Embedded Files
SEE Risk
Seeing the Unseen in
Dense High-Rise Neighborhoods
A Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) project
In partnership with
Residents of Pipeline & Saika Estates • Open University & Talking Tree
Authors
Brock Hicks, Shirley Sang, Prisca Okila, Irene Asuwa, Greta Merrill, Annelyn Oranga, James Kirika, Sheila Achieng, Brian Monye, Samuel Musembi, Margaret Mutuku, Ronny Ochieng, Godfrey Michieka, Clare Momanyi, Agnes Nyambura, Elvine Nyamusi, Martin Onyango, Silas Jalamo, Melissa Gonzalez, & Mathews J. Wakhungu
This exhibition shares the work conducted for the SEE Risk project in Saika & Pipeline Estates in Nairobi, Kenya.
The project explored how residents in dense, high-rise neighborhoods perceive, experience, and navigate interconnected and often invisible threats. Unlike low-rise informal settlements, where urban risk is more commonly studied, vertical density creates distinct vulnerabilities—layered and interdependent risks tied to infrastructure strain, limited mobility, and shared spaces—that become so embedded in daily life they are normalized as unavoidable, often surfacing only as cascading failures in moments of crisis.
To make these hidden dynamics visible, we partnered with Saika and Pipeline residents as citizen scientists and experts on their own lived risk.
We asked: Who truly understands risk? The planner, the policymaker, or the person who lives with it every day?
Rather than relying solely on maps, models, and statistics, the project centers residents' lived experience as essential data. This invites us to see risk differently, through the eyes and stories of the people who navigate it daily, to identify pathways toward more inclusive and anticipatory resilience.
The physical exhibition emerged from six months of participatory research led by citizen scientists in Saika and Pipeline.
Research consisted of autoethnography (including journals, photographs, voice notes, observations, and collective reflection sessions) and participatory risk mapping. In mapping workshops, citizen scientists explored and visualised risk through spatial mapping, risk-by-the-clock exercises, hazard catalogues, and risk constellation mapping, revealing how environmental, social, infrastructural, and governance challenges intersect and shape daily experiences.
This digital exhibition extends and preserves materials first presented in the physical exhibition.
Held in April 2026 in Pipeline, the physical exhibition drew directly from these community-generated stories, images, maps, and reflections. It carried these conversations forward to a wider audience and creating an enduring archive of community knowledge and lived experiences.
Meet the citizen scientists
Pipeline
Saika
”Living between walls and worries”
Sheila Achieng
Dedicated, compassionate and result-driven professional social worker and an HIV testing and counseling provider with seven years experience working with adolesent girls and women in community-based programs.
“Conflict between comfort, affordability & stability”
Godfrey Michieka
Citizen scientist with a growing interest in photography and survey work. Working with organizations such as KDI, he has contributed photography, videography, and data analysis. For SEE Risk, he undertook research in densely populated and vertical Saika.
“Fabric of urban neglect”
Brian Monye
Dynamic community-based researcher, project manager and citizen scientist with over four years of experience implementing and supporting large-scale multi-sectoral programs in health, education, economic, and environment.
“Inevitability of change”
Clare Momanyi
Resident of Saika, raised here and lived here for over 23 years. She has a strong connection to her community and its everyday realities.
“Skyline grows upward, challenges grow alongside it”
Samuel Musembi
Forward-thinking tech enthusiast with a growing focus on digital systems and emerging technologies. Driven by curiosity and discipline, he is committed to building practical, future-ready skills that create meaningful impact in an increasingly connected world.
“Invisible until they accumulate”
Agnes Nyambura
Citizen scientist and community health worker, specialized in collecting relevant data and research within vertical residential areas to identify risk related to building structure, health, safety, and environmental conditions.
“Learning to live with danger”
Margaret Mutuku
28-year-old community advocate and active champion of community policing and social advocacy. Passionate about promoting safety, unity, and positive engagement within her community.
“Business for survival”
Elvine Nyamusi
Citizen scientist passionate about understanding communities and how people live in different environments, particularly in informal settlements.
“Risk doesn’t stand alone”
Ronny Ochieng
Hardworking and enthusiastic with experience in service delivery and store management. He is reliable, self-motivated and performs effectively both independently and as part of a team.
“Once you see risk, you can’t unsee it”
Martin Onyango
Nairobi-based citizen scientist whose perspective has been shaped by the city’s constant movement and resilience. Deeply reflective about people and everyday life, he extends his curiosity to the environment, particularly in densely populated areas like Saika and Pipeline.
Acknowledgements
This project and exhibition would not have been possible without the commitment, creativity, and generosity of the citizen scientists from Saika and Pipeline, whose stories, photographs, reflections, and analyses form the foundation of this work. We are grateful to the residents, community leaders, Nyumba Kumi representatives, and local administration whose participation, support, and guidance made this project possible. We also acknowledge the support of our partners, Talking Tree and the Open University, through the Open Societal Challenges Fund, alongside the counsellors and wider project team who created spaces for learning, reflection, wellbeing, and collective analysis. Together, your contributions have deepened our understanding of how urban risks are experienced, navigated, and transformed within Nairobi's dense high-rise neighbourhoods.
About KDI
Kounkuey Design Initiative is a community development and design nonprofit. We partner with under-resourced communities to advance equity and activate the unrealized potential in their neighborhoods and cities.
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