In poor urban neighborhoods in Nairobi, Kenya, Covid-19 related restrictions have resulted in tremendous economic setbacks for residents. Through their SSRC-funded research, Anders Ese, Kristin Ese, Joseph Mukeku, Benjamin Sidori, and Romola Sanyal interviewed women traders to make connections between Covid-related setbacks, the practices of containment, and assistance provided by authorities. While the women they spoke to recognize that they often suffer unjustly at the hands of local officials, they also show notable support for both the restrictions and the powers that enforce them, helping cement long-standing and inequitable practices.
Anders Ese
Anders Ese is Head of R&D at Urban-A. He grew up in Kenya and Zambia and holds a PhD on mapping, data col-lection, and analysis of complex urban settings in Nairobi, Kenya. Ese specializes in urban development in the overlap between the fields of urbanism, social sciences, and historical research, especially pertaining to East and Southern Africa, and has worked extensively on issues related to urbanization, poverty, identities, and sustainability in the region through academic and consultancy work. He has established and run interdisciplinary practices in both Tanzania and Norway. His recent book, The City Makers of Nairobi (with Kristin Ese; Routledge, 2020), explores African urban identities in Nairobi during the colonial period, arguing that the city’s cosmopolitan African population had a far greater impact on urban developments than what is popularly believed.