PLACE OF POSITIONALITY, VALUES, ETHICS AND REFLEXIVITY IN QUALITATIVE URBAN FIELD WORK RESEARCH

Abstract

The process of urbanization is one of the most important dimensions of economic, social and physical change. It is often said that the planet's future will be an urban one. The largest and fastest-growing cities are in developing countries, and Kenya is not an exception. Rapid urban population growth means an increasing demand for land. This land is not available within the city, but in peri-urban areas, for various reasons. The conversion of agricultural land to residential uses is leading to rapid transformations in agricultural production, spatial structure, social structure, land ownership and land markets in these areas. In the peri-urban areas of Nairobi, the land used for agricultural production is being gradually encroached upon and reduced, as it is increasingly being used for urban activities, and particularly for residential land uses. This squeezing out of agricultural land continues, despite the fact that Kenya's economy is predominantly agriculturalbased. Given the country's scarcity of arable land, this is one of the observations that indicates a contradiction in what one would expect to happen compared with what is really taking place; the situation requires urgent and immediate attention. This paper, based on an empirical research, explores various aspects of land use and changes in the Nairobi's peri-urban areas. The major question guiding the discussion is, "Why is agriculture being squeezed out by non-agricultural land uses in Nairobi's peri-urban areas?".