Resilience and responses to interconnecting crises in informal settlements. [Video recording]

Mueller-Hirth, Natascha; Vertigans, Stephen

Abstract

This film is part of a research project, led by Dr Natascha Mueller-Hirth (Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, Scotland) and Professor Stephen Vertigans, that examines how community-based organisations in a number of informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, respond to the huge, interconnecting and chronic crises and everyday risks faced by residents in such areas. The kinds of crises and risks referred to here include economic inequalities, poor environmental conditions, high levels of morbidity and mortality and low levels of education, employment and healthcare, and intersect with the conditions commonly associated with informality, such as no or little access to water, sanitation and essential public services and infrastructure. It is worth noting that, globally, over 1 billion people – including close to 500 million children – live in so-called slums. At the same time, we learned from our previous research that informal settlements (and the work of community groups in them) are characterised by huge resilience, creativity, diversity and entrepreneurism. This is contrary to the more common negative and often stigmatising portrayal of such areas.

Citation

MUELLER-HIRTH, N. and VERTIGANS, S. 2025. Resilience and responses to interconnecting crises in informal settlements. [Video recording]. Hosted on YouTube [online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUbhCZ8MLO4&t=1s

• Digital Artefact Type: Video
• Deposit Date: Jun 17, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 28, 2025
• Keywords: Community-based organisations; Economic inequalities; Essential public services; Informal settlements; Nairobi; Kenya
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2885624
• External URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUbhCZ8MLO4&t=1s