"Diverse Informalities" Spatial Transformations in Nairobi: a Study of Nairobi's Urban Process

The phenomenon of Informal Urbanisation has become the single most pervasive element of city making in developing countries. The city of Nairobi presents such an urban paradigm. It has however been shown that this urban process is heterogeneous and not homogeneous as propagated by many scholars/researchers. This book raises questions about the role of informality on the urban process of the city of Nairobi. From its establishment, Nairobi's urbanisation has always been characterised by dualism; formal and informal. I argue that informal urbanisation is defined by spatial strategies rather than legal/economic distinctions. The book examines the dynamics of the urbanisation process through case studies, in the four categories of informalities; survival, primary, intermediate and affluent. Diverse Informalities have shown that the informal phenomenon is not entirely negative, as it provides some form of urban livelihood for the poor. This book will be a resource to; Academics in urbanism, Architects and Planners. It will also be useful to urban managers/administrators, policy makers and development agencies among others.