This week Edwin Ndeke @edwinoblak will share his series on recent flooding in Kenya:
Edwin writes: In March all through to May Kenya saw some of its most catastrophic weather for years. Torrential rains caused devastating floods, at least 228 people died, thousands were displaced and nearly 2,000 schools were affected.
Poorer communities were disproportionately affected. Mathare , with roughly 70,000 residents, is just one part of the densely populated “informal settlement” in Nairobi, and people are still reeling from the impact of the flood.
Unplanned or illegal housing developments that obstruct the flow of water, settlements on riverbanks, and poor drainage systems worsened flood impacts
Because About 70% of Nairobi’s residents live in informal settlements, which occupy about 5% of the city’s land. Congested living conditions push the poorest residents to the margins of the settlement, where they are most vulnerable.
These photos paint a picture of how important it his to fight climate change & effects it has to humans.
Captions:
1. Jane Kalekye at the door of her flooded house in the Mathare Slums on 01/05/2024 as the East african country experiences heavy long rains in Nairobi, Kenya
2. Jane Kalekye stands opposite her flooded house in Mathare Slums on 01/05/2024,Nairobi, Kenya as the country experiences heavy long rains.
3. Jane Kalekye and her son, Francis ochieng,help their neighbour remove a sofa that has blocked her house in Mathare Slums on 01/05/2024, Nairobi, Kenya as the country experiences heavy long rains.
#climatechange #globalwarming #climatecrisis #Kenya #Africa #eastafrica #flooding #torrentialrain #rain #poverty #informalsettlements
Compressed earth block projects in Kenya’s drylands are signalling a shift towards sustainable construction that balances material performance with environmental sustainability in construction. By replacing kiln‑fired bricks and cement with locally produced low embodied carbon materials, these buildings achieve reduced embodied carbon while enhancing thermal comfort through passive design. The combination of thermal mass and vapour‑open walls supports sustainable building design adapted to warmer climates and delivers measurable gains in lifecycle assessment and life cycle cost efficiency.
As whole life carbon and embodied carbon in materials become central to regulation and procurement, codification and quality assurance will dictate how rapidly such natural materials scale to mainstream use. Compressed earth blocks in Kenya exemplify how local innovation aligns with sustainability targets and social benefits for communities adapting to climate stress.
European policy is steering the supply chain towards a circular economy in construction. Tighter controls on plastic imports are designed to foster a stable market for compliant recycled polymers and strengthen traceability. For manufacturers pursuing higher recycled content, this supports circular construction strategies and improves environmental product declarations (EPDs). For specifiers and project teams, it provides a stronger evidence base for whole life carbon assessment within sustainable building practices and reinforces the commitment to resource efficiency in construction.
The UK’s accelerating offshore wind capacity, now exceeding 16GW, deepens the transition towards net zero carbon buildings and reduces the carbon footprint of construction by decarbonising energy supply. As sites electrify and equipment integrates renewable sources, the alignment between energy‑efficient buildings and carbon neutral construction grows closer. This shift enables data‑driven evaluation of whole life carbon performance and encourages contracting models that value carbon intensity alongside cost, advancing low carbon design and net zero objectives across the sector.
In alpine zones and high‑risk regions, the integration of climate‑informed planning, geotechnical monitoring and enforceable safety zones underscores the need to view climate adaptation as a core aspect of sustainable architecture. Infrastructure such as Spain’s high‑speed rail demonstrates how green construction combined with whole life carbon accounting can deliver deep emissions cuts while improving resilience. The global construction industry must merge such systemic decarbonisation with eco‑design for buildings, green building materials and sustainable material specification, ensuring that every project contributes to long‑term building lifecycle performance and to decarbonising the built environment.
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