Work

Structural tensions limiting success of infrastructure upgrading: A multi-regime perspective

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: Unfettered growth of slums is a daunting transition challenge and many upgrading programs fail to sustainably improve the livelihoods of slum residents. This paper elaborates a transitions perspective on structural tensions that may lead to success or failure of slum upgrading programs. We conceptualize slums as urban subsystems, governed by sociotechnical (infrastructure) and socioeconomic livelihood regimes (related to production and social reproduction). The framework permits examination of the tensions due to mis/alignments of rules associated with newly introduced infrastructures, and those that regulate existing production and social reproduction practices of slum residents. This approach extends transition studies by accounting for the multi-system interactions between different infrastructure regimes (e.g., transportation, sanitation) and livelihoods within a local sociotechnical system. We apply this framework to an in-depth analysis of a slum upgrading project in Naivasha, Kenya, which was part of a national urban upgrading program covering a total of 80 slums. © 2023 The Author(s)

Source: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions

DOI: 10.1016/j.eist.2023.100747

Authors: George Kiambuthi Wainaina, Bernhard Truffer, James T. Murphy

Institutions: Utrecht University, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Clark University

Language: English

Topic: Urban and Rural Development Challenges

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,410