Smart urbanism?: ICTs for water and electricity supply in Nairobi

Abstract

In recent years, the study of urban infrastructure has become central to examining African cities. This paper is a contribution to this scholarship. Of particular interest is the interface between telecommunications and urban water and electricity utility systems. I examine the degree to which ICT deployments for urban water and electricity supply shape and are shaped by the urban context of Nairobi, Kenya. I show how in recognition of the city’s splintering and fragmentation, service providers have employed spatial targeting, strategically deploying ‘pro-poor’ services. I argue that while framed along narratives of spatial justice, ‘pro-poor’ deployments demonstrate market-led priorities for utility providers in their desire to maximise returns on investment, expand centralised networks, increase market share, and counter competition from private and heterogeneous providers. I also show that these deployments have had to contend with micro-political dynamics and implications. Ultimately, the objective for this paper is to offer an empirical perspective on the efficacy of the urban nexus and the contested nature of the politics and spatialities of smart or ICT-led urbanism especially in the context of an African city.