Graffiti as a Catalyst for Urban Creativity: Exploring Agency, Participation, and the Right to the City in Nairobi

Abstract

This article examines graffiti as a catalyst for urban creativity in Nairobi, focusing on how young people use it to assert agency and reshape public spaces. Drawing on the concepts of the ‘right to the city’ and DIY urbanism, the study analyses two key graffiti projects to explore graffiti’s role in reclaiming public spaces from capitalist and political control. Based on research conducted from 2015 to 2018 across Nairobi’s neighborhoods, the findings highlight graffiti’s potential for civic engagement and placemaking despite challenges like gender inequality and th transient nature of urban art. The study argues that graffiti offers low-cost, impactful ways to foster cultural exchange, civic participation, and creativity in Nairobi’s rapidly evolving urban landscape.