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Infrastructure Disruption in ‘Silicon Savannah’: Exploring the Idea of the Creative Class and their Relation to Quality of Place in Nairobi, Kenya

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  • Lauren Rosenberg
  • Alan Brent

Abstract

Debates around urbanization, infrastructure disruption and the creative class rarely appear alongside each other in research on African cities. This article connects these different narratives, which are currently exerting their influence on the future direction of these cities. The economic value of the creative class is that their work centres on innovation—a quality seen as essential to ‘new‐economy’ urban growth. Quality of place (that which makes ‘New York New York’) is said to attract the creative class to certain cities, as lifestyle amenities are valued as much as employment opportunities. Nairobi is an example of an African city currently attracting both Kenyan and expatriate creative class workers, particularly in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. In this article we take Richard Florida's creative class theory as a departure point to offer insights into why this group chooses to live in Nairobi and to describe Nairobi's quality of place, with a particular focus on infrastructure disruption. The case study reveals that Nairobi's quality of place differs fundamentally from the normative attributes prescribed by creative class theory and, in some instances, it is considered to be highly frustrating and unattractive.

Suggested Citation

  • Lauren Rosenberg & Alan Brent, 2020. "Infrastructure Disruption in ‘Silicon Savannah’: Exploring the Idea of the Creative Class and their Relation to Quality of Place in Nairobi, Kenya," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 809-820, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:44:y:2020:i:5:p:809-820
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.12895
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ambreena Manji, 2015. "Bulldozers, homes and highways: Nairobi and the right to the city," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(144), pages 206-224, June.
    2. Erik Hersman, 2012. "Mobilizing Tech Entrepreneurs in Africa (Innovations Case Narrative: iHub)," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 7(4), pages 59-67, October.
    3. Jack S. Levy, 2008. "Case Studies: Types, Designs, and Logics of Inference," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 25(1), pages 1-18, February.
    4. Salon, Deborah & Aligula, Eric M., 2012. "Urban travel in Nairobi, Kenya: analysis, insights, and opportunities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 65-76.
    5. Brian Dill & Ben Crow, 2014. "The colonial roots of inequality: access to water in urban East Africa," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(2), pages 187-200, March.
    6. Vivien Foster & Cecilia Briceno-Garmendia, 2010. "Africa's Infrastructure : A Time for Transformation [Infrastructures africaines]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2692.
    7. Jamie Peck, 2005. "Struggling with the Creative Class," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 740-770, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Liza Rose Cirolia & Rike Sitas & Andrea Pollio & Alexis Gatoni Sebarenzi & Prince K Guma, 2023. "Silicon Savannahs and motorcycle taxis: A Southern perspective on the frontiers of platform urbanism," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(8), pages 1989-2008, November.
    2. Jenny Mbaye & ANDY C. PRATT, 2020. "Cities, Creativities and Urban Creative Economies: Re‐descriptions and Make+Shifts from Sub‐Saharan Africa," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 781-792, September.

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