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Featured News

Mathare residents sue slumlord for forcefully evicting his tenants to build massive tenements (Flats)

Honorable justice Isaac Lenaola will be visiting Mabatini village located deep in the Mathare valley tomorrow (18th July 2014 from 10a.m.) to confirm for himself the extent to which Mr. Samuel Ojowa (A slum land lord) has built his 3 massive tenements. This action by the judge was brought about by the hot case filed back in the year 2010 by the Mabatini residents when Mr. Ojowa started forcing out tenants and evicting his adjacent structure owners for his developments. According to Peter Muiruri (the current Mabatini chairman), the slumlord dexterously hijacked the community’s plans to legally acquire the slum-land they had inhabited for over 45years – since the 1970’s.

The efforts by the community members had been ongoing since the year 2007 when they approached University of Nairobi’s department of urban and regional planning and Pamoja Trust (a slum inhabitants’ rights activists) to rightfully prepare a physical development plan for them and submit it to the then City Council of Nairobi in a bid to acquire the land on adverse possession and convert it to a communal lease. This was after an advice from the 

Fri, 2014-07-18 16:55
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Paradox in Emali town

Destroyed Livelihoods in the Name of Development

History: Emali town seats at the border of Makueni and Kajiado Counties. It has a long history, having started as a market point in the late 1800s. Then, the market was mainly for barter trade among the two communities –Maasai and Kamba- in the adjacent hinterlands. The areas’ central location and flat topography contributed to the location being chosen ideal for doing business. The different communities traded in various commodities essential for survival mainly animal hides, grains and livestock. Traditionally the Kamba community in Makueni County were mainly farmers while the Maasai community were largely pastoralist; this in itself provided a base for exchange (trade) of farm produces and animals/ livestock.

The construction of the Mombasa – Uganda Railway in early 1900s and establishment of a stopover at Emali contributed positively to the growth of the town. Likewise, the opening of the Mombasa – Nairobi Highway in the early 1950s boosted the trading node as many road users were able to interact with the town. The town that occupies a total area of 300 square kilometres, is located along the Mombasa – Nairobi highway, about 120 km from Nairobi and 350 km from (and to) Mombasa. It is also a gateway to both Loitokitok (Kajiado County, and subsequently Tanzania) and Wote (Makueni County Headquarters). The towns strategic location has made it a vibrant business node well known for its

Fri, 2014-07-04 10:31
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Solid Waste Management in Nairobi

The Kilimani Project, KUWA, Nairobi City County (NCC), Centre for Urban Research and Innovations (CURI) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) held a student’s meeting at the University of Nairobi aimed at creating a student’s community network to join and facilitate a solid waste management project taking part in Kilimani, Kileleshwa and Kangemi areas of Nairobi. This was the second meeting held since the commencement of the project on 11th November, at Kilimani Primary School.

Tue, 2014-04-22 11:35
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Mukuru Slum Action Research: Outcome Mapping

University of Nairobi (CURI) and partners recently held an Outcome Mapping Workshop from 12th to 15th March at the Thayu Roundvales Hotel, Limuru. The purpose of the workshop was to refine the target outcomes overall strategy for a joint research, code named “Wanavijiji Action Research Project” aimed at Improving Access to Justice and Basic Services in the Informal Settlementsof Nairobi.

Tue, 2014-03-18 19:44
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Events

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Scholarship announcements

Post-Doc for Africans Scholars
Monday, June 16, 2014 - 19:19
[SUPE] Postdoctoral Position in Graduate Program on Urban Infrastructure in Africa
Wednesday, June 25, 2014 - 10:38
GANDHI SMARAK NIDHI FUND - POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP: 2014/2015 ACADEMIC YEAR
Monday, July 14, 2014 - 10:41
GSNF SCHOLARSHIP ADVERT 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014 - 13:24
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From our Blog

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Gated cities of tomorrow? New cities planned from scratch

The long history of cities has it that they have been centres of prosperity and social integration. From the pre historic, all through history to the modern times, cities have continued to exist playing critical roles in human development. Cities have been known to be the centres of urbanism formed by numerous interwoven elements.

Getting Staffing for Devolution Right

In recent adverts counties across the country have moved to recruit professional staff to their governments, setting the stage for devolution takeoff. A few counties have presented fairly comprehensive staffing structure while others have presented somewhat partial and rather disjointed profiles.

Our Parks: Jevanjee Gardens

A common planning trend with old, contemporary and growing urban areas across the world is the setting out of the green spaces. The green spaces or ‘open spaces’ as are commonly referred play a big role in maintaining the social, cultural/ heritage and political value in the urban spaces.

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