KDI is a nonprofit design and community development organization. We partner with under-resourced communities to advance equity and activate the unrealized potential in their neighborhoods and cities through design, planning, research, and advocacy. KDI was founded in 2006 in Kibera, Nairobi
an informal settlement infamous for its scale, location, history, and challenging conditions. Our
work in Kibera began with the establishment of a network of public spaces that remediate pollution
and crime hotspots along the watercourses and tributaries of the Nairobi River. Known collectively
as the “Kibera Public Space Project”, the sites emphasise these watercourses as a functioning
river system and identify ways to rediscover the social and ecological balance through planting,
landscape-driven engineering, solid waste management, sanitation services, and social and
economic activities. KDI’s pioneering approach to design and community development has been recognized by UN-Habitat, The Knight Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, BuroHappold, The
SwissRe Foundation, IDEO.org, UK Department for International Development, SIDA, King’s
College London, University of Cape Town, and the World Resources Institute, among many others.