From 3–9 May 2026, the SMUS Africa Campus—hosted by the University of Nairobi—brought together researchers, practitioners, students, community organisations, and government representatives, to explore urban waste management through the emerging lens of EC(h)OTONING.

Centred on the Nairobi River, the workshop examined how environmental degradation intersects with questions of housing, livelihoods, governance, infrastructure, public health, inequality, and social justice. Presentations from universities, government agencies, and  community organisations highlighted the limitations of conventional planning approaches that treat waste and environmental restoration as isolated technical challenges. Instead, the Campus emphasised the need for more integrated, collaborative, and context-sensitive approaches to urban transformation.