How urban 'informality' can inform response to COVID-19: a research agenda for the future.

In the era of increasingly defined ontological insecurity and uncertainty driven by the ravages of COVID-19, urban informal settlement has emerged as a source of resilience. Indeed, the effects of a pandemic transcends its epidemiological characteristics to political economy and societal resilience. If resilience is the capacity of a system to adapt successfully to significant challenges that threaten the function or development of the human society, then ontological insecurity is about the lack of such capacity. Drawing on Keith Hartian's understanding of 'informality' of spaces, this policy brief attempts to identify and frame a research agenda for the future. The agenda would assist future researchers and policymakers provide responses that appropriately recognize groups and actors that define the urban informal space.

Policy and research frame of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: reflections on urban informality.

How has the informality of urban slums exposed a gap in policy formulation and research questions in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic? This paper seeks to identify the appropriate questions and policy frame that would assist future researchers and policymakers on the subject of pandemics in densely populated urban settlements. The authors argue that the nexus between asking the appropriate questions and developing appropriate policy response measures during a pandemic can significantly impact the outcome of the response. The paper examines how the government of Kenya's response to the COVID-19 pandemic reveals a deep-rooted socio-economic and cultural inequality when "blanket" policies are adopted without taking into consideration the unique dynamics characterizing the society. The findings show that the effectiveness of implementing COVID-19 containment policies such as lockdowns, the cession of movement, working from home, distance learning, and social distancing are affected by other factors such as the nature of jobs, one's income levels, where someone lives, cultural beliefs, access to water, sanitation, internet, and medical facilities. This means that a significant number of people within the society experience a double tragedy from the pandemic and impact of government response measures. Yet most of the existing literature has focused on the causes, spread, and impact of the pandemic on health institutions, economies, and public health with little emphasis on the impact on policy measures especially on the vulnerable segments of the society. This paper, therefore, looks at the question of how the various public health intervention strategies disrupt or construct the livelihood of the already complex informal settlement. It provides policymakers and researchers with a number of questions that can frame policy and research during a pandemic with important consideration to urban informality.

Modeling a Pandemic (COVID-19) Management Strategy for Urban Slums Using Social Geometry Framework.

The purpose of this paper is to utilize social geometry framework to model a pandemic (COVID-19) management strategy in densely populated informal settlements in Kenya. Our central claim is that the containment strategy that was instituted to control spread of COVID-19 failed to recognize the socio-cultural and livelihood complexities of the urban slum residents. This unmitigated strategy predisposed the residents to risks of heightened transmission of the pandemic. Drawing on social geometry approach in the analysis of human relations, we reveal some insights offered by our experiences in theorizing about public health intervention (PHI) and in doing so develop an alternative analytical framework ('social pendulum') to support the development of a PHI strategy that is compatible with the swing-like lifestyle of residents in the informal settlements. Our conclusion revisits the reliability and validity criteria for the new framework and offers some direction for further research.

Cet article a pour but d'utiliser un cadre de géométrie sociale pour modéliser une stratégie de gestion de la pandémie (COVID-19) dans les zones d'habitation informelles et densément peuplées au Kenya. Nous partons du principe que la stratégie d'endiguement qui a été mise en place pour contrôler la propagation de la COVID-19 n'a pas réussi à prendre la mesure de la complexité socioculturelle, ni celle des moyens de subsistance, des habitants des bidonvilles urbains. Cette stratégie indiscriminée a exposé les habitants à des risques accrus de transmission de la pandémie. Le modèle de géométrie sociale, au contraire, a la possibilité d'influencer la refonte d'une stratégie alternative d'intervention de santé publique qui serait compatible avec la configuration unique des moyens de subsistance dans les zones d'habitation informelles, configuration qui adopte des mouvements de pendule. Nous élaborons un cadre analytique (du «pendule social¼) en nous basant sur ce mode de vie, pour appuyer le développement d'une stratégie alternative d'intervention de santé publique. Dans notre conclusion, nous revisitons les critères de fiabilité et de validité du nouveau cadre et offrons une orientation pour les études à venir.