Why Social & Ecological Balance?
Home to an estimated 25% of the world’s urban population, informal settlements represent a crucial arena in the battle
against the global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The promotion of regenerative infrastructure
must be a priority for urbanists looking to create more sustainable cities.
“Ecological problems are in many ways design problems: our cities, cars, houses, and technologies often do not fit in the biosphere”
– David Orr [1]
The current wave of urbanisation in Africa presents a unique opportunity to facilitate a transition towards Social & Ecological Balance. A social and ecologically balanced process creates conditions through which basic human rights
are met and planetary boundaries are not exceeded [2]. There is, however, a danger of disconnected compartments in
political and economic elites ignoring the realities of informal settlements. We therefore must aim to guarantee that
infrastructure development processes in informal settlements and the wider city:
• uphold community-based knowledge of the environment,
• do not harm existing natural ecosystems and biodiversity,
• include nature-based elements whenever possible,
• strengthen community resilience,
• follow the strategy of ecological mainstreaming, and
• prioritise ecosystems over aesthetics.
For regenerative infrastructure to be integrated and inclusive, urban natural assets must be accessible to all. Top-down
”green upgrading” projects are doomed to fail[3].
Social & Ecological Balance
Planning & Design
Modern Kenya and its cities are at significant risk of losing sight of social and ecological balance. Regenerative design recognizes that communities exist within a broader natural context. Rather than merely minimizing damage to human health and the environment, it advocates for a holistic systems approach that seeks to regenerate rather than deplete the underlying life support systems and resources inherent in socio-ecological frameworks. This design philosophy considers the interdependencies of social, economic, and environmental factors, aiming to restore critical ecological systems that enable our cities to thrive[4].
Central to regenerative design is the idea of placing the community at the core of the planning and design process. This approach discourages competition, individualism, and anthropocentrism in the delivery of infrastructure. In informal areas of Kenya, residents have a direct relationship with nature, which can be both beneficial and threatening. While these communities may pose risks to the environment, they are also vulnerable to natural hazards such as flooding and landslides[5]. Regenerative interventions that leverage local knowledge of hazards and assets can help restore or foster healthy relationships between humans and their environment.
Ultimately, social and ecological balance serves not only the community but all living systems. It stands as a fundamental design constraint and operating framework that is essential for sustainable development.
Based on graphic by Sznel (2020)
“In the next decade we will have to become fluent in reparative design and designing for chaotic events: how do we survive a tsunami, how do we design for irrigation, how do we design for top-soil regeneration. Designing for human survival will become the new necessary field of design: ecosystems over aesthetics.”
– Céline Semaan (Semaan, C. (2021). Ecosystems Over Aesthetics. URL)
“Ecological problems are in many ways design problems: our cities, cars, houses, and technologies often do not fit in the biosphere [...] Ecological design is the careful meshing of human purposes with the larger patterns and flows of the natural world; it is the careful study of those patterns and flows to inform human purposes. Competence in ecological design requires spreading ecological intelligence — knowledge about how nature works”
– David Orr (Orr, D. (1994). Earth in Mind. URL)
Many communities in Kenya’s informal settlements have upheld aspects of social and ecological balance for generations, positioning them as key players in maintenance efforts. However, extreme weather events and the pressures of urbanization, coupled with hostile city policies and precarious living conditions, have sometimes led to a disconnection from nature.
To restore positive reciprocity between human settlements and the environment, it is essential to incentivize residents to actively preserve regenerative infrastructure. By doing so, the overall preservation of urban assets will also be supported, creating a more sustainable and resilient urban landscape.
Connecting the environment and the people is crucial in creating acceptance for nature-based infrastructure among the community[6]. Social & Ecological Balance requires holistic systems thinking. Four tools are of particular value[7]:
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Indicators help us understand the magnitude of environmental problems, prioritize issues, and evaluate the success of the intervention.
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Causal loop diagrams help us map the environmental system, identify key indicators, and create a shared understanding of issues and systemic characteristics.
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Scenarios help us explore possible future pathways, community behavior, and drivers of change.
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Simulations help us create models mimicking the real world, quantitatively assess scenarios, and provide projections of possible patterns.
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Implementation & Use
Social & Ecological Balance has strong grounding in many international conventions, including the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, in Kenya, rehabilitation narratives have been used by the government and the private sector to invade, dispossess, and continue colonial practices. When communities are made to feel that they do not own anything; when their resourcefulness is constantly dismissed; and when evictions threaten their livelihoods, we cannot expect communities to be at the forefront of regeneration. Simultaneously, “green idealism,” often emanating from Northern climes, has at times been at odds with fundamental development goals and the aspirations of residents of these neighborhoods.
What, then, are key obstacles in achieving Social & Ecological Balance? And what can be done to overcome them?
“When I raise the issue of the loss of the natural world in the Green Belt Movement’s civic and environmental seminars, many participants tell me that it’s as if they had looked at the world around them for the first time. ‘Until I took this course,’ one representative woman said, ‘I didn’t see the bare fields and roadsides or the denuded landscapes. Now I see areas where there should be trees, and rivers filled with silt that I hadn’t noticed before.’ She finally saw what had been in front of her all along; her consciousness had been raised, and now she was in a position to participate in the
process of healing.”
(Maathai, W. (2021).The World We Once Lived In. New York:Penguin Random House. (no URL, takenfrom the book; p. 45-46))
- Wangari Maathai
Governance & Policy
[1] Orr, D. (1994). Earth in Mind.URL
[2] Scherer et al. (2018). Trade-offs between social and environmental Sustainable Development Goals. URL
[3] Murey, E. (2018). Evaluating the Integration Process of Green Practices in Upgrading of Informal Settlements in Medium Sized Towns in Kenya. URL
[4] Mang, P., & Reed, B. (2012). Regenerative Development and Design. URL
[5] Benítez, G., Pérez-Vázquez, A., Nava-Tablada, M., Equihua, M., & Álvarez-Palacios, J. L. (2012). Urban expansion and the environmental effects of informal settlements on the outskirts of Xalapa city, Veracruz, Mexico. URL
[6] Diep, L., Dodman, D., & Parikh, P. (2019). Green Infrastructure in Informal Settlements through a Multiple-Level Perspective. URL
[7] Smit, S., Musango, J.K., & Brent, A.C. (2019). Understanding electricity legitimacy dynamics in an urban informal settlement in South Africa: A Community Based System Dynamics approach. URL
