For the Making Cities Together Design Lab local initiators, international and local urban experts were selected. Three design teams spent a week working on new strategies to positively develop Nairobi’s scarce, poorly maintained and often unsafe public spaces.
Placemakers, local administration and UN-Habitat selected the following cases for the Design Lab:
- a park in the business district
- a network of slum streets
- neighborhood courtyards
The placemaking design strategies were presented to the government, UN-Habitat, organisations and companies such as SNV, DASUDA, Philips and Planning Systems and to the public during an event in a park with more than 200 visitors. A jury of experts selected the strategy ‘MUST SEED’ – upscaling the initiative to improve inner courtyards to the neighborhood’s street network – allowing it to spur development of local vacant factories and commercial spaces, the landfill and train station.
When: May 4 – 8, 2015
Collaboration partners: International New Town Institute – INTI (NL), the International Federation of Housing and Planning – IFHP (DK), UN-Habitat, University of Nairobi, Technical University of Kenya
Sponsors: IFHP en the Dutch Embassy in Kenya
Design Teams: Hoperaisers, Dandora Transformation League, Ma3Route, Avanti Architecture, KUWA, CAVE Architects and Boogertman&Partners
International experts: Paul Currion (SB), Land + Civilization Compositions (NL), Urban CODES (NL), METASITU (ES), Rodeo Architects (NO) and Bantu Studio (SA)
Where: UN Compound in Gigiri and Memorial Park in Nairobi, Kenya
