Tinkering with malleable grassroots infrastructures : Kenyan local currencies in informal settlements
(2023) In Urban Geography 45(5). p.798-817- Abstract
- The article examines how dwellers in Kenya’s informal settlements engage in continuous tinkering of a particular grassroots infrastructure: local currencies. The article argues that the malleability of these grassroots infrastructures enables grassroots networks to actively and creatively engage in reclaiming and reorganizing money, a critical infrastructure. The argument is built in three steps. First, it presents the notion of money as an infrastructure and local currencies as grassroots infrastructures. Second, it follows the development of the Kenyan local currencies from paper- to blockchain-based, and identifies malleability as a key trait of small-scale grassroots infrastructures. Third, it highlights the extent to which... (More)
- The article examines how dwellers in Kenya’s informal settlements engage in continuous tinkering of a particular grassroots infrastructure: local currencies. The article argues that the malleability of these grassroots infrastructures enables grassroots networks to actively and creatively engage in reclaiming and reorganizing money, a critical infrastructure. The argument is built in three steps. First, it presents the notion of money as an infrastructure and local currencies as grassroots infrastructures. Second, it follows the development of the Kenyan local currencies from paper- to blockchain-based, and identifies malleability as a key trait of small-scale grassroots infrastructures. Third, it highlights the extent to which malleability enables grassroots networks to engage proactively and creatively with the city through tinkering practices that continuously adapt these local infrastructures to the community using them. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of grassroots monetary infrastructures for the understanding of urban politics within urban studies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1bddaa87-5346-407a-941a-4ef6312b3940
- author
- Barinaga, Ester LU and Zapata Campos, Maria Jose
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-07
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- complementary currencies, grassroots innovations, malleability, grassroots infrastructures, informal settlements
- in
- Urban Geography
- volume
- 45
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 798 - 817
- publisher
- Bellwether Publishing Ltd
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85166771245
- ISSN
- 0272-3638
- DOI
- 10.1080/02723638.2023.2239658
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1bddaa87-5346-407a-941a-4ef6312b3940
- date added to LUP
- 2023-08-03 10:23:37
- date last changed
- 2024-06-27 08:41:28
@article{1bddaa87-5346-407a-941a-4ef6312b3940,
abstract = {{The article examines how dwellers in Kenya’s informal settlements engage in continuous tinkering of a particular grassroots infrastructure: local currencies. The article argues that the malleability of these grassroots infrastructures enables grassroots networks to actively and creatively engage in reclaiming and reorganizing money, a critical infrastructure. The argument is built in three steps. First, it presents the notion of money as an infrastructure and local currencies as grassroots infrastructures. Second, it follows the development of the Kenyan local currencies from paper- to blockchain-based, and identifies malleability as a key trait of small-scale grassroots infrastructures. Third, it highlights the extent to which malleability enables grassroots networks to engage proactively and creatively with the city through tinkering practices that continuously adapt these local infrastructures to the community using them. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of grassroots monetary infrastructures for the understanding of urban politics within urban studies.}},
author = {{Barinaga, Ester and Zapata Campos, Maria Jose}},
issn = {{0272-3638}},
keywords = {{complementary currencies; grassroots innovations; malleability; grassroots infrastructures; informal settlements}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{5}},
pages = {{798--817}},
publisher = {{Bellwether Publishing Ltd}},
series = {{Urban Geography}},
title = {{Tinkering with malleable grassroots infrastructures : Kenyan local currencies in informal settlements}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2023.2239658}},
doi = {{10.1080/02723638.2023.2239658}},
volume = {{45}},
year = {{2023}},
}