Browsing by Author "Omenya, A"

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    A networks approach to understanding the role of the market and the State in housing: the cases of Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg South Africa
    (2005) Omenya, A
    This paper outlines the concept of 'housing networks' to reveal housing problems in the context of Johannesburg, South Africa, and Nairobi, Kenya. It first defines housing networks and outlines areas of knowledge where the 'networks concept' has been used. The paper then develops a case for the application of 'networks' in understanding urban housing problems, focusing on the roles of the State, the market and civil society. It explores resource origins, allocation, flows and destination in low-income housing in Nairobi and Johannesburg. It argues that the networks for land delivery make land inaccessible for low-income households in both cities. The means of accessing finance for housing available to the poor tend to be exploitative despite government regulation in the case of Johannesburg. Provision of infrastructure, services and social amenities ignore the collective resources of low-income households. Labour and sweat equity concepts are misplaced in light of cheap labour and unemployment, particularly in Nairobi. Building standards, materials and technology favour the upper-income groups despite allowance in both cities for lower building standards. Key lessons and conclusions are drawn in conclusion
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    A Networks Approach to Understanding the Role of the Market and the State in Housing: The Cases of Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa
    (2008) Omenya, A
    This paper presents an outline case for use of ‘housing networks concept’ to unpack housing problems in the context of Johannesburg, South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya. It begins by defining housing networks and outlining areas of knowledge where the ‘networks concept’ has been used. The paper then develops a case for application of ‘networks’ in understanding urban housing problems, focusing on the roles of the state, the market and civil society. It explores resource origins, allocation, flows and destination in low-income housing in Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa. The paper argues that the networks for land delivery make land inaccessible for the low-income in both cities. The means of accessing finance for housing available to the poor tend to be exploitative despite government regulation in the case of Johannesburg. Provision of infrastructure, services and social amenities ignore the collective resources of the low-income. Labour and sweat equity concepts are misplaced in light of cheap labour and unemployment, particularly in Nairobi. Building standards, materials and technology favour the upper- income despite allowance in both cities for lower building standards. Key lessons and conclusions are drawn at the end.
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    Understanding the tipping point of urban conflict: the case of Nairobi, Kenya
    (Urban Tipping Point, 2012) 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.