2020 - Present
︎︎︎ Living Data Hubs Website

Project Leads
Sarah Williams
Gabriella Carolini

Researchers
Sofia Gulaid
Innocent Ndubuisi-Obi
Sarah Rege
Kwesi Afrifa
Wesley Woo
Surbhi Argawal

Collaborators
 Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI)
Tunapanda Institute

Overview


 "Living Data Hubs: People and Data in Kibera" is a collaborative project seeking to address the critical data gap found in informal communities through community data collection and training. This project will provide knowledge about how to scale up and network the Living Data Hub model to expand access to the internet, stimulate economic and educational opportunity, and elevate residents’ voices through the collection and dissemination of robust data on socio-environmental risk.

The Living Data Hubs will be integrated into infrastructure within a network of 11 community-managed public spaces co-designed by project partner KDI with residents to meet diverse priorities from economic opportunity to safe sanitation. We work with KDI, a Nairobi-based community network, and community based organizations to construct, and maintain the Living Data Hubs, promoting community stewardship of essential infrastructure while building employability of community members in a larger city with rapidly-growing tech and data science sectors.

Once established, the hubs will both collect and disseminate data through wireless access points, which connect residents to the internet and build the infrastructure for a larger network, and data sensors for collection and dissemination of data. Through bespoke installation and networking and governance training, community members build technical capacity and develop sustainability plans to maintain the network and have control of their data.

KPSP Public Space 10 at Andolo Bridge CommunityKPSP Public Space 10 at Andolo Bridge Community