The inclusion and exclusion of Somali communities as seen through the publicness of space in Nairobi and Stockholm

Abstract: The neighborhoods of Eastleigh in Nairobi, Kenya and Rinkeby in Stockholm, Sweden are both home to Somali populations that have burgeoned over the last 25 years. While situated in vastly different urban contexts, the Somali communities in each location have needs related to public space, particularly when considering their status in both places as a minority group that is often marginalized by Kenyan and Swedish societies. By examining the experiences of each of these two communities in public space and the level of publicness they experience, we can see how the Somali community can be made to feel included or excluded within each city. Using Setha Low’s framework of categorical activities that contribute to a flourishing society, the publicness of spaces in each location is investigated. In addition, the study explores the ways in which publicness is under threat in both places through the means of technologies of control. The resistance to such technologies is argued as symbolic of the fight for inclusion within Kenyan and Swedish society.