometimes for the very first time.

Menged Le Sew’s approach is strongly based on the collaboration of various stakeholders with a focus on active participation of communities. This collaboration has been key to securing funding from the city administration, which has been essential for the initiative's sustainability. The Addis Ababa city administration provides the majority of the funding and has taken significant ownership of Menged Le Sew, ensuring its continuity beyond political terms - a model that has enabled long-standing programs like Bogotá's Ciclovía and Quito's Ciclopaseo to thrive for decades. The Traffic Management Agency’s role in blocking streets, rerouting traffic, deploying volunteers, and dedicating staff to the initiative has been crucial for its ongoing success.

Traditional urban planning approaches often rely on top-down planning and neglect community involvement and long-term government commitment. Menged Le Sew's approach ensures the project resonates with the public and meets the needs of different street user groups. Initially, the initiative focused on iconic streets with existing public activities, which helped to attract attention. This quickly expanded to more locations, and more frequent street closures. Aligned with the local government’s broader agenda to shift from car-centered design, Menged Le Sew gained strong support from the local government, contributing to the initiative’s sustainability.

The combination of community engagement and political backing makes Menged Le Sew effective in addressing the needs of Addis Ababa. Over time, residents near the street closures have come to expect these events, and in some cases, residents have organized their own barriers when the city’s street barriers were not in place, showing a deep community investment in the initiative.

Environmental Impact

Although no formal evaluation has been conducted yet, the increasing frequency and number of street closures resulting from this initiative have led many people to avoid using cars on these days, contributing to reduced CO2 emissions and cleaner air in the city. Additionally, the initiative has influenced mobility policies, resulting in the Addis Ababa municipality implementing speed management measures, widening pedestrian walkways and constructing cycling paths in recent years. It has also influenced Addis Ababa’s resilience strategy and Ethiopia's Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) strategy, among others. These efforts collectively promote and support active mobility, further contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions and air pollution.

‍

Success Factors

From the start, the success of Menged Le Sew has relied on the active involvement of diverse stakeholders, including civil society. The project promotes pedestrian mobility and cycling, aiming to create a pedestrian-friendly and sustainable city. Early on, the team invested in community outreach and promotion, using various media channels like radio, TV, flyers, posters and banners to raise awareness about the car-free day initiative. They partnered with environmental and health organizations such as SOS Addis, Hopeful River Project and Noble Cup, which share similar goals. They also collaborated with local community groups like Megabi Skate and Ethiopia Skate to create engaging activities on event days. This inclusive approach allowed different community groups to take ownership of the events, making them active participants rather than just attendees.

What sets this project apart is how it aligns with both community needs and government priorities. By focusing on building a culture of pedestrian-friendly urban spaces, the initiative not only connected with the public but also gained strong support from the local government. The government's commitment to improving infrastructure and the financing from the city administration has been crucial for the initiative’s sustainability. This combination of community ownership and political support makes the Menged Le Sew initiative more effective in meeting the city’s needs than other approaches, ensuring its long-term success.

‍

Evidence

Evolution

Challenges

A key factor in the success of Menged Le Sew has been the strong support from the local government, which recognizes its positive impact on society and the environment. However, expanding this initiative to other cities is challenging due to the slower process of securing similar government support. Gaining full backing from local governments elsewhere will require more promotion and effort to demonstrate the initiative's value. Additionally, different political leaders have been eager to take credit for the project’s success and make it their own flagship initiative. Bringing these parties together to ensure a sustained and continuous effort remains one of the biggest obstacles to its broader expansion.

Learn More