Migration has often been identified as a central component of urbanisation, and with the rise of a ‘mobility’ paradigm, whereby movement is recognised as a rising necessity, the focus is on why people move and the nature of such movement. Novel innovations now enable our speed of movement, while services and infrastructure continues to build networks between spaces, people, and opportunities. However, in the case of Sub-Saharan Africa the question has been raised on what happens when urban agglomerations hosting migrants fail to secure livelihoods (see Bryceson, 2011)? Research in migration showcases the articulation of circular patterns of movement, rising rates of return, and greater insecurities in whether goals are achieved. Such raises an additional question – to what extent are those using, adopting, and experiencing, migration becoming stuck within such a mobility paradigm? Further, what do migrants do to get them out of this trap and achieve aspirations? Read more.
Submitted by Gemma Todd — Fri, 03/28/2014 – 11:18
Data has emerged showcasing the latest trends of our demographic shift – the global population now articulates a ‘youth bulge’. The UN-Population Demographic Profile (2010) show children, and ‘youths’, comprise 1.6bn, and 1.0bn, of the population in less-developed regions. The population is younger; and Sub-Saharan Africa is no exception. Attention is now turning to youths: what young people do, what opportunities they initiate for their families and nations, and what it means to be ‘young’ in the developing world. However, an important caveat requires recognition: the focus has been particularly male-focused. Our understanding of girls, within both public and private spaces, remains limited. Such is the debate in this blog post – if we are now looking at ‘kids’ in the city and development, what are the experiences of girls? What can we learn about the city through an engendered perspective? Fundamentally, who is responsible to grant equal rights? Two models of intervention are discussed be, each using alternative methods to provide rights for girls. However, each acts to reinforce the need to improve our understandings on ‘being’ a girl. Read more.
Submitted by Gemma Todd — Mon, 01/20/2014 – 10:08
On the 12th of December, Kenya celebrated Jamhuri (Independence) Day. The event came at the end of a year that played host to a roller coaster of emotions for all those who have a part of themselves invested in this country. Nairobi’s 2013 was a year that witnessed impressive progress in terms of infrastructure development, but in which the government made no significant progress on providing services to the city’s numerous slum dwellers. It was a year in which Nairobians came together in great shows of unity, but also saw neighborhoods turn against each other; a year of victories and pride, but also one of great loss and shame. 2013 was the year in which it became clear to what extent corruption puts everyone’s security at risk and the year that the term “Silicon savannah” began to gain serious traction in the business world. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Katy Fentress — Mon, 12/23/2013 – 00:00
Within development studies a shift has been identified. An increasing sense of consciousness has emerged on whose ideas are being used to theorise development practice, whether they are applicable, and offer effective solutions. The post-development school of thought is centred on deconstructing ‘universal’ ideas of development. Novel viewpoints have emerged which are transforming how the ‘developing’ world is understood and what role citizens of the Global South can play. With post-development thought, urban researchers, and planners, are advancing new thinking to plan inclusive cities in the Global South. In a succeeding event on urbanisation at the African Research Institute, the subject matter was how urban planning in Africa is adapting for the future. Read more.
Submitted by Editor — Thu, 12/19/2013 – 15:32
The September 2013 Westgate crisis was the most recent in a slew of attacks that have rocked Kenya since it began military operations in Somalia two years ago. The blame for this and previous attacks has generally been pinned on the Islamist group Al Shabaab, who claim to be retaliating against what for them is an unjust invasion and occupation of their country. While Eastleigh, a neighborhood in the east of Nairobi that houses most of the city’s Somali immigrants, has borne the brunt of most of these attacks, residents have also experienced a rise in hostility from local Kenyans and harassment at the hands of the police. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Katy Fentress — Mon, 12/09/2013 – 00:00
The internet has quickened the pace of globalization by speeding the flow of information, creating access to new markets and enabling cross-border collaboration. The African continent is witnessing this as fast-growth economies emerge. The McKinsey Global Institute, the think tank of the global business consultancy, has released a series of insightful analyses on Africa’s growing economies and the role of technology. Read more.
Submitted by Tracey Grose — Tue, 11/26/2013 – 11:02
With urbanisation becoming a rising topic on the research agenda it is interesting to see how new models for urban planning, and laws, are being constructed. Recently, an event by the African Research Institute raised such ideas. The speakers introduced how the contextual diversity across Africa required exploration, and consultants need to focus on adapting a checklist of rule making, rather than make the rules, in planning Africa’s emerging cities. Current African cities were presented as ‘un-planned’, or in need of a re-visioned approach to become inclusive and equitable. Urban planning was the solution — a means of enabling tax reform, effective management, and equal rights to the city. However, urban planning law needed to be re-written to work for ‘African cities’. Read more.
Submitted by Editor — Thu, 11/21/2013 – 11:58
In September this year the Kenyan government launched the Uwezo Fund, a 6 billion Ksh. cash reserve (approximately $70 million) aimed at channeling financial resources into the hands of youth and women. Money for the fund was obtained from capital set aside by the Jubilee Coalition during this year’s election campaign, for use in the case of a run-off. The Jubilee Coalition, led by Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Samuel Ruto, pledged that any money that was not spent on the campaign would be channeled into a fund of this sort. Six months after winning the election, they stood by their commitment and announced that the application process for accessing interest-free loans was now open to registered youth and women’s groups. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Katy Fentress — Mon, 11/11/2013 – 00:00
In Kenyan communities that have little of the collateral needed to access credit, a common approach is to set up savings and investment associations known as “Chamas.” A Chama is an informal group, often composed of women, that follows a system by which everyone contributes money on a regular basis and in turn gets disbursed a fixed amount. The method evolved from the tradition of rural women grouping together and pooling their labor to work on each other’s farms. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Katy Fentress — Mon, 10/28/2013 – 00:00
It is widely believed that urbanisation is occurring faster in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world, as migrants move from rural to urban settlements. This is a fallacy. While the populations of numerous urban areas are growing rapidly, the urbanisation levels of many countries are increasing slowly – if at all. Natural increase, rather than net in-migration, is the predominant growth factor in most urban populations. African governments, policymakers and international donors need to acknowledge fundamental changes in urbanisation trends, and respond to the irrefutable messages these impart about urban employment, incomes and economic development. Read more.
Submitted by Editor — Mon, 10/21/2013 – 13:16 