Use of open source Geo-solutions to develop a Cadastral model for informal settlement in Nairobi. Case study of redeemed village in Huruma informal settlement

Abstract

Sprawling of informal settlements in Kenya has been a major challenge due to the high rate of urbanization in towns and cities to the extent that decent housing and security of tenure in such areas has been deficient. Land Administration in terms of acquisition, transfer through sale or even inheritance continues to operate informally with little or no documentation of the interests existing in such informal settlements. Most of that information is often held bythe village elders and sometimes with the area chiefs verbally or in a paper-based form, which isprone to tear and wear, therefore a modelto capture their houses/dwellings as well as their personal details in an integrated and GIS based database system is paramount.This study exploredthe fit-for-purpose geospatial data collection approaches which includeddigitization the structures from aerial/satellite Imagery to constitute the spatial unit which wasgiven a unique identification to link it with dummyparty information through a social tenure relationship under a customized Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM).The studyusedopen source geo-solutions to map current informal dwellings, integratedwith their personal detailsof residentsand generatedprototype beneficiary certificatesfrom the cadastral database.Both the structure owners and tenants were captured by the database and their social tenure relationship linked to the structure of interest, and a continuum proof of tenancy auto-generated that would form thefirst stage of recognition and registration of the informal rights.The model was found to be applicable to all the different informal settlement typologies with slight modification for the informal settlements on customary land under typology five where the structures could be blocked into the land parcel. Therefore with the land policy (2009) and other legal frameworks already established such as the Land Registration Act (2012), the model could form the bridge towards formalization process.