Perceptions of Land Conflicts with Special Reference to Nairobi

Abstract

Land conflicts are increasingly becoming common in Kenya's major urban areas and are blamed by scholars and politicians alike on colonial planning and rule, which ended more than 40 years ago. The regulations on land use I planning and public land allocation processes are also seen to have exacerbated the problems with the prevailing institutional arrangements further providing the impetus for unequal access to the 'land resource. Corruption and patronage coupled with the increasing population has ensured that the poor have limited access to land for housing. This paper traces the relationship between land conflicts and the existing perceptions of land from colonial period to date. It also explains how the changing perceptions have contributed to sustained land conflicts in Nairobi.