09. February 2026

“Cities are shaped not only by policies and plans, but also by the everyday, mundane environmental efforts and negotiations of people” Valentine Opanga obtains doctoral degree for research on Nairobi's political ecology and governance of green spaces

Valentine Opanga successfully defends her doctoral thesis on Nairobi's political ecology and governance of green spaces

Valentine Opanga, junior researcher with ZEF’s research group on Cultural and Political Change (ZEF CPC), defended her doctoral thesis on “The Political Ecology and Governance of Green spaces in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements” successfully today.

She obtained her doctoral degree from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Bonn. Her research was supervised by Professor Detlef Mueller-Mahn (Geography Department, Bonn University) and Professor Eva Youkhana (group leader ZEF CPC).

Valentine Opanga (center) with her supervisors and examination committee members
Valentine Opanga (center) with her supervisors and examination committee members © ZEF PR/Ricarda Mundt
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Personal message from Valentine: 

"This research reminded me that cities are shaped not just by policies and plans, but also by the everyday, mundane environmental efforts and negotiations of people whose efforts remain unnoticed.

Thanks to my family for their constant support, my committee members, Prof. Detlef Muller-Mahn, Prof. Eva Youkhana, Prof. Carsten Butsch, and Prof. Christian Borgemeister, for their guidance and mentorship, and my colleagues at ZEF and the Geography Department for their continued support".

This doctoral research was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Cartel Economies and Urban Governance: The Interplay of Performative Politics, Social Embeddedness, and Land Control in Nairobi's Informal Settlements 
https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397251411333

Contestations Over Space: Urban Greening and Displacement In Pumwani-Majengo, Nairobi https://doi.org/10.3112/erdkunde.2025.04.03 

Valentine Opanga and Prince Guma Negotiating green urbanism: Colonial legacies, governance contradictions, and resistance in Nairobi's informal settlements 
https://doi.org/10.1177/30497515251360893

Debarry, A., & Opanga, V. (2025). Urban Invisibles: Feminist Perspectives on Marginalisation and Resistance. Urban Matters Journal https://doi.org/10.24834/urbanmatters.2025.08.5