Profile details
BA (Nairobi), MA (McGill/Nairobi), PhD (Amsterdam)
Samuel Owuor is an Urban Geographer and Associate Professor of Urban Geography at the Department of Geography, Population and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi. He holds a PhD in Human Geography (University of Amsterdam), MA in Urban Geography (McGill University/University of Nairobi), and a BA (Hons) in Geography (University of Nairobi). He has extensive experience in university teaching and training, scientific research and publications, and academic supervision and mentorship. He has served as Head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi, and Coordinator of postgraduate programmes in Urban Geography and Sustainable Urban Development. He has served as a visiting scholar at University of the Fraser Valley (Canada), University of Jyvaskyla (Finland), African Studies Centre (Leiden University, Netherlands), Centre for African Studies (University of Bordeaux, France), School for Higher Studies in Social Sciences (France), and McGill University (Canada). Additionally, he has established long-term research collaborations with African Cities Research Consortium (University of Manchester, UK), Balsillie School of International Affairs (Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada), African Centre for Cities (University of Cape Town, South Africa), African Studies Centre (Leiden University, Netherlands), and French Institute of Research in Africa (IFRA-Nairobi).
Research Interests
His research interests and publications revolve around urban development and governance, urban poverty and livelihoods, urban food and nutrition security, and urban-rural linkages. He has actively contributed to the design and implementation of several funded, collaborative and multidisciplinary research projects. Notably, NFRF-Canada funded Remitting for Resilience (R2) project on enhancing food security and climate change adaptation through migrant remittances in Africa; SSHRC-Canada funded MiFOOD project on migration and food security in the Global South; SSHRC, IDRC and IPaSS-Canada co-funded Hungry Cities Partnership project on informality, inclusive growth and food security in the Global South cities; and IDRC-Canada funded Nourishing Spaces project on urban food systems for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Africa. Others include FamiLEA project on remaking of the family in East Africa, funded by SNSF-Switzerland; ACRC project on inclusive urban development strategies in African cities, funded by UK International Development; CRC Energy Futures project in Kenya, funded by DFG-German; AgriFoSe2030 project on urban food systems governance in Kenya, funded by SIDA-Sweden; and FooDMetres project on food planning and innovation for sustainable metropolitan regions, funded by European Union. Other projects have been funded by UN-Habitat, CODESRIA, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and IRD (France), among others.