Living Data Hubs is a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Civic Data Design Lab and City Infrastructure Equity Lab, the Kounkuey Design Initiative (a non-profit design think tank) and TunaPandaNet (a community internet network) in Nairobi, Kenya. The mission of the collaborative is to address the critical infrastructure and data gaps found in informal urban communities. The action research project is based on data-empowerment for the urban poor by making reliable, affordable internet accessible.
One of the most challenging problems facing informal dwellers in low-income countries today is the lack of access and control over data collected about them. Despite being the ones who best know their issues, their voices are left unheard. Informal settlements are marked with extractive research with little contribution to improving the quality of life of people and communities. Data is typically collected independently of community residents, excluding them from immediate benefits and control over their narrative. Data today represents knowledge and power to speak with evidence and advocate with propriety. The Internet is crucial for data collection, management, and sharing, and therefore, internet access and affordability matter.
The current pilot of the project, Kibera Public Space Internet Network (KPSPIN), is an extension of KDI’s Kibera Public Space Network (KPSP), a network of community-managed public spaces in Kibera. This relationship further embeds the internet network in the social fabric of the settlement by providing internet access at nodal community centers like schools and youth centers. A core element of this work is to build capacity in the communities through training resident participants about the management and benefits of data ownership and digital literacy. Using an on-ground pilot-based methodology, the aim is to develop a functioning and self-sustaining model for the community-based Wi-Fi network and data hubs and scale up the setup to similarly challenged contexts globally.
One of the most challenging problems facing informal dwellers in low-income countries today is the lack of access and control over data collected about them. Despite being the ones who best know their issues, their voices are left unheard. Informal settlements are marked with extractive research with little contribution to improving the quality of life of people and communities. Data is typically collected independently of community residents, excluding them from immediate benefits and control over their narrative. Data today represents knowledge and power to speak with evidence and advocate with propriety. The Internet is crucial for data collection, management, and sharing, and therefore, internet access and affordability matter.
The current pilot of the project, Kibera Public Space Internet Network (KPSPIN), is an extension of KDI’s Kibera Public Space Network (KPSP), a network of community-managed public spaces in Kibera. This relationship further embeds the internet network in the social fabric of the settlement by providing internet access at nodal community centers like schools and youth centers. A core element of this work is to build capacity in the communities through training resident participants about the management and benefits of data ownership and digital literacy. Using an on-ground pilot-based methodology, the aim is to develop a functioning and self-sustaining model for the community-based Wi-Fi network and data hubs and scale up the setup to similarly challenged contexts globally.