
Matatu Work
Gender, Labor, and Mobility in Nairobi
Meghan E. Ference(Author)
James Currey (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 3. November 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
236 pages
978-1-84701-413-9 (ISBN)
Description
Focuses on the lives and labour of the men and women who work in Nairobi's publicly operated, privately owned minibus taxis, matatu.
How can mass transit systems be designed in ways that respond to the needs of urban citizens in the midst of an impending climate crisis? What strategies can transport workers employ as they adapt to shifts in the global economy? This book focuses on the lives and labour of the men - and, importantly, women - who work in Nairobi's publicly operated, privately owned minibus taxis, matatu, to examine questions about access to urban public space, gendered regimes of work, and neoliberalism that lie at the heart of debates on the future of African cities.
Providing an in-depth view of workers' routines and the unwritten rules that govern informal transport sectors, this book is an ethnography of Nairobi's popular transportation workforce, with a focus on strategies that circulate both economic (cash, vehicle investments) and symbolic capital (new linguistic codes, music, and elements of style) in ways that keep the city moving. In the face of a rapidly changing urban and global landscapes Matatu Work considers the ways in which urban transport has provided expression of marginalized perspectives as well as decolonial struggles. Shedding new light on transportation practices and urban growth, the book invites the reader to take another look at the ways in which public transportation is not just an urban solution to practical problems of space and movement, but also how it is a place of sociability, performance, protest, and consumption and central to the making of sustainable cities.
How can mass transit systems be designed in ways that respond to the needs of urban citizens in the midst of an impending climate crisis? What strategies can transport workers employ as they adapt to shifts in the global economy? This book focuses on the lives and labour of the men - and, importantly, women - who work in Nairobi's publicly operated, privately owned minibus taxis, matatu, to examine questions about access to urban public space, gendered regimes of work, and neoliberalism that lie at the heart of debates on the future of African cities.
Providing an in-depth view of workers' routines and the unwritten rules that govern informal transport sectors, this book is an ethnography of Nairobi's popular transportation workforce, with a focus on strategies that circulate both economic (cash, vehicle investments) and symbolic capital (new linguistic codes, music, and elements of style) in ways that keep the city moving. In the face of a rapidly changing urban and global landscapes Matatu Work considers the ways in which urban transport has provided expression of marginalized perspectives as well as decolonial struggles. Shedding new light on transportation practices and urban growth, the book invites the reader to take another look at the ways in which public transportation is not just an urban solution to practical problems of space and movement, but also how it is a place of sociability, performance, protest, and consumption and central to the making of sustainable cities.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
1 map and 21 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84701-413-9 (9781847014139)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2024
1st Edition
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
€48.99
Available for download

Book
11/2024
James Currey
€110.30
Shipment within 3-4 weeks

E-Book
11/2024
1st Edition
Boydell & Brewer
€48.99
Available for download
Person
MEGHAN E. FERENCE is an Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department at Brooklyn College, CUNY, USA.
Content
Introduction
1. Mobile Monopolies: Roots of a Transportation Takeover
2. Joyriding: From Placemaking to Publics
3. Taking a Skwad: The Dangerous Negotiations of Redistribution
4. Grubby Bills and Mandatory Gadgets: Financializing Mobility in Kenya
5. Paradoxes of Empowerment: Gendered Labor in the Matatu Sector
6. Feminist Counterpublics: Digital Platforms and Fragile Networks of Solidarity
Conclusion. Roundabouts: Kenya's Transportation Futures
1. Mobile Monopolies: Roots of a Transportation Takeover
2. Joyriding: From Placemaking to Publics
3. Taking a Skwad: The Dangerous Negotiations of Redistribution
4. Grubby Bills and Mandatory Gadgets: Financializing Mobility in Kenya
5. Paradoxes of Empowerment: Gendered Labor in the Matatu Sector
6. Feminist Counterpublics: Digital Platforms and Fragile Networks of Solidarity
Conclusion. Roundabouts: Kenya's Transportation Futures