Huijoo Shon - Research

Infrastructure configurations and sharing practices in informal settlements: A cross-sector and cross-level analysis

In informal settlements, access to housing, energy, water, and sanitation often depends on shared facilities, informal connections, and arrangements negotiated among residents, landlords, operators, and vendors. This project examines how these infrastructure systems are organized across households, compounds, and neighborhoods and how people collectively use, maintain, repair, and improve them. I use a mixed-methods approach combining mapping, household and infrastructure surveys, field observation, and interviews across Kibera, Mathare, and Mukuru in Nairobi. The study investigates how different infrastructure configurations and sharing practices relate to reliable, safe, and affordable access to basic services. By examining multiple sectors and spatial levels together, the project aims to provide a more integrated understanding of how infrastructure works in informal settlements and which arrangements can support more equitable and resilient services.

Presentation

Shon, H., & Kaza, N. (Oct 2026). Infrastructure configurations and sharing practices in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya: A multi-sector analysis. 2026 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Annual Conference. Oral presentation.

Supported by

CFK Africa (Peacock Fellowship)
Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Webb Design Fellowship; Kaza Lab)
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Manga Lab)

Map of shared water points in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya

Cross-sector infrastructure

Shared sanitation in informal settlements: Scale development, health impact, and predictors

Shared toilets are a routine part of everyday life in many low-income urban settlements, but their quality varies widely across facilities and neighborhoods. This project examines which physical conditions, sharing arrangements, and maintenance practices are associated with cleaner, safer, and more satisfactory sanitation services. We combine household surveys and technical observations from low-income settlements in Nairobi and Kampala with statistical and spatial analyses of facility and neighborhood conditions. The analysis considers both observed facility performance and users' experiences, including cleanliness, privacy, safety, and dignity. The study seeks to identify practical conditions that can improve shared sanitation and inform more context-sensitive approaches to sanitation planning.

Publication

Lebu, S., Shon, H., Sprouse, L., Muoghalu, C., Aine, B. M., Mirembe, G., ... & Manga, M. (2026). High-quality shared sanitation should be recognized as an acceptable service level, clearly defined, and embedded in global monitoring frameworks. PLOS Water, 5(4), e0000532. Opinion paper

Presentation

Shon, H., Lebu, S., Sprouse, L., Aine, B. M., Mirembe, G., Semiyaga, S., ... & Manga, M. (Oct 2026). Predictors of shared-sanitation quality: Facility conditions and maintenance practices matter for facility performance and user perceptions. 2026 Water and Health Conference. Oral presentation.

Supported by

Manga Lab, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Habitat for Humanity International

Framework for an evidence-based, measurable, and scalable service delivery model for high-quality shared sanitation. Opinion paper

Street and pedestrian accessibility

Walking is central to everyday mobility in many African cities, yet many pedestrian streets, alleys, and paths are missing from existing maps. This project examines how these under-mapped routes affect our understanding of neighborhood accessibility in Nairobi and Kampala. I use high-resolution aerial imagery and OpenStreetMap to develop a computer-vision model that detects narrow and irregular pedestrian streets. The reconstructed networks are then used to examine how a more complete street map changes estimates of connectivity and accessibility. The study aims to improve methods for mapping pedestrian infrastructure in data-scarce urban areas and support more equitable planning for everyday mobility.

Supported by

Kaza Lab, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Typical cases of unmapped pedestrian street

Mobile home parks, manufactured homes, and flood exposure

Mobile home parks are an important source of affordable housing in the United States, yet their locations, physical changes, and exposure to disasters are poorly documented. We develop computer vision approach for object detection to identify manufactured homes and mobile home parks from high-resolution imagery in North Carolina and Florida. The research combines machine-learning techniques with both manual image review and field validation to improve the accuracy of detection and monitoring over time.

Recent work examines post-disaster transformations of mobile home parks in western North Carolina by comparing imagery collected before and after Hurricane Helene to identify park persistence, contraction, closure, and housing-unit loss. The broader goal is to develop scalable methods for understanding housing resilience, climate-related disaster, and recovery.

Publication

Shon, H., Kaza, N., & Khanal, K. (2026). Perils, precarity and persistence: Mobile home parks in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Manuscript under revision

Supported by

Kaza Lab, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Energy infrastructure and spatial disparities

Energy poverty remains widespread across Africa, but access to reliable energy services varies across households, communities, and different trajectories of urbanization. This research examines how household and community infrastructure, spatial context, and patterns of investment relate to multidimensional energy poverty and geographic disparities in energy access. Using household surveys, geospatial data, and spatial analysis, the work traces these relationships across urban and rural settings and at multiple spatial scales. Our studies highlight the importance of multilevel and place-sensitive infrastructure planning for advancing more equitable energy access.

Publication

Shon, H. & Lee, H. 2026. The role of household and community infrastructures in mitigating energy poverty in Africa: Between and within urban and rural areas. Energy Economics, 154, 109045. Paper
Lee, H., & Shon, H., 2024. Spatial and temporal patterns of energy aid and poverty in four African countries: Focusing on distributive and recognition energy justice. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 192, 114261. Paper

Paper

Climate change, infrastructure, and health

Climate variability affects child health, while its impacts also vary with the infrastructure and environmental conditions surrounding households and communities. We examine how climate anomalies interact with water, sanitation, housing, and energy conditions to influence child health and nutrition across sub-Saharan Africa, using three decades of temperature and precipitation data. Our recent work uses R-INLA to map child undernutrition while accounting for climate exposure and infrastructure conditions. Another study examines whether community-level infrastructure can buffer the effects of climate variability on household water access. Through these studies, we aim to identify how infrastructure can reduce climate-related health risks and support more equitable and locally responsive adaptation strategies.

Technical report

Shon, H. (2025). Climate Anomalies, Infrastructure, and Child Undernutrition in Kenya and Tanzania: A Geospatial Statistical Approach, 2025 Research report, World Vision Korea.
Shon, H. (2024). Infrastructural Vulnerability, Climate Anomalies and Child Health in 32 sub-Saharan African Countries: Focusing on Water, Sanitation, Housing, and Energy from a Climate Justice Perspective, 2024 Research report, World Vision Korea.

Presentation

Shon, H. & Kaza, N., (Oct 2025). From Presence to Reach: Household Water Access, Community Infrastructure, and Climate Change in Africa. 2025 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Annual Conference. Oral presentation.

Supported by

World Vision Korea (Graduate student research grant)

Measurement of climate anomalies

Predicted prevalence of stunting in Kenya

Urbanization, vulnerability, and child health in Africa

Rapid urbanization across sub-Saharan Africa is creating diverse living environments in which health risks and resources vary substantially within and between cities and rural areas. We study how urbanicity, social vulnerability, and community conditions relate to child health outcomes, including mortality, morbidity, and malaria infection. Our work uses multidimensional measures of urbanization and multilevel spatial analysis to capture differences that conventional settlement classifications often overlook. We seek to provide a more nuanced understanding of how geospatial, infrastructural, and social conditions are associated with health inequalities and to inform interventions across household, community, and city levels.

Publication

Shon, H., 2025. Multilevel social vulnerability and urban health in sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for adaptation across household, community, and city levels. Sustainable cities and society, 126, 106368. Paper, Accepted ver
Shon, H., 2024. Urbanicity and child health in 26 sub-Saharan African countries: Settlement type and its association with mortality and morbidity. Social Science & Medicine, 340, 116401. Paper
Shon, H., & Kim, B. 2026. Multidimensional urbanicity reveals hidden malaria disparities across sub-Saharan Africa. Manuscript in preparation

Presentation

Shon, H., and Kim, B. (Nov 2025). Urbanicity at Community Level Matters in Child Malaria Infection: Evidence from 20 African Countries. 2025 Korean Academy of Development Policy (KADP). Oral presentation

Supported by

Korea Safety Health Environment (SHE) Foundation (Graduate student research grant)
Taejae Research Foundation (Graduate student research grant)
ISD (Innovation for Sustainable Development) Lab & Prof. Kim

Paper

Paper, Accepted ver

Past projects

2023-2024. Reconceiving community-driven development as spatial practice in the realm of environmental justice: The case of grassroots movements in the Global South, Research report on the Global Seed Grant program and grassroot organizations. The Korea Safety Health Environment (SHE) Foundation (Contract, Principal Researcher).
2022-2023. Residential environment and its geographical patterns in small and medium cities in East African countries (Kenya and Ethiopia), Taejae Research Foundation of City Research Inst., KOR (Graduate Grant, Principal Researcher).
2022-2023. Community development toward climate justice and health equity: A case study of vulnerable settlements in Ethiopia and Kenya. Field research in Ethiopia and Kenya, Seoul National University (Graduate Grant, Principal Researcher).
2020-2022. Effects of Social Progress Credit (SPC) on Performance of Social Enterprises. Center for Social value Enhancement Studies (CSES), KOR (Contract, Research Assistant).
2021-2022. Improving social value measurement of social enterprises using big data. Economic Research Institute, Seoul National University (Contract, Research Assistant).
2021. A Study on Children Health and Settlement Environment in 26 sub-Saharan African Countries: An Urbanicity and Residential Characteristics. Korea Safety Health Environment (SHE) Foundation (Graduate Grant, Principal Researcher).