.

1. MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
biography.
Alexandra Thorer studied architecture in Germany and
Japan, focusing on transportation hubs and urban
planning in mega cities. She is currently enrolled in
the doctoral program EDAR at EPFL under the Urban
Sociology Laboratory (LASUR) following its research
directions in ‘mobility’ and ‘urban culture in developing
countries’. Due to her half-Ethiopian origins and interest
in Africa’s rapid development, Alexandra’s research
looks at the urbanization process of African cities under
China’s impact, with a focus on infrastructural mega-projects
and its socio-urban transformation.
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

2. MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION
OF AN AFRICAN
MOBILITY
African cities are currently growing at an enormous rate: the economy
is rising, the building boom dominating the city skyline and entire urban
areas are under construction. Since the past two decades, China is
increasingly involved in Africa’s urbanization process. Fields such as
telecommunication and mobile networking, industry, local manufacturers
and building construction are only a few sectors in which China impacted
Africa’s urban development; particularly infrastructural megaprojects play
a major role. While looking at road and rail construction, the objective is
to understand how these megaprojects affect the urbanization process
in terms of transportation development, change of mobility patterns,
economic growth through land-use transition, social transformation and
reflection upon cultural change.
Due to its drastic development and evolution from a unique urban model
to a new form of an “African City”, Africa’s diplomatic capital - as well as
one of the continent’s fastest growing economic and urban centers - Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia serves as an example for a city being “made by China”.
Hereby the hypothesis of China’s urban “copy-paste” approach is to be
examined.
The current urban mobility transition in Addis Ababa is strongly effected by
the up-coming light rail transit system, which is the first rail-based mass
transportation system in the city. This China-contracted and constructed
infrastructural mega-project will not only change the urban structure and
the image of the city but also affect the mobility pattern of the population.
Consequently, these transportation and mobility transitions simultaneously
change to both spatial and social occurrences.
abstract.
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

3. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

4. CITIES IN AFRICA
ARE FACING MASSIVE CHALLENGES
rapid urbanization: steady annual growth of 3.5%
in the past 2 decades
By 2050 expectedthat 85% of urban population will
live in urban contexts
population growth
housing shortage
poverty
pollution
crime & insecurity
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

5. Rapid urban transformation and rapid population
growth leads to INEFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION
poorly planned roads
lack of mass-transportation
(often bus, mini-bus and taxi networks)
massive congestion
often unsafe due to lack of proper planning
causing environmental problems
(air and land pollution)
large amount of energy consumption
risk of traffic injuries and fatalities
individual motorization cause unequal mobility
chances for the marginalized population
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

6. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
How can African cities expand and develop in a modern,
“urbanistic” way yet facing these challenges?
And how is it actually happening?
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

7. THE CHINA-AFRICA EXCHANGE
colonial planning
post-colonial cities
“neo-colonialism”?
Chinses-African “win-win”-strategy
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

8. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
transportation infrastructure
Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola, Sudan
4 / 27 countries accounting 70% in this sector
(2001-2009)
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

9. case study
ADDIS ABABA
Ethiopia
founded in 1886 by Emeror Menelik II
about 3.5 million inhabitants, predictions say at least
double
political, economic, geographic and social center of the
country
Africa’s diplomatic capital
one of the fastest growing economies in Africa
unique urban model, not colonialized, little segregation
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

10. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

11. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
hypothesis / impact
“CHINAization”
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

12. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

13. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

14. T R A N S P O R T A T I O N
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

15. three transportation infrastructure
examples in Addis Ababa
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
Gotera Intersection
Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway
LRT network
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

16. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

17. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

18. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

19. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
What is the predicted outcome of these massive
infrastructural transportation projects and their
impact on society and the built environment?
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

20. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
inaccessibility
spatial segregation
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

21. inequality
re-use of space
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

22. Demolition of existing areas
“forced resettlement”
tearing apart social structures
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
creation of mobility issues
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

23. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
main concerns
dependency on FDI / China
development too fast
(skipping one generation)
lack of basic infrastructure
(electricity, water, mobile networks)
poor education systems
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

24. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology

25. thank you.
alexandra.thorer@epfl.ch
www.lasur.epfl.ch
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2014
Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London 29 August 2014
MADE BY CHINA:
THE TRANSITION OF AN AFRICAN MOBILITY
Alexandra Belinesh Thorer, PhD student
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Laboratory of Urban Sociology