With the plan to raid Abyssinia and to incorporate it into the African colony, Asmara's cityscape began to change. More and more soldiers were being stationed in Eritrea, and the city had only a short time to manage a rapid increase in its population. Between 1932 and 1936 alone the number of inhabitants rose from 18,000 to 98,000 people.Bader: Faschistische Moderne in Afrika – Auto und Architektur in Asmara, pg. 353 Until 1935, administrative and commercial structures were expanded in order to build up Asmara as a military base for the upcoming war. The village became a bustling administrative city and a trading hub,Bodenschatz: Städtebau für Mussolini, pg. 371 that required its new inhabitants address its rising sanitation, building, transportation, and safety needs. And so, housing, businesses, recreation services, as well as churches appeared out of thin air in a matter of a few short years.
