Eva Labrujere

Urbanism

Expression of a possible future scenario for Mathare village 4A

An alternative urban paradigm? Local knowledge and the power of community as a base for sustainable development in Mathare Valley, Nairobi

This project responds to prevailing western-based (re)development practices of informal areas, which are argued to be unsustainable, and indicating our limited epistemological understandings. The aim is to explore an alternative approach: how can local knowledge and a community-based approach lead to a strategic framework towards sustainable development of Mathare Valley? 

The area is considered a manifestation of implicit local knowledge ā€“ a distinct way of arranging space and governance, because it has derived from the subaltern position of the people and the area (ā€˜subaltern urbanismā€™). 

The extensive description of the socio-economic and socio-spatial structures, allowed the translation towards an integrative strategic framework. Here, both planning as design guidelines follow the existing spatial system in order to sustain the peoplesā€™ perception of spatial organisation, and support the materialisation of existing social and economic networks. Moreover, the framework seeks to enable the community to form a multipurpose Co-operation that bridges the informal and formal governance. ā€ƒ

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Master thesis (Repository)