Single Mothers Association of Kenya (SMAK) and the Fight to Stay Put on the Ziwani Estate in Nairobi

Bibliographic Data

ID22222735
AuthorsDaniel Manyasi (0009-0008-2886-8000, Boston University), Loretta Lees (0000-0001-5834-8155, Boston University), Ashley West, Ashley B West (0000-0003-0206-8167)
Year2024
Volume6
Issue2
Pages253-268
Publication date2024-10-28
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRadical Housing Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2632-2870 • E-ISSN: 2632-2870
PublisherRadical Housing Journal (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.54825/qgnc7206
OpenAlexW4403596276
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited12

This Reflection discusses the fight to stay put on the Ziwani Estate in Nairobi, in the face of the redevelopment (gentrification) of one of the first East African public housing projects developed in Kenya under colonial rule. The Single Mothers Association of Kenya (SMAK), a community-based organization founded on the Ziwani Estate, is leading the fight for/with Ziwani residents. SMAK is focused on land and housing rights, capacity building for the community on these rights, advocating against illegal eviction, and fighting against gentrification, densification, and homelessness. Under immediate threat SMAK found local and global allies in academia, civil society, and in UN bodies. They have had some important wins on the preservation and conservation of Ziwani historic places and people based on unexpected academic collaborations and on their own activism which they believe requires civic education, domestic and international lobbying, and possibly legal struggle

Business · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Estate · Geography · Political science · Socioeconomics · HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses · Medicine · Psychology · Finance

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