This thesis is about the historical and contemporary social, political and economic forces, that have led to the (re)production and (re)construction of spatial injustice, in the consumption of socially valued public urban ...
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This thesis is about the historical and contemporary social, political and economic forces, that have led to the (re)production and (re)construction of spatial injustice, in the consumption of socially valued public urban green spaces in Nairobi. Using an Urban Political Ecology (UPE) framework, the study investigates the structuring forces and actors that have determined and continue to shape, patterns and trends, of use and access, of urban nature reserves in the city. The central research question of the study is, what are the past and present social, political and economic processes that determine use and access of urban greenspaces for different social user groups in Nairobi? The study was guided by three main objectives: (1) To investigate the historical context, that is, social, political and economic dynamics, involved in the creation urban greenspaces in Nairobi; (2) To investigate the past and present, policies and legislations guiding the use, management and conservation of the urban protected areas, as well as the outcomes of the legislations for different social user groups and (3) To examine the social outcomes of non-state actor’s interventions, in the conservation and management of urban protected areas, on use and access of public urban green spaces, for different social user groups. The methodological approach used was environmental history and the social construction of nature. The study collected qualitative data and analysed the information using a critical discourse analysis style. The first argument the thesis makes is that social and spatial inequalities in use and access urban greenspaces in Nairobi is grounded on the city’s colonial urban history, as founded by the British imperialists and developed using institutionalised racial segregation, as the main strategy for urban planning and management. Based on a critical review of the social outcomes, of policies and legislations in the post-colonial period, I make the second argument that the early and middle post-independent governments, continued to reproduce unjust urban greenspaces, by failing to address the oppression and autocracy, built in the structuring forces and institutions, inherited from the colonial government. Therefore, for a long time after independence, further disenfranchisement of vulnerable and marginalised social groups continued, limiting their equitable use and access of socially valued natural resources. The contemporary discourse is that opening up to non-state actors, will increase opportunities for the marginalised and vulnerable social groups, to be empowered in making decisions on sustainable resource use and management. It is believed that this will enable communities to sustainably use and access natural resources, reduce poverty, improve livelihoods, service delivery and enhance conservation and management. Thus, approximately for the past one decade, the post-independent governments have changed their policies, by opening up to public participation in management and conservation of urban nature reserves including in the city. These changes in policy are part of the wider shifts away from the state centred government, towards local empowerment, in line with the recently promulgated Constitution of Kenya (CoK) 2010. The main thrust of the thesis comes here, where I question the assertion that citizen participation will enhance social and spatial justice. Therefore, a larger part of the thesis investigates the social outcomes of interventions by non-state actors in management and conservation of the urban nature reserves, on different social user groups.
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