Identifying path-breaking transitions for Kenya’s marginalised communities in water and sanitation provision

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-699
Author(s):  
Wairimu Maina ◽  
Andre van Graan
Keyword(s):  
Pathway Analysis ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Design ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate relationships between stakeholders in the conceptualisation and implementation of water and sanitation services (WSS) projects in marginalised settings of Nairobi and Kiambu Counties. It outlines these relationships in a flow diagram that shows a pathway analysis in which social innovation strategies are used as markers in the program of inclusive water provision. The study’s objective is to map the processes of social innovation in an effort to highlight the role of marginalised communities in their access to the right to water. Design/methodology/approach The paper approached the study using a case study design, and thereafter, constructivist grounded theory was used to further delve into the comparative cases. To map the processes of social innovation, the case study design was seen to be appropriate, as it sequenced activities in a time-series analysis. From these two case studies, four comparative cases were used to pinpoint path-breaking transition in the pathway analysis. The methods used in both phases were, namely, in-depth interviews, observations and document analysis, and these were complemented by field notes. Findings The paper indicates an opportunity to use emergent patterns for a more context-specific analysis of WSS projects in marginalised communities. It advances the role of marginalised communities as vital stakeholders in the approach described as “the right to the city”. The model of spatial appropriation brings to the fore the binary yet separate processes that stakeholders engage in. Research limitations/implications Owing to the use of a grounded theory model, the results may not be transferable to other contexts. Therefore, further testing of the proposed pathway analysis and model is encouraged, as this model suggests ways of ensuring full community engagement which would result in greater success in projects involving marginalised communities. Practical implications The paper has implications for both the government and communities, in that more deliberate roles for the community-based organisation in the conceptualisation of WSS projects can lead to social learning opportunities for government institutions and greater success in implementation. Originality/value The paper justifies the need for government institutions to map and evaluate WSS projects using emergent patterns to highlight the role of marginalised communities as their right to the city.

Placemaking and the right to the city of urban poor: a case studyin Sanandaj, Iran

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-528
Author(s):  
Kayoumars Irandoost ◽  
Milad Doostvandi ◽  
Todd Litman ◽  
Mohammad Azami
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Production Of Space ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

Purpose This paper aims to present a critical analysis of placemaking by the urban poor based on the Right to the City, Henri Lefebvre’s influential theory regarding the production of space and placemaking. Design/methodology/approach This study reflects Lefebvre’s production of space and the right to the city theories and containing three main pillars including holism, the urban and praxis, and the use of spatial dialectics. Also, for collecting information in this research, along with scrutiny of documents and books, residents of the poor settlements of Sanandaj have also been interviewed. Findings In Sanandaj, urban poor who lack formal housing reclaim the Right to City by creating informal settlements. Such settlements, such as Shohada, Baharmast and Tagh Taghan, cover 23% of the city’s area but house 69% of the urban population. Originality/value This research seeks to understand placemaking in urban slums by low-income inhabitants using Henry Lefebvre’s critical theory of social production of space and the Right to the City. This case study examines the city of Sanandaj, Iran, where most residents are poor and live in cooperative informal settlements. It illustrates how the urban poor, as marginalized inhabitants, overcome the constraints of conventional planning and property ownership to creatively and cooperatively develop communities that reflect their needs. This indicates a schism between formal and informal sectors.

scholarly journals Social Innovation in the Built Environment: The Challenges Presented by the Politics of Space

Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Donagh Horgan ◽  
Branka Dimitrijević
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Resilient Communities ◽  
Politics Of Space ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

This paper reports on social innovation systems for building resilient communities within different social and political contexts across four continents. It considers how social innovation in the built environment occurs over phases of network, framework and architecture and explores the linkages with the study of sustainability and resilience. It tracks the emergence of social innovation in response to social, economic and environmental challenges through nine case studies, using ethnography to probe the barriers and enablers of social innovation. Findings reveal the role that politics and ideological governance levers play in planning for sustainable, inclusive communities. An overview of the role of architecture in the politics of space from literature review is provided based both on historical and contemporary sources. Modern commentators who build on concepts such as the ‘Right to the city’ are considered, in the study of how networks can collaborate on frameworks for change that enable social equity in the built environment. Political themes have laid a foundation for both the literature review and investigation in the field—looking to enlightened policy, such as that based around the Right to the city, which may offer a theoretical framework for communities to effect planning and decision-making.

University as a vehicle to achieve social innovation and development: repositioning the role of the university in the society

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lwando Mdleleni
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The University

Purpose This paper aims to explore the role of university in promoting, generating and sustaining social innovation (SI). It aimed to understand how higher education institutions have extended their contribution beyond the traditional function of teaching and research to perform in socio-economic problem-solving. It looks at the kinds of contributions which universities potentially make to SI processes, and the effects that this has on the direction and magnitude of SI, and by implication social development. This was done by drawing lessons from a SI project that the University of the Western Cape has been involved in, i.e. Zenzeleni Networks Project. Design/methodology/approach To address the research question with this framework, the author adopted an exploratory research design using a case study. This research is qualitative, exploratory and descriptive, based on a case study built with secondary data. Findings This paper submits that universities can potentially function as key role players in promoting SI initiatives and fostering social transformations. Universities contribute with different kinds of resources and inputs to foster new SI ideas. Originality/value The paper suggests that socially innovative university projects may contribute to community social sustainability maintaining social cohesion by increasing social capital and providing resources for the empowerment of the marginalised communities. In so doing, they contribute to overcome social exclusion and promote more sustainable forms of development at community level. More research is needed on how universities can build community networks with local community partners, who can use the insights of academic research to replicate interventions and move to scale.

scholarly journals The right to the virtual city: Rural retreatism in open-world video games

2020 ◽  
pp. 146144482091711
Author(s):  
Jack Denham ◽  
Matthew Spokes
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Virtual Spaces ◽  
Open World ◽  
Virtual City ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

This article uses Lefebvre’s spatial triad and his concept of The Right to the City to categorise open-world video games as contested virtual spatial experiences, interconnected with the non-virtual spaces in which they are produced and played and replete with the same spatial, capital forces of alienation to be negotiated and maintained. We use qualitative gameplay data ( n = 15), unpacking players’ journeys through Lefebvre’s conceived, lived and perceived spaces, to show, respectively, how open-world games can be (1) fundamentally about space, (2) spaces interconnected with the non-virtual world and (3) disruptive spatial experiences. In utilising The Right to the Virtual City and our players’ tendency to retreat into the wild spaces of our case study game, Red Dead Redemption 2, we evoke the same alienating forces of commodification and capitalism to which Lefebvre spoke, positioning open-world video games as both contested spatial experiences and opportunities to challenge spatialised inequalities.

The informal city and the future of our cities: towards a manifesto

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Mostafa
Keyword(s):  
Right To The City ◽  
Pattern Language ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future ◽  
Informal Urbanism ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City ◽  
Informal Context ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

PurposeThe New Urban Agenda has catalyzed discussion across academia and practice on how to responsibly position ourselves as key players in the making of the future of our cities. With questions such as what is the right to the city? Who has those rights? What is a city? What is formal and who defines informal? These questions may prompt a need for departure from, or at least a reconsideration of the narrative surrounding formal and informal urbanism. This paper presents a pedagogical approach to addressing these and other questions within the framework of the new agenda. It reviews pedagogical approaches to understanding and learning to design within an informal context. It also foregrounds the process with the theoretical framing of Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language and Timeless way of Building as lenses through which to understand and identify common languages and intersections across the global spectrum of representations of informal urbanism. It then outlines the resultant process and products of a one-week intensive master-class and design charette of international scholars and students focusing on the Informal City.Design/methodology/approachIt reviews pedagogical approaches to understanding and learning to design within an informal context. It also foregrounds the process with the theoretical framing of Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language and Timeless way of Building as lenses through which to understand and identify common languages and intersections across the global spectrum of representations of informal urbanism. It then outlines the resultant process and products of a one-week intensive master-class and design charette of international scholars and students focusing on the Informal City.FindingsThe paper conclusively presents new nomenclature for informality that strives to shift the semantic lens from its current negative connotations to more productive, proactive and positive ones. It also presents an Informal City Manifesto, a call to arms of theoretical framing of how we think about the formal informal divide.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper, in part, outlines the results of a single studio with a small student number. Although diverse in its composition the student body is small.Originality/valueThis new framing could potentially allow us to best leverage lessons and mitigate challenges of the informal city condition, as our human settlements continue to urbanize.

scholarly journals Hidden geographies of social justice in an urban environment: the particularities of naturally-occurring arts districts

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter KUMER ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Right To The City ◽  
Mutual Support ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Cultural Workers ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Arts Districts ◽  
Third Dimension ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

Despite extensive research on the role arts districts play in the economic development of cities, little is known about the dynamics of social interactions within those districts and their impact on society. Drawing on 26 interviews with actors and stakeholders of arts districts in Ljubljana, this paper explores the role of arts districts in creating a just city. Four dimensions of such districts, which represent the meaningful themes that emerged from the data, are examined. The first dimension is the interrelationship of artists, cultural workers and activists. The second dimension encompasses mutual support and forms of self-governance, whereas the third dimension investigates the role arts districts play in the neighbourhood. The fourth dimension seeks to define the role of arts districts as part of urban development generally driven by capital. The results show that arts districts are important in the struggle for the right to the city. Actors from these districts are committed to addressing the causes of social inequality at their root via artist-led civic engagement activities.

Understanding the determinants of festival attendee spending: the role of cultural capital

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Báez-Montenegro ◽  
María Devesa
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ordinary Least Square ◽  
The City ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore which factors determine visitor spending at a cultural festival, focusing particularly on cultural capital variables.Design/methodology/approachThe case study is the Valdivia International Film Festival. Data from a survey conducted amongst a representative sample of attendees at the festival is used and ordinary least square (OLS) and Tobit regression models are applied.FindingsSix of the variables included from the model prove statistically significant: gender, age, place of residence, participation in other activities at the festival, and “leisure and sharing” motivation.Practical implicationsFestival organisers should draw up a programme and prepare activities that are balanced so as to attract local film lovers, but that should also appeal to outside visitors, who would see the festival as an opportunity to enjoy a wider tourist experience, all of which would have a broader economic impact on the city.Originality/valueUnderstanding which factors determine spending leads to an improvement in the event's viability and ensures its future sustainability. This study adds to the growing literature establishing a sound theoretical corpus on the topic.

scholarly journals Pedaleando con Lefebvre por el carril-bici de Sevilla. Por qué no debemos presuponer que las infraestructuras públicas restringen por defecto el derecho a la ciudad.

2021 ◽  
pp. 263-286
Author(s):  
Pedro Malpica
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Urban Intervention ◽  
Urban Cycling ◽  
Per Se ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

The notion —clearly inspired by Lefebvre— according to which public works have per se a coercive character that curtails the inhabitants’ right to the city, should not be applied when evaluating certain infrastructures which actually improve the livability of the urban space, such as those promoting urban cycling. Considering this possible error, it is necessary to examine the repeated exceptions that Lefebvre himself enunciates throughout his work when he characterizes some types of urban intervention that, when fulfilling certain conditions, contribute to the resignification and reappropiation of urban space. We here pursue not only to enumerate these notes by Lefebvre, but to illustrate them taking as a model an urban intervention of great repercussion such as the infrastructure for the promotion of urban cycling in the city of Seville in the first decade of the 21st century, and applying such Lefebvrian contributions to its characteristics. In the confrontation of the different space-producing strategies, some infrastructures —such as the one addressed in this case study— guarantee the right to the city, instead of being, as could be argued from a superficial reading of Lefebvre’s analysis, an element that restricts that right.

Role of leadership and participation

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 238-256
Author(s):  
Rita M. Gallardo
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Leadership Qualities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Leadership ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer pointers to local government executives on the qualities of leadership that drive social innovation (SI) as well as locate the roles of leadership and participation in the output and outcome of SI. Further, the findings of the study can hopefully contribute to the discourse on leadership for a sustainable future. Design/methodology/approach The purpose of the study was to highlight the forms of participation among the actors in the different stages of SI, the qualities of the leaders that drove SI and the roles of leadership and participation in the output and outcome of SI. To answer the research questions, the researcher applied the case study research design and employed the grounded theory approach for data analysis and interpretation. Findings The cases showed leadership that encourages, as leadership qualities of the governors. These were manifested in terms of being empowering, giving the freehand, being goal-oriented, resource mobilizer, consultative and practicing both bottom-up and top-bottom approaches to make sure that the outputs are achieved, as well as having the qualities of a supportive leader. The cases showed all three employed forms of participation, as categorized by Lowndes et al. (2001). Government can indeed foster innovation when there is close involvement and participation of the workforce in innovation. Leadership and participation play a big role in achieving output and outcome of SI. Originality/value The study is a review of the unpublished dissertation by Gallardo (2014) at the National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines.

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