Biography
Beatrice Hati (Bea) is a pracademic in Urban Development and Disaster Governance. She currently serves as the Urban Development and Research Associate at the International Center for Frugal Innovation (ICFI- Kenya Hub) while pursuing her doctoral studies at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague. Bea specializes in urban development, disaster risk, resilience, participatory urbanism, governance, and public policy. Her doctoral research focuses on multilevel disaster governance arrangements involving grassroots organizations in marginalized urban poor communities.
Bea has research interests in Pro-poor development and research, Community resilience, Disaster risk management, Adaptive governance, development policy and politics, (Nested) Networks and Partnerships. Methodologically, she has experience and affitinity for Participatory Action Research methods, Collaborative Applied Science and Community Research.
In her previous assignment, she has worked as an independent consultant for the Centre for Urban Research Innovation, University of Nairobi; Urban planner and development specialist for Shack/ Slum Dwellers International (SDI); Lead transport researcher for Institute for Development Studies (IDS), and now also sits at the UNAccc (Unity of Nations Action for Climate Change Council) Governing Council as the Secretary General for Kenya.
She subscribes to Global Citizenship and commits to pro-poor development.
More information
Work
- Beatrice Hati Gitundu (2025) - Polymorphic grassroots networks and implications for disaster resilience in popular settlements in Sierra Leone, India and Kenya - Environment and Urbanization - doi: 10.1177/09562478251318230 - [link]
- Jan Fransen, Beatrice Hati, Harrison Kioko Simon & Naomi van Stapele (2024) - Adaptive governance by community based organisations: Community resilience initiatives during Covid-19 in Mathare, Nairobi - Sustainable Development, 32 (2), 1471-1482 - doi: 10.1002/sd.2682 - [link]
- Jan Fransen, Beatrice Hati, Naomi van Stapele, Samuel Kiriro & Rosebella Nyumba (2024) - Resilience Pathways of Informal Settlements in Nairobi: Stasis, Decline, Adaptation, and Transformation - European Journal of Development Research, 36 (2), 355-380 - doi: 10.1057/s41287-023-00605-w - [link]
- Dana R. Thomson, Monika Kuffer, Gianluca Boo, Hati Gitundu, Tais Grippa, Hellen Esley, Catherine Linard, Ron Mahabir, Catherine Kyobutungi , Joshua Maviti, Dennis Mwaniki, Roberg Ndugwa, Jack Makau, Richard Sliuzas, Salome Cheruiyot, Kilion Nyambuga, Nicholus Mboga, Nicera Wanjiru Kimani, Joao Porto de Albuquerque & Caroline Kabaria (2020) - Need for an integrated deprived area "slum" mapping system (IDEAMAPS) in low-and middle-income countries (LMICS) - Social Sciences, 9 (5), 1-17 - doi: 10.3390/socsci9050080
- Beatrice Hati (Bea) Gitundu (2024) - Multi-level Governance and Resilience to Fire Disasters in the Ghettos of Nairobi (Speaker)
Activity: Oral presentation › Academic - Beatrice Hati (Bea) Gitundu (2023) - (Re)negotiating boundaries: Complex Governance Assemblages in Kenya (Speaker)
Activity: Invited talk › Academic - Hati Gitundu (2022) - Resilient Urban Communities: Reframing resilience governance in marginalized urban settlements: the role of multi-level governance (MLG) arrangements of grassroots organizations (GROs). (Speaker)
Activity: Oral presentation › Academic - Hati Gitundu (2022) - Tell It Like It Is: Conversations Between the Global North and South on Design and Community Life in Human Settlements (Speaker)
Activity: Oral presentation › Professional
- Beatrice Hati (Bea) Gitundu (2025) - Graduate School Award for PhD Excellence: Best Societal Impact 2024
Urban Coordinator
- Start date approval
- January 2021
