Metropolitan Public Realm Frameworks for Coastal East African Urbanization: The Case of Malindi Waterfront as Socio-Ecological Infrastructure

East Africa is one of the least urbanized regions in the world, but living one of the fastest urbanization under the threat of climate change. This unprecedented uncontrolled phenomenon is producing hybrid metropolitan systems with inadequate infrastructure, polarized development, unsafety, socio-spatial inequality and environmental fragility. How to shape rapid growth towards original low-carbon and livable models in a context of informality, scarcity and misgovernment? Through a historical exploration and an overview on the contemporary situation, the chapter investigates the attempts to recentre the problem on the city as public framework, with an inclusive attitude towards whatever considered informal. A designed-based approach explores the role of socio-ecological envisioning scenarios, set on the strengthening of public/common assets, as decision-making tools to facilitate resilient urban processes. The resulting adaptive metropolitan frameworks integrate physical operations on continuous infrastructural systems and nodes, together with in/formality gradient patterns for their sustainable implementation and stewardship. The case study of a project for Malindi, Kenya, elaborated for an UN-Habitat competition in 2016, is discussed. The proposal to intend and design the waterfront of the city as socio-ecological infrastructure is reviewed according to preconditions, expectations, stakeholders, methodology, design and results, with emerging transdisciplinary issues.