Why evictions turn violent: The politics of growing cities
Enderasse, Addis Ababa, photo by Camille Pellerin
This project examines how and why forced evictions turn violent, and provides broader insights into how urban development shapes political control, violence, and community resistance in rapidly growing cities. These dynamics are explored through comparative study of cities in Sub-Saharan Africa and in-depth quantitative and qualitative research in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Details
- Period: 2026-01-01 – 2029-12-31
- Budget: 4,983,000 SEK
- Funder: Swedish Research Council
Project description
Globally, rapid urban growth is reshaping cities, offering opportunities for economic and sustainable development, while also exposing urban residents to new insecurities, including the threat of eviction. SDG11 calls for adequate and safe housing for everyone living in cities, yet communities in countries across the globe face the threat of eviction due to urban (re)development. These contentious processes are frequently violent. However, while research shows how urban transformation significantly impacts local livelihoods and political mobilization, we know little of the role that housing politics, and the often violent processes of evictions, play in these broader dynamics.
We argue that varying dynamics of forced evictions offer key insights into how political elites frequently use evictions as a tool for political control over urban space and how urban residents claim their right to the city, asking: How do urban politics shape the violent enforcement of, and resistance to, collective evictions? The project seeks to advance research on the violent outcomes of urban development by centering the political dimensions of evictions, and theorizing how settlement-level dynamics shape both the strategic use of forced evictions and how urban communities respond. Empirically, we will focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, and collect new quantitative and qualitative data.
We will combine large-N analyses of data on forced evictions with in-depth study of strategically selected cases in Ethiopia and Kenya, two countries where evictions have been prominent, but violence dynamics vary. More specifically, we will analyse a novel event dataset covering 28 cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2020; collect new fine-grained data on eviction dynamics in ten major and secondary cities in Kenya and Ethiopia; and conduct qualitative analyses of specific eviction cases in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Eldoret. Jointly, the project components will generate evidence-based, policy relevant information about when and why collective evictions turn violent, and the political processes that helps us understand government and community responses.