The call for participatory processes in urban design took centre stage during The GoDown’s Urban Dialogue which took place yesterday. The absence of community participation and the exclusion of the views of the ordinary inhabitants of Nairobi in the urban development process were cited as a major reason for the wide disconnect between what is built in Nairobi, and the actual needs on the ground.   

Each of the panelists brought their perspective based on his or her unique area of practice. The artist, the architect, the community organizer, the academic, the urbanist…each shared detailed observations of what ails the city and its planning processes. And yet, the voices of this small but diverse group of experts were in resounding agreement. People must be at the centre of urban planning efforts.  The theme of the discussion was “Our sources of inspiration for the urban future we want.” The panel was not short on sources of inspiration and hope for an inclusive and sustainable urban future for Nairobi. The panel closed with a strong sense that there is need for more opportunities for expression and collaboration. To move from talk to action which will result in lasting change.

The dialogue was part of The GoDown’s Urban October 2021 activities, and was part of the Nairobi Placemaking Week calendar running until Sunday October 31st, designated World Cities Day. The discussion was moderated by The GoDown’s Executive Director, Joy Mboya 

You can watch the full video using this link: https://fb.watch/8Xyl_cNKZn/ 

When we refer to the creation of safe spaces for women and girls, we are attending to the need to create spaces in which they are not only safe from violence and exploitation, but spaces in which they can safely reflect on their role in shaping their communities, build their capacity and take the necessary steps to self-actualize towards their full potential in a dignified manner. 

The GoDown’s Her City Her Streets project presented one such opportunity.  

The first interaction with the young women was during the initial exploratory walk in July of 2021. They were a diverse group of women and girls whose names had been proposed by various members of The GoDown’s networks of friends and collaborators. The referrals were drawn from the Mukuru Youth Initiative, professional groups such as the Women in Real Estate (WIRE), a group of recent graduates in the Quantity Survey program at the Technical University of Kenya, an aspiring architect and recent high school graduate, representatives of the informal businesses around The GoDown, and other direct referrals to name a few. 

The group could not have been more diverse – education levels, socio-economic background, students, young single mothers, primary school students, recent high school and college graduates and early career professionals. The common factor uniting all of them was the fact that they were young women whose voices are ordinarily missing from urban design. And yet, the city is ostensibly supposed to meet their needs and serve them in their daily living.  

As expected, their first gathering was tentative. They were mostly cautious, sizing one another up, eager to understand the task ahead. They initially stuck in familiar groups, the university girls stuck together, the girls from the Mukuru community did the same, while the girls who came in alone awkwardly tried to find a space in which to fit.  The awkwardness did not last long. The first round of introductions gave us all a glimpse into the diverse personalities in the room. Some shy, others bold and confident, others somewhere in between. Everyone, curious.  

They had all turned up with no promise or expectation of remuneration and no clear understanding of what this opportunity entailed. The fact that they were all direct or indirect referrals from friends and partners of The GoDown meant that there was a significant amount of trust was already being extended.  

What followed that first meeting and subsequent adventures on the streets of Nairobi’s Industrial Area during numerous data collection walks, was a breaking down of barriers and bonding around a task which galvanized the young women. For the first time ever, they were asked to reflect on the conditions of their streets, how they were being used, and how they could be improved to suit their needs. 

The initially cautious and reserved group transformed into one in which voices were being raised to confidently state what was not working and what needed to be made better. The GoDown and the Her City Her Streets Program evolved into a space in which individuals could admit to their own limitations and they could count on their colleagues to lend a helping hand to accomplish the set goals.  

No accounts of what turned out to be shared experiences were off limits. “When I am coming into the city, I will not drink any water before I leave home because I know I will not have any toilet to use until I get to the office.” – Participant “J” 

“Ni lazima uwajue hawa solja ama wenye biashara ili wakuruhusu utimie choo kwa duka yao. GoDown pia imetusaidia sana kwa maana wakati mlikua mmefungua, tulikuwa tukiiingia kwenu kutumia choo. Tunaomba tusaidiwe na maji na choo kwa street ili tuweze kuishi maisha ya heshima. Imagine mwanamke akiwa kwa period yake, imagine vile anafanya bila choo” (“You need to strike up a relationship with security guards and business owners along your street so they allow you to use the toilets and live a dignified life. Just imagine what happens if you are on your period and cannot access these amenities.” Participant “R” 

The atmosphere of trust was bolstered by the clear understanding that women have a right to lead dignified lives, and to speak up to claim it. This is a matter of agency and voice. That these young women were asked to speak into an issue that affects them, to identify challenges, and to propose solutions.  

We at The GoDown look forward to this continued engagement, and to creating an inclusive space (The New GoDown and its neighbouring streets) for all – a microcosm offering a glimpse into the results participatory urban design could produce in Nairobi and beyond. 

What is your vision for an ideal streets in Nairobi? This is the question The GoDown put to a group of young women and girls earlier this year as part of the Godown HerCity HerStreets Project for the redesign of Dunga and Dundori Roads in Industrial Area. The roads are both adjacent to the main GoDown Arts Centre space which is currently under redevelopment.  

Yesterday, The GoDown presented the model of the redesigned streets to the project participants who have been using digital platforms, including Minecraft, to document their vision for more usable and inclusive streets.  

Their feedback, which they finally saw in digital model form during an online event hosted by The GoDown yesterday, was aggregated into a model of a truly 21st century African street.  

It can be seen how greenery, which topped the participants’ list of priorities, will completely transform the microclimate of the area around The GoDown. Benches, recreational areas, zebra crossings, toilets, street art, coloured pavements, waiting areas and street lighting, would all contribute to the emergence of user-centred streets which are multipurposed and inclusive.  

The participants also indicated the need for clean, potable tapped water, water fountains, trading spaces, food kiosks and, importantly, bicycle parking.  

Yesterday’s presentation was a virtual event held on Zoom and Facebook platforms, with a small group of young women gathering at the Mukuru Youth Initiative Hub to access the live broadcast. 

The HerStreets engagement is part of The GoDown Transformation Project which will not only see the redevelopment of the GoDown space but envisions an inclusive city arising out of inclusive design processes and creation of accessible, multi-purpose, public use spaces in Nairobi. The project engagements have included stakeholder gatherings, street data collection exercises, an ideation workshop using the Methodkit tool, and a Minecraft design and presentation workshop. The process has emphasized the value of cultural infrastructure in the development of inclusive cities, and the role of cultural spaces in facilitating robust community engagement and partnerships.  

The project is being delivered through a partnership with UN Habitat, Her City, The Block by Block Foundation and more. The GoDown’s redesign process has seen the engagement of numerous stakeholders including local architects, PLANNING Systems Services Limited and Swedish architectural firm, White Arkitekter.

Follow this link to partner with The GoDown in our redevelopment. www.godowntransforms.org

The world continues to mark what has been dubbed International Women’s month! Part of those celebrations were the Women in Real Estate’s 2022 Legends and Leaders Awards Event held on Friday March 11th. The floral-themed event was held under the banner: “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”. The annual event celebrates role models and trailblazers in the built environment.   

Among the awardees was The GoDown’s Executive Director, Joy Mboya, who was feted as a ‘Legend in Social Impact’ for her work in consistently promoting participatory processes in the development of inclusive and sustainable cities, and cultural infrastructure.  

The GoDown Arts Centre, now in its nineteenth year of operation, is in the process of developing its new, civic-scale centre at our property along Dunga Road in Nairobi’s Industrial Area. The design of the new centre has employed a participatory approach, building on a foundation of input from members of the various communities with which The GoDown interacts and from the neighbourhood in which it sits. This approach has been used in the design of the new building itself, and in the re-design of the streets abutting our property, namely, Dunga and Dundori Roads, through the Her City#HerStreets Project.  

 HerCity is a UN Habitat Program which promotes the development of inclusive and sustainable cities by incorporating the voices of girls and women in urban design.  

 The GoDown’s HerCity#HerStreets Project could aptly be described as an urban acupuncture project which is relatively small in scale but is a socially and environmentally catalytic intervention into the city’s fabric aimed at transforming the larger urban context. 

The keynote address was given by wildlife conservationist and Wildlife Direct Executive Director, Paula Kahumbu. 

“The community is a reservoir of knowledge and capacity.”

This message was the heart of the presentation by The GoDown at UNESCO’s CONFINTEA VII Conference earlier today. We were making our contribution during a hybrid workshop on “Building a Resilient Learning City for a Resilient Society”

The workshop, organized by UN-Habitat and the National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) in the Republic of Korea, brought together diverse stakeholders to explore the educational value of participatory designing and planning processes of public spaces, including through digital innovations.

Team members Joy Mboya, MK Mbugua and Rehema Kabare made our presentation highlighting how citizen engagement in city and neighbourhood planning can accelerate the localization of SDGs and strengthen life-long learning for urban resilience.

Through our experience with the Her City Her Streets Project, carried out in collaboration with UN Habitat’s HerCity Project and our partner architectural firm, PLANNING Systems, we examined the big picture of community participation in public space planning and design as a non-traditional learning opportunity for urban populations. Sharing the overview of the project, the process and the user perspective, our presentation emphasized the essential value of participatory processes in sustainable urban development and highlighted how cultural centres are uniquely positioned at the intersection between the diverse stakeholders, including the ordinary city resident, policy makers and urban planners.

Our emphasis was on the capacity and will of the community to articulate its own challenges and develop workable solutions, both necessary to achieve sustainable urban development.

The workshop also heard from specialists in lifelong learning, including from the Mayor of Yeonsu, South Korea, Mr Nam-Seok Ko who shared on his city’s journey with lifelong learning for resilience.

We are living on a rapidly urbanizing continent and in a rapidly changing world. The need for appropriate and efficient local action supporting economic, environmental and social sustainability as well as resilience to climate change requires a shift towards “learning cities”. In these cities, different actors from the local government to community members collaborate to take ownership and autonomy in transforming urban, public, and digital spaces. These participatory approaches ensure inclusive protection of urban communities and enhancement of urban systems which safeguard local educational spaces and learning, including cultural centres such as The GoDown as spaces of exploration and self-expression. 

Nakuru is one of the 49 cities to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network following their designation by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in November 2021.  

 The cities in the network are recognized by UNESCO for their commitment to place culture and creativity at the heart of their development and for sharing knowledge and good practices.  

Thespian Maina ‘Barbushé’ Gichohi played a leading role in the process applying for the UNESCO designation, believing in the potential of culture and the arts to transform Nakuru’s economic future. 

(Nakuru by night, image by Amu Kay)

The artist shared that one of the biggest challenges they faced in pushing for the designation was demonstrating its value to the county government. The process lasted four years before the designation was conferred.  

Speaking during The GoDown’s 3rd Urban Dialogue addressing Culture and Sustainable Urban Development, Barbushé, who serves as the Vice Chair of the Nakuru City Players, highlighted the different ways in which the cultural and creative sector adds value to the city. He pointed out the benefits of being included in the network such as increased branding and visibility; opportunities to engage and learn from other members of the network.  

(Image: Nakuru Players Theatre Facebook Page)

He shared with GoDown Urban Dialogue participants that the impetus for pushing for the designation came from the artists themselves. Affirming The GoDown’s position that communities can identify their own challenges and to develop the solutions, Barbushé explained that the artists saw the value in the designation, pointing out a clear connection between culture, the economy, and livelihoods. 

The GoDown underscores cultural diversity as an outstanding source of exchange, innovation, and creativity, with great potential to accelerate sustainable urban development.  

Cultural diversity offers a unique opportunity to reconcile the economic and social aspects of development by enabling communities and creators to make a living from their work while promoting their local cultures. 

The designation is of particular significance when one considers that Nakuru, like many other cities and towns around Kenya (and, indeed, Africa) emerged as a result of colonial activity and offered locals only restricted access to spaces and activities within them. 

Barbushé pointed out that before independence, many of the cultural spaces in the city were strictly reserved for Europeans, effectively locking local Africans out of owning and defining them and the ways in which they were used. This included the Nakuru Players Theatre which is an important part of the city’s cultural identity today. 

The doyen of theatre says that the designation further energizes the re-imagining of all the spaces in the city where everyone can participate in the arts.  

(Nakuru Players Theatre under renovation in 2016. Value for the arts and culture are most directly reflected in a commitment to investing in cultural infrastructure. )

Nakuru is rich in tangible and intangible heritage, including significant discoveries of activity involving pre-historic man, and spaces such as Hyrax Hill and the Kariandusi Museum. 

The GoDown hosted this 3rd Urban Dialogue as part of the activities of its Urban Division and in line with our overarching objective of “Shaping contemporary Kenyan identities by promoting, generating, documenting and disseminating endogenous narratives and knowledge”. Our organization is committed to promoting the role of culture and cultural institutions in sustainable urban development and community-centred approaches to change.