Mainstreaming Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) in police and planning in Nairobi: iInstitutional issues and challenges

Paper presented at the 31st Annual Southern African Transport Conference 9-12 July 2012 "Getting Southern Africa to Work", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.Non Motorized Transport (NMT) is a dominant mode of transport in African cities, and there are a number of institutional issues and challenges that confront African governments in mainstreaming the mode into the overall planning of cities. This paper acknowledges the progress made in the mainstreaming of NMT in planning, including inherent institutional issues and challenges, based on preliminary findings from a study on NMT provision in Nairobi. The paper argues that, in spite of several attempts aimed at mainstreaming NMT in policy and planning, the process is confronted with institutional issues and challenges which affect implementation. After an extensive discussion of the NMT drivers, institutional issues and challenges, the paper concludes that there is an innovative trend emerging which bears hope for mainstreaming NMT within the city of Nairobi. As discussed in the paper, there is awareness among various actors of the need to accommodate and integrate NMT into the existing modes of transport. However, a number of challenges impact on this effort, including: the slow pace of processing the National Integrated Transport Policy, an existing biased inclination towards motorised transport, poor coordination of the drivers of NMT, and, poor enforcement of regulations. These constraints make it difficult to conclusively determine the direction of NMT mainstreaming within the city of Nairobi.This paper was transferred from the original CD ROM created for this conference. The material was published using Adobe Acrobat 10.1.0 Technology. The original CD ROM was produced by Document Transformation Technologies Postal Address: PO Box 560 Irene 0062 South Africa. Tel.: +27 12 667 2074 Fax: +27 12 667 2766 E-mail: nigel@doctech URL: http://www.doctech.co.zadm201

Assessing Inequalities in Wellbeing at a Neighbourhood Scale in Low-Middle-Income-Country Secondary Cities and Their Implications for Long-Term Livability

Correction: FEB 15 2022 DOI10.3389/fsoc.2022.856609To ensure future sustainability, cities need to consider concepts of livability and resident wellbeing alongside environmental, economic and infrastructure development equity. The current rapid urbanization experienced in many regions is leading to sustainability challenges, but also offers the opportunity to deliver infrastructure supporting the social aspects of cities and the services that underpin them alongside economic growth. Unfortunately, evidence of what is needed to deliver urban wellbeing is largely absent from the global south. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap through a novel interdisciplinary mixed methods study undertaken in two rapidly changing cities (one Thai and one Kenyan) using qualitative surveys, subjective wellbeing and stress measurements, and spatial analysis of urban infrastructure distribution. We find the absence of basic infrastructure (including waste removal, water availability and quality) unsurprisingly causes significant stress for city residents. However, once these services are in place, smaller variations (inequalities) in social (crime, tenure) and environmental (noise, air quality) conditions begin to play a greater role in determining differences in subjective wellbeing across a city. Our results indicate that spending time in urban greenspaces can mitigate the stressful impacts of city living even for residents of informal neighborhoods. Our data also highlights the importance of places that enable social interactions supporting wellbeing-whether green or built. These results demonstrate the need for diversity and equity in the provision of public realm spaces to ensure social and spatial justice. These findings strengthen the need to promote long term livability in LMIC urban planning alongside economic growth, environmental sustainability, and resilience.Peer reviewe

Inclusive climate resilient transport challenges in Africa

Delivering sustainable and inclusive low-carbon transport is a critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Yet transport infrastructure is vulnerable to the effects of climate change in low-income countries in Africa. This paper explores the status of inclusive mobility and climate-resilient transportation in Africa, focusing on the perceptions and importance amongst key stakeholders, their incorporation into existing practices, and the priority given to making transport more inclusive and climate resilient. A nested scale approach was used that included an online continental survey of 136 respondents from 17 African countries; 2 country-level Focus Group Discussions in Uganda and Zambia; and city-level semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in Lusaka and Kampala using the Delphi method. In addition, an online spatial questionnaire (Maptionnaire) was used to locate where infrastructure improvements were needed, and two city workshops held in Lusaka and Kampala. Providing more active travel infrastructure was a priority for both government and non-governmental groups. This is not connected to climate resilience but to immediate priorities of road safety and health. Our surveys highlighted that climate resilience and inclusive mobility policies are in place, but poor implementation and lack of transparency were undermining outcomes. Upgrading existing infrastructure was more cost-effective and workable than developing new robust alternatives. Lack of knowledge exchange was limiting agencies efforts to tackle this growing challenge. The paper underscores the need to raise awareness of relevant options to improve the climate resilience of transport infrastructure and expand accessible mobility solutions to tackle issues of inclusion and equity in African cities

Assessing inequalities in wellbeing at a neighbourhood scale in low- middle-income-country secondary cities and their implications for long-term livability

To ensure future sustainability, cities need to consider concepts of livability and resident wellbeing alongside environmental, economic and infrastructure development equity. The current rapid urbanization experienced in many regions is leading to sustainability challenges, but also offers the opportunity to deliver infrastructure supporting the social aspects of cities and the services that underpin them alongside economic growth. Unfortunately, evidence of what is needed to deliver urban wellbeing is largely absent from the global south. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap through a novel multidisciplinary study undertaken in two rapidly changing cities (one Thai and one Kenyan) using qualitative surveys, subjective wellbeing and stress measurements, and spatial analysis of urban infrastructure distribution. We find the absence of basic infrastructure (including waste removal, water availability and quality) unsurprisingly causes significant stress for city residents. However, once these services are in place, smaller variations (inequalities) in social and environmental conditions begin to play a greater role in determining differences in subjective wellbeing across a city. Our results indicate that spending time in urban greenspaces can mitigate the stressful impacts of city living even for residents of informal neighborhoods. Our data also highlights the importance of places that enable social interactions supporting wellbeing – whether green or built. These results demonstrate the need for diversity and equity in the provision of public realm spaces to ensure social and spatial justice. These findings strengthen the need to promote long term livability in LMIC urban planning alongside economic growth, environmental sustainability, and resilience