| Popis: |
Lack of tenure, infrastructure, and services is a risk multiplier at the Toi Market, the second-largest informal market in Nairobi. In this contested trading space, constant risks of demolitions, evictions, conflicts, floods, and fires make the traders' lives precarious. However, since the 1980s, the traders have portrayed an unwavering resilience, withstanding and adapting to threats through design and self-build initiatives. Using design as an analytical lens, we explored adaptation mechanisms through the Toi Market's physical transformations during a period of relative social stability. Consolidation design emerged as an adaptive strategy toward the market's development. Whereas design facilitated the social cohesion needed to secure tenure, its potential was reduced by the traders' reactive measures to demolitions and hazards, which fragmented the design initiatives. Yet, the value of the design processes carried out by nonprofessionals in adverse conditions assuaged the risks and enhanced the slum's consolidation. |
