Moving in Nairobi: Walking in Kibera

africanCities, Civic Data Design Lab, Data, Low Density, Territory and mobility

African Cities, African Public Realm, Community, Data, Kenya, Local Awareness, Mobility, Nairobi, Pedestrian realm, Territory&Mobility, Traffic, Transportation, Urbanization

Project team: Sarah Williams, Carmelo Ignaccolo, Dylan Halpern
Contributors: Lambert Coleman (photographer), Paula Aguillera (multimedia producer) Tess McCann
Local partners: Peter Waiganjo Wagacha, Dan Orwa,Jackie Klopp, Steve Osoro, Joe Ndiritu, Nelson Mangwali, James Mshimba, Somba Muchiri, Jackson Mugo, Kevin Karani, Kawera Naitore, Kate Nancy Wanbury.

This is the first in a series of articles which highlights the complexities of Moving in Nairobi through the eyes of four commuters as they walk, ride motorcycles (boda boda), take buses (matatu), and hire Ubers from the wealthy neighborhoods adjacent to the United Nations to the low-income communities in the city center. Three and a half million people move through this East African capital every day, and the lack of coordinated transportation planning often causes the city to grind to a halt. Our first commuter, Somba Muchiri, is a resident of Nairobi’s Kibera district and commutes each day by foot.