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The missing link for effective informal settlement upgrading: Appropriation shaping the outcome of new infrastructure

Author

Listed:
  • George Kiambuthi Wainaina

    (Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland; Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

  • Bernhard Truffer

    (Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland; Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Infrastructure investments, a core element of slum upgrading, play a role in improving the livelihoods of over 1 billion slum residents globally. Established planning practices often successfully deliver functional infrastructure but evidence shows that their contribution to improved livelihoods often either is absent or declines sharply after some time. To explain this limited effectiveness, this article identifies the missing link between infrastructure delivery and livelihood improvements as lying in the appropriation process, that is, the uptake and embedding of infrastructures into the daily practices of residents. Recent insights from sociotechnical transitions studies help to conceptualise appropriation. The authors use Munyaka informal settlement in Eldoret town, Kenya as a case to investigate the mechanisms of new infrastructure uptake. Findings indicate that appropriation is a social process that proceeds in three steps: reception, domestication and institutionalisation. This process is driven by the need to maintain or adjust residents’ livelihood practices relative to prevailing socioeconomic and spatiotemporal conditions. The study concludes that appropriation is a significant process that planners should try to anticipate. Prevalent approaches to participation have to be modified accordingly. This is essential for planning to improve livelihoods in slums.

Suggested Citation

  • George Kiambuthi Wainaina & Bernhard Truffer, 2024. "The missing link for effective informal settlement upgrading: Appropriation shaping the outcome of new infrastructure," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(12), pages 2309-2327, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:61:y:2024:i:12:p:2309-2327
    DOI: 10.1177/00420980241236077
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cherunya, Pauline C. & Ahlborg, Helene & Truffer, Bernhard, 2020. "Anchoring innovations in oscillating domestic spaces: Why sanitation service offerings fail in informal settlements," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    2. Pauline C Cherunya & Bernhard Truffer & Edinah Moraa Samuel & Christoph Lüthi, 2021. "The challenges of livelihoods reconstruction in the context of informal settlement upgrading," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(1), pages 168-190, February.
    3. Gulyani, Sumila & Talukdar, Debabrata & Jack, Darby, 2010. "Poverty, living conditions, and infrastructure access : a comparison of slums in Dakar, Johannesburg, and Nairobi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5388, The World Bank.
    4. Hesam Kamalipour, 2020. "Improvising Places: The Fluidity of Space in Informal Settlements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Gregory F Randolph & Michael Storper, 2023. "Is urbanisation in the Global South fundamentally different? Comparative global urban analysis for the 21st century," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(1), pages 3-25, January.
    6. Chikaraishi, Makoto & Jana, Arnab & Bardhan, Ronita & Varghese, Varun & Fujiwara, Akimasa, 2017. "A framework to analyze capability and travel in formal and informal urban settings: A case from Mumbai," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 101-110.
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