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Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia Biblical Seminary, 1988. / Abstract. Bibliography: leaves 106-111.

This proposal for GoDown Arts Centre invites you to enjoy an open and transformable architecture in a large shaded oasis. It is dressed in layers of thin curtains of glass, or mixed materials, suspended in wires between the floor slabs. Some spaces are fully visible, others are veiled, or protected behind opaque walls. The building has many different faces speaking freely in its manifestation of Nairobi's cultural diversity. As one enters the building on ground level one can see a pool: its water reflecting the light of the atrium, improving air humidity, or indoor temperature. It can be rainwater collected by the large roof. Moreover, the pool can be deep enough for high-diving from platforms on the first floor. In fact, some sports have more in common with the arts than with other sports, and Nairobi's many cultures, or tribes, share traits, or interests, in spite of borders caused by geography, history, social differences etc.. Curtains of Nairobi is, therefore, a centre for art beyond borders. It provides the current activities with new spaces (approx. 2000 m2), plus adds 3000 m2 of new studios, offices, workshops, a restaurant, a pool, a 900 seat auditorium, and a roof garden. / Detta förslag till GoDown Arts Centre inbjuder dig till en öppen och föränderlig arkitektur i en stor skuggig oas. Byggnaden är klädd i lager av tunna gardiner av glas, eller blandade material, upphängda i vajrar mellan bjälklagen. Vissa rum är fullt synliga, andra är beslöjade, eller skyddade bakom ogenomskinliga väggar. Byggnaden har många olika ansikten som talar fritt och manifesterar Nairobis kulturella mångfald.  När man kommer in i byggnaden på marknivå kan man se en pool: dess vatten reflekterar atriets ljus, förbättrar luftfuktigheten, eller inomhustemperaturen. Det kan vara regnvatten som samlas in av det stora taket. Dessutom kan poolen vara tillräckligt djup för simhopp från första våningen. För vissa sporter har mer gemensamt med konst än med andra sporter, och Nairobis många kulturer, eller folkstammar, delar många drag, eller intressen, trots gränser orsakade av geografi, historia, sociala skillnader etc.. Nairobis Gardiner är en byggnad för konst bortom gränser. Den erbjuder den nuvarande verksamheten nya rum (ca 2000 m2) plus ytterligare 3000 m2 med nya studios, kontor, verkstäder, en restaurang, en pool, ett auditorium med drygt 900 sitplatser, och en takterrass.

The aim of this report is to attempt to find out the genesis of the persistent conflict in Kibera informal settlement, Nairobi Kenya. A number of defining factors in Kibera such as religion, ethnicity, economic factors and citizenship are analyzed in an effort to understand the 2001 conflict. One of the salient findings is that Kibera had been a precarious settlement since colonialism and its volatility in post independent Kenya was a perpetuation of what the colonialists established. There is focus on the theories of ethnicity as a prism for interpreting politics of conflict in Kibera. None, however, could adequately account for the 2001 conflict. The conflict defied the drama of monocausal explanations. However, the prebendary brand of politics dominant in Kibera served to entrench poverty while enriching a select few. From both historical and archival information concerning land, land had been under contestation in both colonial and post colonial periods not only in Kibera but also in Kenya as a whole. Lack of political will within successive governments to address the land question in Kibera is one of the leitmotifs of this report. From the analysis of data gathered from the field, it emerged that at the core of the 2001 conflict, was a struggle over land ownership and other resources thereto. Populist politics was largely to blame for the clashes in the area in 2001. The running theme is that as long as there was massive poverty in Kibera, it would be hard to contain persistent tensions in the settlement.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / This study explores the challenges of urban planning for poverty reduction that are faced by public institutions in urban Kenya. The existing studies in urban planning show that very little is known about these challenges. However, it is well acknowledged that globally urban poverty has increased at rates much higher than rural poverty. Indeed, poverty presents a dilemma for policy makers and citizens in Sub-Saharan African cities such as Nairobi and raises questions as to why poverty continues to grow despite the implementation of urban plans, policies and poverty reduction programmes. As a largely uncharted research area, it was necessary to explore the problem in significant depth; thus a qualitative research methodology was adopted to explore the case study of the Local Authorities Service Delivery Action Plans (LASDAP) in Nairobi’s Viwandani ward. Data were gathered and triangulated by means of focus groups and in-depth and semi-structured interviews. These were supplemented by key informant data, document reviews and an extensive review of urban planning and political science literature. A total of ninety-nine people including sixty-six men and thirty-three women participated in this study. The respondents were drawn from communities in Viwandani, city planners and other staff from the City of Nairobi, central government, and politicians. To analyse these data, a range of analytical techniques, namely a hybrid of categorisations, data displays, pattern matching and in some cases theoretical propositions were applied. These generated a set of themes for discussing the challenges of urban planning from the case study. The results were cross-checked with interview respondents and key informants and then validated in key feedback consultations in the study communities. This study shows that a long tradition of “power over the constitution”, embodied by the notion of an imperial presidency not only imposes one’s will over the people, but also can virtually destroy institutions. This study also finds that the legal framework for urban planning in Kenya is anchored in stakeholders’ involvement that only pays lip service to citizen’s participation and to accountability. Since the old Constitution was not supportive of participation and accountability, the planning predictably restricted space for citizen participation and did not provide for significant accountability by public officers. Therefore, the participation in the LASDAP in Viwandani was simply a sophisticated form of manipulation of citizens that is conceptualised as facipulation in the study. Facipulation here refers to the facilitation of a project to give the impression that citizens have the power to influence decisions of the state while at the same time being manipulated to ensure that the covert interests of powerful actors in the state are not undermined. The study reveals that challenges which public institutions face in urban planning for poverty reduction are both multi-layered and complex. The results show that the institutional framework for implementing the LASDAP in Kenya was by design defective in planning for poverty reduction. The study further reflects that the processes of constitutional development affect the form and types of political institutions established for urban planning. To achieve an urban planning framework for poverty reduction, therefore, institutional reform processes should be cognisant of and address the insidious power represented by the reluctance to shift the current institutional framework away from the status quo. The framework should also be aligned to the aspirations as expressed in the recently promulgated Constitution. In this Constitution citizens of Kenya are vested with all sovereign power and power is to be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution.

Yes / This report on Nairobi is one of 13 case studies (all of the case studies are available at www.bradford.ac.uk/cics). This research draws upon secondary data sources including existing research studies, reports and evaluations. The analysis and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of DFID or the UK government.

This is an exploration of the circle through the lens of the African vernacular. The geometric circle is inherently rule based and requires only objective, geometric manipulation. The archetypal circle is subjective, an interpretation based on given characteristics of roundness. The archetypal circle is where abstraction and exploration occur. The plan of traditional African vernacular architecture is a circle, and as such, was the starting point. Rational manipulations of the geometric circle made the building. The mandala studies were subjective manipulations of the archetypal circle made to explore and develop the architecture. This became a Market in Nairobi. / Master of Architecture

The city of Nairobi, Kenya, is plagued by the aching problem of multitudes of stagnant churches cramping the metropolis amidst a few mega churches. This research aims to identify the factors of revitalization in selected churches that have succeeded in bringing about a turnaround in this urban context and to propose a model feasible for revitalizing stagnant churches in the city. The researcher wants to go beyond acknowledging the urban church growth problem of stagnation by seeking to understand the perceptions of numerical growth amongst church leaders and the members of six selected churches that have undergone a turnaround in Nairobi. These churches are: African Inland Church; All Nations Gospel Church; Deliverance Church; Gospel Revival Centre Church; Pentecostal Assemblies of God; and Uthiru Pentecostal Church. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods, questionnaires were administered to 600 randomly selected church members from six selected churches, while face-to-face interviews were conducted with 100 pastors and church leaders. The analysis of both research instruments led to the discovery of perceptions of what constitutes the factors of stagnation and revitalization at the different stages of each congregation. In order to develop a proposed model of revitalization for the metropolis, eight critical elements of revitalization common to all the churches were identified and analysed as normative turnaround elements. Two groups of supplementary factors of revitalization were noted in addition: common factors that address converts’ entry points and membership expectations, and non-common issues that may not be applicable universally, but nevertheless play significant roles in church growth, depending on the context and strategy that a local congregation opts for. The research contributes to the understanding of urban mission work and church growth within the context of a growing African metropolis like Nairobi. A few urban mega churches colour the perception of missiologists and church historians on the plight of sprawling stagnant congregations on the African continent. The implication that this holds for urban missio Dei is the wholesale marketing and misapplication of the strategies used by big churches to small congregations, leading to an increased decline in membership and eventual retardation of the salvation of the city. Furthermore, the city church perceives spiritual growth to be subsumed in the pursuit of numerical growth, and that God is where the ‘church’ is, leading to a gulf between growth and grace in the urban mission work of Nairobi. Churches stagnate not because of a lack of external inducement to growth (the existence of which is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to church growth), but the absence of internal growth dynamics. This originates with a weak and non-credible pastor that has lost vision and passion for sacrificial ministry to a congregation that is adrift in the church boat of socio-political wrangling and misplaced kingdom priorities. The church begins to grow when it starts to act out its calling as salt and light in the world. Again, churches grow inside out and the turnaround experience is a product of strong pastoral leadership that is surrounded by a balanced mix of well mobilized and enabled members serving in all units of church ministries. When set in motion, such a revitalization process will propel the urban church to both quantitative and qualitative growth that would prepare it in readiness for its place in the New Jerusalem where “all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” will gather with the shout of the final hallelujah “to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” that “was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise” (Rev. 5:12, 13). / Thesis (Ph.D. (Missiology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The city of Nairobi, Kenya, is plagued by the aching problem of multitudes of stagnant churches cramping the metropolis amidst a few mega churches. This research aims to identify the factors of revitalization in selected churches that have succeeded in bringing about a turnaround in this urban context and to propose a model feasible for revitalizing stagnant churches in the city. The researcher wants to go beyond acknowledging the urban church growth problem of stagnation by seeking to understand the perceptions of numerical growth amongst church leaders and the members of six selected churches that have undergone a turnaround in Nairobi. These churches are: African Inland Church; All Nations Gospel Church; Deliverance Church; Gospel Revival Centre Church; Pentecostal Assemblies of God; and Uthiru Pentecostal Church. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods, questionnaires were administered to 600 randomly selected church members from six selected churches, while face-to-face interviews were conducted with 100 pastors and church leaders. The analysis of both research instruments led to the discovery of perceptions of what constitutes the factors of stagnation and revitalization at the different stages of each congregation. In order to develop a proposed model of revitalization for the metropolis, eight critical elements of revitalization common to all the churches were identified and analysed as normative turnaround elements. Two groups of supplementary factors of revitalization were noted in addition: common factors that address converts’ entry points and membership expectations, and non-common issues that may not be applicable universally, but nevertheless play significant roles in church growth, depending on the context and strategy that a local congregation opts for. The research contributes to the understanding of urban mission work and church growth within the context of a growing African metropolis like Nairobi. A few urban mega churches colour the perception of missiologists and church historians on the plight of sprawling stagnant congregations on the African continent. The implication that this holds for urban missio Dei is the wholesale marketing and misapplication of the strategies used by big churches to small congregations, leading to an increased decline in membership and eventual retardation of the salvation of the city. Furthermore, the city church perceives spiritual growth to be subsumed in the pursuit of numerical growth, and that God is where the ‘church’ is, leading to a gulf between growth and grace in the urban mission work of Nairobi. Churches stagnate not because of a lack of external inducement to growth (the existence of which is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to church growth), but the absence of internal growth dynamics. This originates with a weak and non-credible pastor that has lost vision and passion for sacrificial ministry to a congregation that is adrift in the church boat of socio-political wrangling and misplaced kingdom priorities. The church begins to grow when it starts to act out its calling as salt and light in the world. Again, churches grow inside out and the turnaround experience is a product of strong pastoral leadership that is surrounded by a balanced mix of well mobilized and enabled members serving in all units of church ministries. When set in motion, such a revitalization process will propel the urban church to both quantitative and qualitative growth that would prepare it in readiness for its place in the New Jerusalem where “all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” will gather with the shout of the final hallelujah “to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” that “was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise” (Rev. 5:12, 13). / Thesis (Ph.D. (Missiology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Univ., Diss--Köln, 2001.