VIRTUAL London.

Abstract

In the wake of the threefold global challenges of rapid urbanisation with its concomitant rise in urban population, climate change and the need for both adaptation and mitigation, and rising urban informality – particularly in cities in the global South, this paper explores these interwoven challenges through a case study of a rapidly expanding city in the global South. Nairobi, the city in question, which is not only the capital of Kenya but also the economic hub of Eastern Africa as well as the regional base of several international organisations, in addition to being home to a growing African middle class, particularly manifests the highlighted challenges. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative research in tandem with published sources, the study interrogates the challenges that the city faces in the context of the city’s developer-driven housing re-development schemes that have led to the unregulated radical transformation of low-rise single-dwelling units to high-rise apartment blocks. With the emergent modified urban space vigorously contested, pitting various stakeholders against each other, such as developers, residents, investors and regulatory authorities, the livability of the city is at stake. While the predominantly unsustainable way in which the urban transformation is occurring is underlined in the paper, the emerging opportunities for sustainable outcomes for the city are also underscored. The paper concludes by foregrounding the need for establishing a common ground on which to build a consensus amongst the various stakeholders on the city’s future, whilst aligning with a deliberately designed approach to effectively navigate the pressing challenges.