A Tale of Two Cities: A Global North & South Case Study in Resilience

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”: the first line of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities is an idea that the two cities featured in this episode’s case study know all too well. The Global South’s Nairobi, Kenya and the Global North’s Rotterdam in the Netherlands are half a world apart, but they’re each facing similar and equally dire climate consequences that are caused by and a threat to the major economic driver of import and export in their cities. But in the face of these “worst of times,” both of these cities are implementing the best and most innovative strategies they can to curb climate impact and make their key industries and transportation systems more resilient and sustainable.

Featured guests:
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has helped Rotterdam become one of Europe’s most diverse, dynamic, and multicultural cities. Thanks to his leadership, Rotterdam has evolved into an open and progressive urban centre with a strong emphasis on circularity, sustainability, and innovation. Mayor Aboutaleb has a well-earned global reputation as one of the world’s most respected and appreciated mayors.

Maurice Kavai is the Deputy Director, Climate Change, for Nairobi City County. The main goal of his work is to ensure that climate actions are streamlined within Nairobi’s urban programs, and to anchor all sector initiatives and development plans into the city’s climate action plan. Nairobi urban planning strategies include projects such as their railway city master plan, which will integrate mixed-use development, including affordable housing, with the railway transport network. The city also has previous successes with co-developed, inclusive planning processes, such as that which they undertook with the Mukuru Informal Settlement.

Links
“Keeping 1.5°C Alive in the Global South: Life or Death,” by Pamela Escobar Vargas, Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Dutch landscape shifts with North Sea wind farms, onshore hubs - Reuters
Roadmap ZECL: Moving towards Zero Emission City Logistics in Rotterdam in 2025 - C40 Knowledge Hub
Community-led upgrade to a Nairobi slum could be a model for Africa - The Guardian

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Transcript

[Cities 1.5 main theme music]  

David 00:03

I'm David Miller and you're listening to Cities 1.5, a podcast by University of Toronto Press, produced in association with The Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy and C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 of the world's megacities, committed to accelerating climate action. C40's mission is to halve the emissions of its member cities within a decade, while improving equity, building resilience, and creating the conditions for everyone, everywhere to thrive. Join me as I connect with leading mayors, experts, policymakers, and youth leaders who are helping ensure a 1.5-degree world by leading city-based climate action. 

Each week, we delve into the necessary transformative solutions to today's most pressing climate challenges. The fight for an equitable and resilient world is closer than you think. [Cities 1.5 main theme music fades out] 

[urgent music] In this episode, we have a case study to crack open, and it is, in fact, a tale of two cities. Nairobi in Kenya and Rotterdam in the Netherlands are 9,513 kilometres apart and continents further apart than the titular two cities in Dickens' novel. Yet, they're faced with the same problem – significant and potentially devastating impacts from extreme climate events. Yet, despite these challenges, they both must continue to operate as vital import and export locations for their economic survival. [music fades out]

[upbeat, energetic music] These problems are at odds with one another. Import and export industries tend to increase pollution and degrade natural resources, which in turn causes more detrimental environmental impacts. Though half a world apart, both Nairobi and Rotterdam have found ways to address this same problem, and while their solutions differ, their drive, ambitions, and outcomes are inspiringly simple. [music fades out]

[gentle, sweeping music] Rotterdam is a port city that, for years, was one of the biggest polluters in Europe. The threat of rising sea levels that could destroy one of their most essential economic sources, and the very lives of its inhabitants, was galvanizing, to put it mildly. And now, in 2023, Rotterdam, led by Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb since 2009, is a C40 climate leader, thanks to their efforts to upgrade and install greener, more sustainable infrastructure, along with checks and balances to reduce their ecological impact. [music fades out]

[gentle, delicate music] Similarly, Nairobi has been struggling with climate change impacts from extreme heat and droughts to fatal flooding events. Nairobi's economy is heavily dependent on their import and export industry, but they're also facing significant air quality issues that are only exacerbated by their booming population and escalating congestion issues. In response to these concerns, Nairobi is building innovative infrastructure solutions that are setting the city on the path towards a sustainable and equitable future. [music fades out]

In this episode, we speak to leaders from both of these cities about the projects and solutions they are implementing to overcome the issues brought about by climate breakdown. [light, rhythmic music] First, I speak with Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam. For over a decade, Mayor Aboutaleb has led his city into becoming a beacon for clean heating, zero waste, and adaptation to rising sea levels. Thanks in no small part to his guidance and ambition, Rotterdam is achieving climate resilience while improving living conditions for city residents. [music fades out]

[rhythmic electronic music] Next we'll hear from Maurice Kavai, the Deputy Director of Climate Change for Nairobi City County. From designing and breaking ground on a railway city plan, to co-developing climate solutions with local communities, Nairobi is taking great strides to tackle the issues caused by climate change in their region through dynamic urban planning strategies. So, let's hear from these great guests. [music continues then ends]

[light, rhythmic music] Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has continued to help Rotterdam grow to become one of Europe's most diverse, dynamic, and multicultural cities. Thanks to his leadership, Rotterdam has evolved into an open and progressive urban centre with a strong emphasis on circularity, sustainability, and innovation. Mayor Aboutaleb has a well-earned global reputation as one of the world's most respected and appreciated mayors. I spoke to Mayor Aboutaleb live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the C40 World Mayors Summit on October 20th, 2022. [music ends]

We're live with Mayor Aboutaleb from Rotterdam—my very good friend for a very long time—from the C40 Summit in Buenos Aires. Mayor, I want to talk to you about Rotterdam. It's a city with a fascinating history, interesting leadership on climate, I think interesting challenges and answers, but maybe first talk about why mayors can make a difference and the pleasure you take from this role. 

Ahmed Aboutaleb 05:58 

Well, thank you very much for having me on your podcast. I'm 14 years mayor, and I'm happy to have a high level of trust in the city, in the region. I'm on my city council and I'm happy with that. What I try to do in my daily work is presenting myself as partner to the whole political system in the Netherlands and sometimes in Europe, when it comes to the decisions coming from Brussels to the benefit of our citizens. Yes, there is politics in it... yes, there is ideological engagement in it... but mainly, in my role, I try to be a father who is taking care of his citizens.

David 06:40 

Your comments really resonate with me, and I think it's interesting, particularly given the longevity of your mayoralty, that you've demonstrated the ability to work across party lines, across politics. 

Ahmed Aboutaleb 06:54 

My coalition in the city is four parties: the party that are considered to be a bit populist; the social liberals; the liberals/conservatives; and a party that has mainly advocated for immigrants, so four parties, and I work with them with great pleasure. And what I see now when it comes to climate, which is an important issue for the subject, that there is hardly any big resistance anymore in my city against taking tough measures on climate issues... that even the parties that have been hesitating or playing a populist card, they don't do that anymore. They really realize... They call themselves nowadays "the climate realists". They realize that they have to do something, not only because we have to serve Mother Earth, but this is the source of the new economy, and this is the source of the new jobs. 

You know the book, The Stupid Economy? And I tend, nowadays, to say it is-- we add the word "green". That's where we have to innovate to create new jobs. Doing nothing means that our jobs line is declining, and we cannot keep that for a long time. We have to create new jobs to increase the number of working opportunities to create green wealth for everyone. And it's there, where the intersection is between both lines, that is dictating the transition time, and the more you invest in this, the earlier you finish with creating alternatives for the inevitable decline in line of fossil sources of driven jobs.

David 08:32 

Rotterdam is one of the two or three great ports in the world with an incredible history of maritime shipping, very economically reliant on that. I know, from work we've done together in the past, that there are climate risks in the prosperity of Rotterdam. Can you speak to how you take that philosophy of "it's the green economy, stupid" to Rotterdam and thinking about the port in the future and the future economy?

Ahmed Aboutaleb  08:59 

[gentle, percussive music] Yeah. The port of Rotterdam is built on the river. The water is coming from the Alps of France, namely crossing a number of countries—Switzerland, France, for instance, and Germany—enters the Netherlands, so we are a delta city. The water is our friend because we make the water, we make the economy, thanks to the port on the water. Simultaneously, it's our enemy. Parts of my city are minus 6... minus 6 metres—not 6 feet—no, 6 metres. The City Hall is minus 2. When you go outside the City Hall, you dig with your bare hands, you will find water, so the only thing to survive in the Netherlands is not only to work on mitigation when it comes to climate issues but to work hard on adaptation. We need to keep the city adapted to the climate change. [music fades out]

I'm chairing the National Commission on Water Management in Rotterdam on threats and changes. For a long time, we've been thinking that high level of water is the threat for Rotterdam. It's still there, the high water level. It's a threat, but it's now combined with another threat – the drought. If, in the summer—July, August, September—the water level in the river, the rivers go down with two or three metres, what happens is that the upper level of the dikes become dry and, if they become dry and, after that, the water is rising again, that part of the dikes becomes vulnerable. It may collapse, and if it collapses in my city, then there's no way to evacuate anyone. And, if the water level in the city is plus 1 metre or 2 metres, that is a drama for 650,000 vulnerable people downtown, in the Netherlands, in Rotterdam. 

So, you may imagine what type of concern I have as Mayor, responsible not only for policy, but also for physical safety of my citizens, and bringing that in the debate is really difficult because we have been teaching our citizens for a long time, "You are safe. We have the most wonderful dikes in the world", which is the case, but it was in times of wet weather. And a wet dike is stable and a dry one is not stable, so that's really giving me a lot of concern. 

So, what we have to do now is not only to think about how we keep the city safe. We say in Dutch, "how to keep our feet dry", but also to redesign the way we think about dikes and levees in a way that it also sustains during times of drought. Nobody knows that. It's a public secret, but we spent, in the Rotterdam region, to safeguard the city and the poor, €1 billion a year, adapting the city to water. Really, that decision is taken in the Parliament with the hammer, no debate. Why? It's automatic, and it is inevitable. We have to do it – no debate about it. So, it happens. Even my city council probably don't know that this federal money is spent on the dikes and levees in the port of Rotterdam.

In the meantime, the port has been, for a long time, one of the biggest polluters in the Netherlands. More than 20% of the air pollution in the Netherlands was caused by the port.

David 12:20 

Wow.

Ahmed Aboutaleb 12:20 

It's now about 13 percent – one three – but to me, it's still a high level of pollution. So, we have to work on that, and knowing that the energy transition will take long time, probably 25 years, 30 years, so in the meantime, we're not going to wait. The Port Authority, that is 70% in the hands of the city, is investing in building a huge pipeline, a public investment crossing 40 kilometres in port, bringing the pipeline to the 40 kilometres, in the former gas and oil fields in the North Sea. Why? To store the collected CO2 emissions from, for instance, the refineries... We have big refineries in the port. Five of them are there to serve the European economy. The major refineries are in the Netherlands, in my port, so this pipeline will be finished the coming years, and these companies will connect to the pipeline and pay a fee for the fact that we transport this stuff to the North Sea. So far, it's not an obligation that they are committed to do so, but if needed, we can do that as compulsory, and the amount of money that they will pay for that will be decided in process because that's there, where we put a price on CO2 emissions. So that is in between. 

And parallel to that, we're working heavily on building windmills in the North Sea. There will be 10,000 windmills in the North Sea. We subsidize people if they put solar systems on the roof and they deliver the surplus of the energy to the grids. We're investing in modernizing the grid, because the grid has not enough capacity to cope with these new developments. So, we are doing simultaneously a lot of things together. You can get subsidies for a solar roof, you can get subsidies to insulate your own home. I decided last winter to insulate my cap – 100 square meters. I have an old house—1907—so limited possibilities to retrofit and to insulate. So, we did the floor, and the energy company are calling the app. It's expecting me to use €269 of electricity and gas at the end of this month. Well, now at the 20th of the month, so two thirds is expired, and I used €66. 

David 14:42 

Just from the installation. 

Ahmed Aboutaleb 14:43 

So, my prediction is, at the end of the month, I will be using $100.00 of electricity for a three-floor house. Thanks to that insulation, that will be a third of the normal energy bill that I pay to the energy company. This is possible. We now see that the energy consumption in Rotterdam and in the Netherlands is reduced by 25%.

David 15:09 

Wow.

Ahmed Aboutaleb 15:09 

[somber music] So, it's a combination of things. So, it's not only serving Mother Earth; it's not only serving the economy and creating new jobs; it's not only using less energy. It's also contributing to another consciousness of how we use the resources of Mother Earth, knowing though, that our wealth will not decrease. We're still having growth in our economy, and I think that we can accelerate that if we do the good things. 

David 15:39 

Mayor, that's a fantastic note to end on, combining the big-picture work on behalf of  Rotterdam with an opportunity for people to actually see saving money by doing the right thing for the planet.

Ahmed Aboutaleb 15:53 

So, we have to play several cards simultaneously – enhancing public transport, investing in public transport, a better quality of public transport, having Internet on public transport—people like that—to make public transport a sexy method for youngsters to join in the public transport because, if there's no Internet, people probably will not come. Taking tough decisions in using public space more for bicycles and pedestrians and for cars – that requires real leadership because car owners are more conservative and they believe "my car, my ownership, my independence," etc. It requires a movement from sometimes individual choices to collective arrangements, and that, in a liberal world in Europe, not in the US, not an easy thing to do. But we have to take tough decisions on that. [music ends]

David 16:44 

Well, you've just made a whole bunch of powerful points, but a couple I want to repeat  – collective action, on certain parts, and make public transit sexy. I think it's an idea that resonates. We're both smiling. But, you know, if you have a city where people can make individual choices that fit into that collective vision, you're much more likely to achieve it. 

Ahmed Aboutaleb 17:10 

Yeah. Now, good initiatives – the city of Madrid decided, I think a couple of years ago, to have one day to rave for public transport. That is one Euro a day. An idea... [pensive music] Rotterdam, as a city, we decided to make public transport for free for the elderly—above 65—and for youngsters—under 12—a decision as the way we contribute to that. And I've also thought about probably making public transport free, at all, an idea. It's always decisions of politicians. It's about what type of decisions and making choices. Politics—that's what I learned last 20 years in my life—it's about making choices. Where do you put your dollars – the collective dollars that we have? Mayors and governments, we use public dollars, so what type of decisions do you take? And sometimes it requires a type of leadership, knowing that probably the majority of your citizens say "no". But leadership is not only being a leader when you receive an applause; it's also sometimes being a leader when you get a lot of resistance, and you have, then, to show the way. 

David 18:19 

Mayor, you're a leader yourself and we've really appreciated your time today, but more importantly, I appreciate your longstanding friendship and very much admire your continuing work in Rotterdam. 

Ahmed Aboutaleb 18:31 

Thank you very much. [music continues then ends]

David 18:44 

[rhythmic electronic music] Maurice Kavai is the Deputy Director of Climate Change for Nairobi City County. The main goal of his work is to ensure that climate actions are streamlined within Nairobi's urban programs, and to anchor all sector initiatives and development plans into the city's climate action plan. Nairobi urban planning strategies include projects such as their Railway City Masterplan, which will integrate mixed-use development, including affordable housing with the railway transport network. The city also has previous successes with co-developed, inclusive planning processes such as that which they undertook with the Mukuru informal settlement. Maurice joined me for a remote conversation on March 15th, 2023. 

Maurice, Nairobi has an incredible array of forward-looking programs which we're going to speak to in a few minutes. But, before we get to those, I just wondered if you could tell the listeners a little bit about yourself and about your career and how you've ended up working on climate change in the city of Nairobi. 

Maurice Kavai 19:55 

I'm the Head of Climate Change and Air Quality Monitoring in the city. I'm also, the C40 focal person for climate change in Nairobi City County. My work is to ensure that climate actions are mainstreamed within the city's programs by ensuring that all the sectors are able to mainstream and align the sector programs and development plans as anchored into our climate action plan, which we developed through the partnership of C40 Cities. 

David 20:27 

I'm sure, like many other African cities, Nairobi is already feeling the impact of climate change. 

Maurice Kavai 20:34 

Oh, Nairobi has not been left behind. There is a lot of extreme heat. There's also a lot of drought. We are also expecting flooding as a result of the delayed rains. We also anticipate especially the flooding because most of our flood-mitigating infrastructure might also be facing that pressure. So those are the things which are also undisputed. The city is also facing issues of poor air quality as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. 

David 21:06 

What's causing the bad air quality? 

Maurice Kavai 21:09 

This one is all sorts of different factors, one of them being vehicular emissions, the other one being the open burning of waste, and the other one from industrial processes. There is also the issue of food insecurity, because a lot of the agricultural products are also going bad because of poor storage. 

David 21:31 

Interesting and challenging that you're having extreme heat events and flooding, or at least potential flooding at the same time, as a result of climate change.

Maurice Kavai 21:42 

Yeah, we really anticipate this one to happen, especially in the coming long rains, simply because the city's infrastructure might be overwhelmed if the rains come in excesses. And then our infrastructure—in terms of draining—cannot be able to succumb to the pressure, which comes from the accessories. 

David 22:04 

You mentioned that there's a problem with the infrastructure. I assume you mean drains and infrastructure like that, because of waste management issues, as well. 

Maurice Kavai 22:14 

As the city focuses on preparing for the flood as a result of excess rains, you find most of our draining system might be clogged with waste, especially along the city streets, and also along the informal settlements where we might have challenges of uncollected waste.

David 22:34 

So that's one of the issues I wanted to take you to, which is housing. You've spoken to Nairobi's informal settlements. Can you speak a little bit about some of the urban regeneration projects that Nairobi is leading? 

Maurice Kavai 22:48 

There is an interesting story which the city has really done in terms of urban regeneration, and a good example is the Mukuru slum upgrading project which the city was able to actually map it and go ahead in terms of visiting the informal settlement to a special planning zone. A special planning zone is a very important aspect in terms of urban development because the city saw ways to be able to map this particular area so that it can also get to understand the issues underlying this particular area, because it has very interesting characteristics, one of them being affected by population, another one being affected by lack of proper infrastructure in terms of roads, in terms of health, and also in terms of even waste management. 

So what the city did through the collaboration of Muungano wa Wanavijiji and other partners, they were able to map Mukuru's informal settlements, and this one has enabled the city to be able to even allocate resources to be able to make this informal settlement be more resilient by ensuring that these residents who live in these particular areas are able to have an informed choice in terms of making the decisions which can really make the city develop focused policies towards this particular area. And by doing so, the city will be able to actually implement programs, especially the one on building the capacities of that material for more settlements, to be able to withstand the pressure which has been brought up by increased population. 

In some of the programs which informal settlements have benefited from, is one about being able to get access to water, being able to get even access to proper roads, being able to access proper drainage, being able to even access healthcare, and then making these communities understand the chain of disaster reduction whereby these communities used to experience a lot of disasters because of issues or fire outbreaks. [driving music] And through these collaborations with even the national government, the city was able to even pilot those areas which are also very risky within this informal settlement, and through proper mapping, through proper modelling, the city was able to identify the prone areas where in terms of disaster preparedness, even ambulances could not access before. But, after that modelling, roads are in the process of being constructed in these particular areas, where now the city can be able to deliver services to these vulnerable communities. [music fades out]

David 25:35 

Sounds extremely impactful. You mentioned a partner early on that helped with the mapping. Can you explain a little bit about who that partner was, just so others listening to the podcast could get a sense, in their own cities, of the kind of partnership to build? 

Maurice Kavai 25:50 

Well, this one was done through multi-stakeholder collaboration with the national government. We had UN-Habitat. We also had Slum Dwellers International, which is an association of the informal settlements across the city.

David 26:03 

Did the regeneration help with some of the issues you spoke to earlier about waste management, as well, and some of the issues about flood preparedness? 

Maurice Kavai 26:14 

Definitely, through this modelling, the city was able to identify even a community-based organization who are involved in connecting and disposal of garbage. Most of these garbage was actually going to the rivers, but after this collaboration and also the mapping and the modelling on these particular areas, they are able to open this community-based organization and link them with other departments which really collect waste from these informal settlements, then solving that problem.

Now, we were also able to link this community-based organization to even other green jobs, especially the ones who are able to undertake recycling, where they could also manage to earn a living by selling most of the recycled material recovered from this where we engage in waste management. For the issue of flooding, the city was also able to identify even channels which can be able to carry excess water or flood water into the river ecosystem. 

David 27:14 

Very, very powerful results for all sorts of issues, including health, and I think we could have an entire podcast just about the benefits for the local residents of that approach, including their voices through Slum Dwellers International, but I wanted to turn to another project. My understanding is there is a proposed project about the Nairobi Railway City, and I wondered if you could speak to that project and how that will provide positive outcomes for the city's climate goals and also for the residents of Nairobi.

Maurice Kavai 27:47 

The Nairobi Railway City Masterplan is an instrument in the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Plan and the plan, which is being hosted in the city, the plan of developing the city be done in collaboration with the railway, which is a state-owned corporation. And because the city really hosts these, you know, it is where the railway is going to be hosted. Most of the benefits, which will also come from this kind of development, is that the city will also be able to appreciate integrated transport and also land use because the railway will also reduce the vehicles, the distance which will be travelled by the residents of Nairobi, by ensuring that even those who use personal vehicles are able to even leave them then, because the railway will also be able to access the city centre, and it means that passengers will be able to embark within the city centre. 

And one of the impacts, which is also a benefit to climate change, is that the city will appreciate that emissions from a reduced number of vehicles, which will be left aside because people will be able to, you know, even access the city by using the railway transport. 

David 29:04 

[gentle music] And will it link informal settlements into the fabric of city life, as well? 

Maurice Kavai 29:09 

Railway City, once developed, will be able to actually serve most of the informal settlements who are also vulnerable when it comes to issues of transport. But, we are also talking about the issue of the urban housing project, which the city is also entering by ensuring that Nairobians have livable housing infrastructure. This one means that the issues of vulnerability where Nairobians are exposed to issues of floods, especially the ones who are living in the informal settlements, will be something which the city would now start solving once this project comes on board.

Then, we will also have the issues of accessing the social amenities, which also comes with the Urban Housing Project. So, by doing so, then we can have the majority of the citizens living, let's say, modest lives where at least they can be able to access most of the benefits from this project, as well as getting to access the best conditions for their life, as well. [music fades out]

David 30:20 

You mentioned specific partnerships in the work, in the informal settlement as well – the urban regeneration. So, there's partnerships there and there's partnerships with the railway and plan for Nairobi Railway City. Can you speak a little bit about those kinds of partnerships? What have been the key things, the key learnings that have led to those partnerships being a success?

Maurice Kavai 30:49 

Most important is, when you have partners in collaboration, peer learning, issues of knowledge exchange are able to build up, and this is one of the opportunities which the city has been able to track from our partners by making sure that our partners have a platform in which they can be able to share information which they have already generated by engaging even Nairobians in their undertakings. 

So, one of the experiences which I can be able to share and also maybe encourage other cities as well, is for cities to be able to have an embracing mechanism which is focused on sharing data, which is focused on sharing experience, which is also focused on co-creation whereby several partners can be able to come together and solve pertinent issues which are within the city. And by doing so, I am very, very optimistic that cities can be able to really achieve a lot in terms of building cities' resilience towards climate change. 

David 32:02 

How do you ensure that the residents are part of that collaboration and particularly ensure that they understand the connection between the urban regeneration or Nairobi Railway City and climate change? 

Maurice Kavai 32:19 

The city, through the Department of Environment and through the climate action, through the implementation of the Climate Action Plan, we have also engaged what we call these decoders to be able to undertake what we call vulnerability risk assessment for the city dweller. So, through this participatory risk assessment, the Nairobians are able to identify issues which are pertinent and require interventions from the city so that we can be able to understand and also get the perception of Nairobians with regard to the development of this project, so that if there is any change which can be done through the development cycle of projects, it can be incorporated in the project design before the projects are implemented, as well. 

And then, through this, we are able to really understand the future impact of certain projects within the city and get the data which is required to be inputted when the city wants to generate specific policies which are relevant in planning for the development of projects within the city. 

David 33:38 

Can you speak to the history in some of the informal settlements, particularly around heat? It's my understanding that the informal settlements experience an extreme heat event in a particularly severe way. 

Maurice Kavai 33:53 

[mid-tempo pensive music] Well, there was that experience of a heatwave in 2015 in Nairobi, and this one was a wake-up call for the city to be able to put in mechanisms of ensuring these temperatures can be reduced. And by doing so, the city put on adaptive mechanisms such as trying to establish what we call the communal green spaces, and this one was done, participated through which the city could identify, together with the communities, areas which can be used as green spaces, and then the city provides the incentives of planting trees and ensuring that those particular areas are also, you know, getting the benefits of cooling from that particular green in the city. [music fades out] 

And the city is also focused on ensuring the issue of, you know, the CSR, the commitment we call the corporate social responsibilities, especially in those companies which are particularly close to these informal settlements and also within the city's landscape. We are able to even get, you know, permits to be able to do a lot of landscaping, greening their fronts, and also greening their compounds and ensuring that the greening aspect of the city is also maintained. 

The city is also trying to integrate the issue of greening, especially in those slum projects. And as a matter of fact, the city is also working on the building guidelines for the city's projects, especially in the urban sector where, when one is constructing a building, then they have to set aside some space for greening. This is a very noble initiative, which will also be used as a cooling factor in the city.

David 35:54 

In the work with the informal settlements and the people who live there and organizations like Slum Dwellers International, was there a key thing that the residents asked for as part of that process? Is there anything that that would be of interest to other cities about what the residents had to say, themselves? 

Maurice Kavai 36:16 

There were a number of factors which it involved or other, which came out through the collaboration of the Slum Dwellers International, and one of those factors was the issue of energy use – the issue of illegal electricity connection, which was also, you know, identified as one of the major causes of disasters, especially fire outbreaks. The other one was the issue of lighting, especially in those particular areas, because there was very poor planning. There was also the issue of improper sewer disposal. Because this informal settlement did not have sewer connection, it means that each household had to find a way of disposing their sewer into the rivers. So, most of the challenges which were identified issues, that was one of them. You can compound it as improper sanitation in those particular areas, which now led to a lot of disease outbreaks such as cholera. The residents living in these informal settlements, we are mainly focused in trying to get solutions to these particular problems, and the city was also focused in trying to find an amicable solution to those particular problems, as well. 

So, you could find that, in this kind of engagement, then there was a level playing ground. At some point, the informal settlements could provide even land for this infrastructure to be constructed on. 

David 37:49 

[gentle, percussive music] What can other cities learn from Nairobi in its efforts to lead on sustainable urban planning? And what are some of the key impacts that you're seeing already in the city from the work we've been discussing? 

Maurice Kavai 38:04 

For us as a city, the most important success stories we can share about the city is the issue of collaboration. Cities can really learn a lot through collaborating with partners who are also keen on sustainable urban planning. But there is need for the issues which the city wants to be taken care of, through which it is important for cities to conduct what we call, like, the climate risk assessment so that they can be able to map all those vulnerabilities which are within those communities. Then, by doing so, they'll be able to generate data, which is very key in informing in the cities, in terms of planning for those particular areas.

Then, there is also a need for cities to find a way of enhancing and supporting partnership by providing the enabling framework for partners to engage with the city, by supporting the partners in terms of getting them, access to these communities, ensuring that partners get data for development, developing what we call proposals as well, because through this kind of collaboration, that is when partners can get funding for projects which they have already identified. 

So, the most important factor or reason which the cities should consider is enhancing the issue of partnership, with other partners as well, so that they can co-create and pull resources together for implementing sustainable projects within their cities. 

David 39:51 

And any key impacts you'd like to highlight that have been seen, so far? 

Maurice Kavai 39:57 

One of them is that, as a city, we have also been able to impact so much on greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the informal settlements. Although I do not have the significant figure because we are updating our greenhouse gases, I can say that this one has been, you know, impactively reduced because we have improved waste collection in these particular areas. 

There is also the aspect of reduced distance to coming to the central business district where people are able to come to the central business district to access some services. The issue of this sustainable new urban planning has enabled this development to actually take place in the localities of these people. Then, that's reducing the distance travelled by people – Nairobians to come and access these particular services. And that one has also resulted in reduced traffic congestion, reduced also issues of emissions, although significantly, I cannot quantify that because we are still updating the greenhouse gas inventory.

David 41:10 

Well, we'll have to have you on the show again once the greenhouse gas inventory is updated so we'll have the data. Maurice, this has been terrific. Is there anything I've missed that you'd like to add? 

Maurice Kavai 41:21 

I also want to state that, through this partnership which we are really enjoying as a city, we are currently implementing the climate action plan, together with the C40, and we are also seeking partners to be able to implement the remaining action points. We have already started one on energy, together with our waste component, but we also need some support to be able to, you know, do what we call scaling up of the project. 

Then, we're also talking about making the city to be more resilient, and hence, we really need a lot of collaboration. Then, as we head into the African Climate Change Summit, with the city plans to co-host this African Climate Change Summit, so that is one of the things which you really want to see, as a city, being undertaken seriously. 

And finally, and not the least, I want to see Nairobi being the global leader in climate action through collaboration, through partnership, and through the efforts in upscaling this discussion, and also, from my end, I'll be able to give it the support which it requires. 

David 42:45 

[urgent music] Well, Maurice Kavai, I think we've clearly heard why Nairobi is already a leader in inclusive and equitable climate action, by meeting the needs of residents of informal settlements first and by proposing a very important railway city plan to address transportation for people from all walks of life. And an important part of that leadership is your personal leadership, so we really appreciate you taking the time to be on Cities 1.5 and wish you continued success in supporting Nairobi's incredible collaborations to produce a far more resilient and low-carbon city.

Maurice Kavai 43:28 

Thank you so much. 

David 43:30 

Thank you very much. [music continues then ends]

[energetic, upbeat music] Urban planning decisions made today have a critical impact on a city's livability, resilience, and carbon emissions of tomorrow. Sustainable urban planning policies can ensure that cities can both mitigate and adapt to climate impacts, and that all residents have equal access to sustainable transport and essential services. 

Examples like Nairobi and Rotterdam, cities located on opposite sides of the globe but dealing with similar concerns, show us that the burdens of climate change are shared, regardless of where you live. Both cities demonstrate that there are actions cities can take now to make for a better future and a better world. [music continues then ends]

[Cities 1.5 main theme music] On the next episode of Cities 1.5, we turn to South America and feature two cities that are making big changes in their communities through climate innovation – Curitiba, Brazil, and Barranquilla, Colombia. Both of these cities' mayors have spearheaded projects like community gardens and parks, modernized bus rapid transit, the transformation of a landfill into a solar pyramid, and reducing the impact of climate displacement through the creation of good, green jobs. These cities are proving that innovative climate actions don't just make for a better city... they give the rest of us hope, too. [music continues]

Thanks for listening to Cities 1.5. I'm David Miller, the Managing Director of the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. I was the Mayor of Toronto, Canada, and know, first-hand, the impact cities can have in solving the climate crisis.

Cities 1.5 is produced by Jessica Schmidt. Our executive producers are Isabel Sitcov, Peggy Whitfield, Jessica Abraham, and Claudia Rupnik. Our music is by Lorna Gilfedder. Cities 1.5 is a production of the University of Toronto Press and the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.

To find out more, visit the show’s website link in the episode notes. See you next time. [Cities 1.5 main theme music continues then ends]