When Heritage Falls Apart
Spatial Justice and Contested Urban Futures
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23311387 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matteo Baraldo (0000-0002-9045-7893, University of Essex, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-25 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-21 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Historic Environment Policy & Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1756-7505 • E-ISSN: 1756-7513 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17567505.2026.2704476 |
| OpenAlex | W7169877237 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 41 |
This paper examines the rapid transformation of Addis Ababa’s historic core, focusing on the Arada sub-city as a case study of urban redevelopment and heritage loss in contemporary Africa. Cultural and architectural heart of the Ethiopian capital, Arada’s vernacular and hybrid built fabric—reflecting Armenian, Indian, European, and local influences—has been subjected to large-scale demolition. Drawing on satellite imagery, GIS mapping, and ground-level photographic documentation, the study traces the diachronic erasure of traditional urban typologies such as gebi and the displacement of thousands of residents. Framed within critical spatial and heritage theory, it argues that redevelopment operates as a form of spatial cleansing that reconfigures social relationships, displaces cultural memory, and legitimises new monumental aesthetics aligned with visions of wealth and modernity. Through collaboration with a local NGO, crowdsourcing and the use of forensic visual methods, the research contributes to debates on spatial justice and heritage sustainability in the Global South. Ultimately, Addis Ababa’s remaking exposes tensions between economic growth and the right to place, revealing how urban development reshapes not only the material city but also the narratives of national identity and belonging.
Context (archaeology) · Economic Justice · Futures contract · Government (linguistics) · Perspective (graphical) · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Urban Planning and Governance · Urbanization and City Planning
Using the Eamena database to document modern heritage
Seeking Spatial Justice
Place and Experience
Forensic Architecture
From Above and on the Ground
Rethinking Informality
The Fate of Place
Maritime Cultural Heritage and Urbanisation in the Middle East and North Africa
Conserving Commons for Whom? Heritage Conservation in Nairobi and Other Places in Kenya
Heritage Exclusivism in Postcolonial Algeria
Future Urban Growth and Archaeological Heritage Management
Addis Ababa’s sefer, iddir, and gebbi
Challenges Facing the Conservation of Historic Buildings Through Local Eyes
Spatial Imaginaries “from the Ground”
Aerial and Spaceborne Remote Sensing in African Archaeology
Built heritage and planning laws in Africa
Spatializing the urban, Part I
Endangered archaeology in Libya
Urban redevelopment, cultural heritage, poverty and redistribution
Monitoring Islamic Archaeological Landscapes in Ethiopia Using Open Source Satellite Imagery
The Act of Living
African urban fantasies
Evictions for development
Justice and the Spatial Imagination
Heritage, Human Rights, and Social Justice
Spatial Cleansing
Rethinking the Landscape
Contesting Spatial Modernity in Late-Socialist China
| Highly cited | No |
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