Climate and Sustainability Agenda for Future Cities in Kenya

Episode 4 of the Series focussing on urban governance and how to get it right in managing urban growth in towns and cities in Kenya. Show guest: Grace Kamweru is a Landscape Architect, Environmental Planner and Assistant Lecturer at The Technical University of Kenya.

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Listen or watch to understand:

• The status of climate change and associated crises in this post-pandemic era at the City level.
• How the pandemic has affected the gains and transition to the Sustainable Development Goals.
• The impact of climate action plans in Kenya and key successes to date.
• How the growth by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is no longer sustainable for countries.
• The Circular Economy as the ultimate opportunity of our time for completing the picture in addressing climate change, besides shifting to renewable energy.
• The water crisis in Nairobi and the role of water urbanism in addressing climate change in the cities and their urban countrysides.
• How cities can achieve sustainable settlements through provision of affordable housing to all socio-economic groups in the cities.
• Main challenges to addressing climate change: The main drivers, barriers and possible enablers to shift to a more sustainable future in cities.

About Grace Kamweru
I am an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Spatial Planning and Design at the Technical University of Kenya. I am a professional and practicing Landscape Architect with 2 tracks of postgraduate studies; M.A. in Environmental Planning Management from University of Nairobi and MSc in Human Settlements from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. My previous research focused on waste management and on water and forest urbanism to address climate change with a close focus on scalable water sensitive adaptations in peri-urban zones of Nairobi. I recently did a short course with the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) on Circular Economy and the 2030 agenda. I am trying to create a synergy of all these 3 areas of research to draft my initial PhD concept so as to explore how we can achieve a resilient and sustainable waste-wise city.