Approaches to informal settlement upgrading in East Africa

Abstract

On nth July 201.2, the University of Nairobi, School of the Built Environment, in collaboration with partners organized a regional Conference to explore approaches and. share lessons on sustainable up-scaling of informal settlements upgrading in East Africa. With only an estimated 23.5 per cent of the population living in urban areas, East Africa remains the least urbanized sub-region in Africa. The urban population in East Africa is highly varied but overall experiencing one of the highest growth rates in the world. It varies from a low of less than 10% in Rwanda to about 40 % in Kenya. What is notable is the generally high percent of the urban population living in informal settlements, around 65 per cent. Furthermore the rate of growth of urban slums in the region is among the highest in the world at around 5 percent. U N- HAB I TAT reports that the proportion of the urban population Iiving in slums in the developing world declined from 39 per cent (2000) to an estimated 32 per cent (201.0) as Governments and International Agencies have taken steps to counter the expansion of existing slums, prevent growth of new ones as well as improve the lives of those living in informal settlements. Eastern Africa is among the regions lagging behind in curbing the growth of slums and improving the living conditions of slum dwellers while Asia leads the pack in best practice. Urban areas in East Africa are plagued by seemingly ever-increasinq unemployment rates, residential overcrowding, and deterioration of already over stretched infrastructure and services, high infant mortalities and violation of basic human rights, environmental degradation and acute housing shortages