PROJECT AT A GLANCE The Covid-19 pandemic and concomitant government regulations accentuate existing urban challenges, such as economic destitution, health risks and safety problems. People living and working in informal settlements are very vulnerable to Covid-19, as many lose access to (casual) work, supplies of necessities become unsure, unsafety increases and informal living and working conditions deteriorate. However, in light of insufficient government action, space is opened up for community-led initiatives around economy, security and health. Covid-19 offers an opportunity to examine the understudied conditions of frugality and smartness which lead to community resilience in resource constrained informal settings. We define community resilience as the ability of a community to cope with shocks and focus on vulnerabilities related to health, safety and livelihoods.
GOAL OF THE PROJECT Contribute to a bottom-up understanding of how communities in informal settlements become resilient by studying frugality and smartness.
RESEARCH QUESTION How do historically situated smart and frugal people, technologies and modes of governance explain differences in community resilience in Nairobi's informal settlements during Covid-19?
Data Collection The research will compare 4 Mtaas (villages) in two informal settlements in Nairobi. The eastlands of Nairobi are home to the most densely populated informal settlements on the African continent. Hosting upwards of two million people, Nairobi’s settlements are home to the city’s most vulnerable communities crowded onto just 5% of the city’s land, and these communities lack access to virtually all state-run services, including health and public security. In this grim and precarious context, contemporary initiatives build on a long history of community self-organizing, thus making Nairobi a suitable city to explore where and how community resilience emerges and how this is tied to frugal and smart technologies, ideas, practices and strategies around livelihoods and specially safety and health
KOROGOCHO
MATHARE
CFIA PROJECT AT A GLANCE SERIES I SMART & FRUGAL CITIES
Mtaas Interviews per Mtaa