Hustle Urbanism: Making Life Work in Nairobi

Join us for the launch of Hustle Urbanism: Making Life Work in Nairobi by Dr Tatiana Thieme, published by University of Minnesota Press.

Exploring hustle as a social, cultural, and economic phenomenon in contemporary Nairobi.

Event Schedule

• Opening remarks by Dr Eszter Kovacs, Lecturer in Environment, Politics and Society
• Introduction to the book by Tatiana Thieme, Associate Professor in Human Geography
• Panel responses from five distinguished speakers

The evening will conclude with a casual reception in the MACII Room, North West Wing, hosted by the Global Urbanism Research Cluster.

About the Book

In Nairobi’s underserved neighbourhoods, “hustle” has emerged as both a vital survival strategy and a way of life for youth.

Exploring the multiple meanings and manifestations of the hustle economy across different scenarios of provisioning, distribution, exchange, learning, and mobilising, Hustle Urbanism draws on more than a decade of ethnographic engagement to centre the logics, perspectives, and inventive strategies of a group of youth who constantly navigate job scarcity, inadequate basic services, and climate-induced harms.

Tatiana Thieme shows how young people develop tools of resistance against the legacies of colonial violence and uneven urban development while carving out spaces of opportunity for themselves and their peers. The stories she includes bring thick ethnographic detail and longitudinal perspective to the lives and livelihoods of youth whose diverse skill sets and knowledges span from circular economies and eco-activism to hip hop and local leadership. Filling a significant gap in both existing scholarship and popular discussion, Hustle Urbanism offers critical theorisation of precarious urban environments and the affirmative modes of making life work in the city against the odds.

Praise for the Book

"This book is ethnography at its best..." (Mary Lawhon, Professor of Political Ecology, University of Edinburgh)

"... A must-read for any curious urbanist and practitioner." (Edgar Pieterse, founding director, African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town)

Discount Offer

Get 30% off the book with the code FSS25 at combinedacademic.co.uk. (Offer valid for UK, EMEA, and APAC regions only).

More Information

• For more information, including an Open Access tab, visit the book's webpage.
• For more information on the Globalization and Community series, visit the webpage.

Access profile

We aim to make our events as inclusive as possible so if you have any accessibility requirements, please let us know in advance so we can try to make reasonable adjustments and ensure the appropriate measures are taken.

• Lecture Theatre G22 is located on the ground floor of the North-West Wing.
• There is step-free access to the lecture theatre.
• There is staggered seating within the lecture theatre.
• The steps to the staggered seating do have handrails.
• There is not a hearing assistance system for the lecture theatre.

View the full access guide on the AccessAble website.