School of Architecture and The Built Environment
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/905
2024-03-28T16:32:32ZSemantic markup of information on sanitation initiatives in informal settlements
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1001
Semantic markup of information on sanitation initiatives in informal settlements
Obonyo, Esther; Omenya, Alfred
The fundamental problem with the ‘traditional’ Web is: information is designed for human
consumption and even with the evolution of powerful search engines, information filtering
still remains a task that requires significant human involvement. Consequently, any
application that is designed to use Web-enabled technologies will eventually encounter
problems related to ‘information overload’ and ‘digital anarchy’ (the latter problem emanates
from lack of interoperability across systems especially in different organisations).
This paper describes a conceptual framework that addresses these issues using emerging
Semantic Web Technologies. The framework will focus on demonstrating the potential
benefits of using semantic markups and ontologies to augment Web content for Sanitation
initiatives in informal settlements using the experience in Nairobi as a test case. It will
address problems arising from the sheer scale and diversity of data on sustainable sanitation
practice through the use of the Semantic Web technologies. The conceptual framework
presented in this paper will be further defined through an iteration of workshops with the
stakeholders and expanded into a platform for semantically matching a controlled taxonomy
for Sustainable Sanitation for informal settlements.
2006-01-01T00:00:00ZUnderstanding the tipping point of urban conflict: the case of Nairobi, Kenya
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/991
Understanding the tipping point of urban conflict: the case of Nairobi, Kenya
Omenya, A; Lubaale, G
This research studies the tipping point of urban conflict in Nairobi, Kenya. It employs the concepts of tipping points and violence chains. The research studies various types of conflict and violence at city level through literature and in three of Nairobi’s hotspots: Kawangware, Kibera, and Mukuru settlements, through participatory violence appraisal (PVA). The research shows that the most significant type of violence is political violence. However, cumulatively, other types of violence, namely landlord-tenant, domestic and economic violence, are more significant. Focusing on political violence alone makes other types of violence invisible. The study shows that political violence in Kenya is rooted in colonial times in historical inequity in access to resources, and perpetuated in post-colonial times through the mediation of ethnicity. The study unpacks roles of institutions in tipping conflicts into and out of violence; it shows that an institutional analysis of actors involved in tipping conflict into violence and vice versa is important in preventing violence. It identifies the tipping points at sub-city level and shows the complex ways in which these types of conflict and violence are interlinked through chains. Breaking these violence chains is critical to preventing conflicts tipping into violence. A key way of breaking the chains is improving the overall governance framework. Further the study shows that violence in Nairobi’s sub-city is spatially linked. Thus identification of violence hotspots is critical in dealing with violence; and spatial improvements such as slum upgrading initiatives, taking into consideration hotspots, can go a long way in preventing conflict tipping into violence.
2012-01-01T00:00:00ZTheoretical conceptualisations of urban segregation and their relevance to housing in post-apartheid South Africa
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/981
Theoretical conceptualisations of urban segregation and their relevance to housing in post-apartheid South Africa
Omenya, A
2003-01-01T00:00:00ZSlum upgrading initiatives in Kenya within the basic services and wider housing market: A housing rights concern
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/980
Slum upgrading initiatives in Kenya within the basic services and wider housing market: A housing rights concern
Huchzermeyer, M; Omenya, A
2006-01-01T00:00:00Z