Fluid Risks - The Politics of Risk-Scaling at Urban Rivers in Nairobi

This thesis investigates the importance of scale for power dynamics in the negotiation of risks con-nected to Urban Rivers in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to unequal distribution of wealth, global ine-qualities in the distribution of risk become increasingly important. Scale as a significant dimension of inequality is discussed in the context of Nairobi’s urban, as water scarcity and flooding events are expected to increase and can both be observed within the highly heterogenic city of Nairobi. The thesis attempts to answer the conceptual question, how is it possible to conceptually grasp the relation of risk and scale? As well as the practical question of what are the power dynamics of scalar negotiations of riskscapes? Regarding the first question the concept of riskscapes is suggested and subsequently expanded to include an explicitly scalar dimension. A relational focus on fluidity and movement is put forward. This conceptual background interfaces with the methodology of multi-sited ethnography, which inspires the method of following the river through the fragmented city of Nairobi. In the case study, three examples of scalar politics of river-related risks in Nairobi suggest that 1.) the scaling of actors influences the ways they can participate in practices of risking. Risks for certain local communities seem to be approved by the government implying localisation of actors as a tactic within the politics of risks. The role of connections in localising or globalising actors is stressed. 2.) The example of the planned eviction of an informal market area along Nairobi River shows how political struggle is expressed in different scalar narratives of river related risks. While the government stresses risks for the entire area downstream of Nairobi to justify the eviction, the market stand owners evoke a much more localised framing of the risks they face. 3.) Both mo-ments, scaling of risk-actors and scaling of risks is observable in the case of slum dwelling women at urban rivers. It is argued that women are discursively and materially framed to the household level, where they face the highest flooding risk. This informs the conclusion to regard the poor female body in the case of Nairobi as a sacrifice-scale where risks produced elsewhere are ‘dumped’. This thesis’ main contribution is the conceptual merging of the politics of risk and scale, the substantia-tion of this argument by a relevant case study and subsequently the spotlighting of dynamics of marginalisation through scalar negotiations of risk.

One of the characteristics of modernity is the fact that inequality is not only expressed in terms of wealth, but also in terms of risk. Just as wealth, these risks are distributed unequally. While there is plenty of research on the processes of unequal distribution of wealth, there is much less written about the unequal distribution of risks. In this thesis I argue that one of the mechanisms of risk distribution is the process of "scaling". "Scaling" means that notions of being "local" or "global" is attached to certain people, organisations and phenomena. I wonder why certain organisations are seen as global while ohters are seen as local. Is it about size? About how many people work there? I argue that it is mainly about relations that these people or organisations have with others: The better connected someone is, the more "global" he or she becomes. This, I argue furthermore, has implications on the distribution of risks, as they tend to be "dumped" at places that are regarded "local". The effects of these risks are simply regarded as less serious, because they only affect the "local population" - in contrast to national or even global security issues.
I support these claims with a case study I conducted in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. I show how especially women who live in slums that are next to urban rivers are "localised" and therefore risk being harmed by floods but also sexualised violence.