Beneath the Expressway: Contested Grounds of Mobility in Nairobi
Beneath the Expressway: Contested Grounds of Mobility in Nairobi is a collaborative design research project examining how large-scale road infrastructure reshapes everyday movement, access and public space at ground level.
Across Nairobi, elevated highways and flyovers are reshaping urban space and everyday movement. Developed through large-scale infrastructure investment programmes, these projects prioritise motorised transport while creating new barriers for people who walk, cycle, wait and trade at ground level. Beneath the expressway, everyday life continues in unplanned and often unsafe conditions, revealing ongoing negotiations over access, safety and the right to move.
The ground beneath the expressway is not empty or residual space. It is contested territory, shaped by infrastructure design, governance arrangements and everyday survival strategies. At the same time, it is a space of adaptation, where alternative forms of urban life persist despite fragmentation and exclusion.
The project focuses on a 10 km stretch of the Nairobi Expressway between Westlands and the Central Business District.
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By concentrating on ground-level conditions, the study examines how pedestrians and other non-motorised road users navigate beneath the expressway, tracing everyday routes, crossings, waiting points and informal adaptations that emerge in response to fragmented infrastructure.
Project Partner
