"Preface" di Addis Abeba At the root of a disputed flower

For more than a century, Addis Abeba has been the engine of Ethiopia's urban development. In the alternations of three models of State (imperial, socialist, and federal), it has benefited from the interaction between traditional and modern ways of life as well as from rural-urban exchange. A nexus acknowledged by a rich tradition of urban studies and by planning experience that has no equal in African cities. Here, the impact of different planning approaches on the urban development, as well as cultural exchanges implied or derived, are discussed.