Nairobi is a large rapidly-growing city whose demand for beef, mutton and goat products is expected to double by 2030. The study aimed to map the Nairobi beef, sheep and goat systems structure and flows to identify deficiencies and vulnerabilities to shocks.Cross-sectional data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews with people operating in Nairobi ruminant livestock and meat markets and in the large processing companies. Qualitative and quantitative data were obtained about the type of people, animals, products and value adding activities in the chains, and their structural, spatial and temporal interactions. Mapping analysis was done in three different dimensions: people and product profiling (interactions of people and products), geographical (routes of animals and products) and temporal mapping (seasonal fluctuations). The results obtained were used to identify structural deficiencies and vulnerability factors in the system.Results for the beef food system showed that 44–55% of the city's beef supply flows through the ‘local terminal markets’, but that 54–64% of total supply is controlled by one ‘meat market’. Numerous informal chains were identified, with independent livestock and meat traders playing a pivotal role in the functionality of these systems, and where most activities are conducted with inefficient quality control and under scarce and inadequate infrastructure and organisation, generating wastage and potential food safety risks in low quality meat products. Geographical and temporal analysis showed the critical areas influencing the different markets, with larger markets increasing their market share in the low season. Large processing companies, partly integrated, operate with high quality infrastructures, but with up to 60% of their beef supply depending on similar routes as the informal markets. Only these companies were involved in value addition activities, reaching high-end markets, but also dominating the distribution of popular products, such as beef sausages, to middle and low-end market. For the small ruminant food system, 73% of the low season supply flows through a single large informal market, Kiamaiko, located in an urban informal settlement. No grading is done for these animals or the meat produced. Large companies were reported to export up to 90% of their products. Lack of traceability and control of animal production was a common feature in all chains.The mapping presented provides a framework for policy makers and institutions to understand and design improvement plans for the Nairobi ruminant food system. The structural deficiencies and vulnerabilities identified here indicate the areas of intervention needed.

Rapid urbanization in the global South is adding epidemiological and nutritional challenges and increasing disease and health burdens for citizens. Greater movement of people, animals, food and trade often provides favourable grounds for the emergence of infectious diseases, including zoonoses. We conduct a rapid evidence scan to explore what is known and hypothesized about the links between urbanization and zoonosis emergence. This points to rapid demographic growth, migration and density, increased movement of people and animals, and changes in land uses as the main processes linked to the prevalence of zoonosis in the urban global South. We argue that this emerging global health challenge is also deeply connected with the urbanization of poverty and inequalities within cities. Tackling the micro-level causal relationships between urbanization and zoonosis requires urgent attention to living conditions, as well as the wider socioenvironmental transitions and structural drivers that produce and reproduce risk accumulation in urban settings.

Food vendors are pivotal in the local food system of most low‐income informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, despite being seen as an obstruction and as agents of disease and filth by city authorities. This paper explores the geography of these foodscapes – defined as public sites of food production and consumption – in selected low‐income settlements in Nairobi, focusing on the interaction of food vendors with their surrounding environment and infrastructure services. The research uses participatory geographic information system tools, including food mapping with mobile apps and high‐resolution community aerial views with balloon mapping, to capture and contextualise local knowledge. The community mappers collected data on 660 vendors from 18 villages in Kibera, Mathare, and Mukuru, and situated them on multi‐layered synoptic geographic overviews for each settlement. The resulting data on hazardous areas in relation to food spaces and infrastructure provision allowed local communities to prioritise areas for regular clean‐up activities and assisted advocacy to improve these places in cooperation with local authorities. These multiple visual representations of foodscapes make local food vendors, and the risks they face, visible for the first time. Reframing their “right to safe food and environment” from a social and environmental justice perspective allows local communities to put their experiences, knowledge, and challenges faced at the forefront of urban development planning, policy, and practice.

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The limited availability of public transportation in Saudi Arabia leads to an increased demand for private vehicles. An increase in using private cars does not meet the global sustainability goals, e.g., reducing energy consumption and improving the air quality. Road users should be encouraged to use sustainable mobility modes, particularly public transportation, equally accessible to both men and women However, women’s mobility has been somewhat limited and challenged in spatio-temporal terms, and partly due to socio-cultural barriers. This study attempts to understand the gender experience of a sample of public transport users and consider their aspirations and needs into daily mobility. A survey campaign (structured interviews and online questionnaires) was launched in the Dammam Metropolitan Region (DMR), taking four different types of respondents into account. The results suggest a predominant preference for taxis for shopping and leisure activities due to a poor public transport service, pivotally characterized by limited operational routes, hours, and infrastructure. This study ponders upon the adequacy of the supporting infrastructures and interior design of the public buses to women’s needs and compare them with global best practices. The results suggest that, due to the absence of a gender-responsive design and infrastructure, women are forced to use taxis, although privacy and a sense of insecurity often become concerns when traveling alone or with children. The study results allow future research to be expanded, considering women’s mobility patterns, needs, and embedded barriers by comparing the results with current transport policies, plans, and practices.