| dc.description.abstract | Nairobi is experiencing a serious housing problem
as the existing housing stock is wholly deficient, both
quantitatively and qualitatively. The primary causal factor
of the present situation is the inability of the existing
conventional housing supply mechanisms to meet the 'demand',
not to mention the 'need' for housing which has arisen as
a result of the rapid process of urbanization Kenya has undergone,
which has been accompanied by an accelerated growth
of urban population caused not only by natural increase,
but also the unprecedented movements of people from rual,
agrarian areas to the burgeoning urban centes.
The lower income groups, in particular, are confronted
with a major housing crisis. Due to the their low level
of income, the very low level of affordable housing, the
high cost of conventional permanent housing and the failure
of low-income housing projects to reach the target population,
the urban poor are constrained to seeking accommodation in
uncontrolled and unauthorized settlements which are characterized
by deficient housing and a lack of services, utilities
and amenities and hence insalubrious living conditions.
As the public sector has limited resources and cannot
therefore possibly furnish adequate affordable housing for
all concerned, and since the private sector is preoccupied
with profit maximization, the proliferation of uncontrolled
settlements will continue as the lower income groups resort
to their own resources to meet their shelter requirements.
There is need therefore to recognize the contribution such
settlements make towards the expansion of-the low-cost housing
stock and to formulate an explicit and comprehensive policy
which will constitute a framework within which development
in this respect can take place.
Through a case study of Pumwani, the study has evinced
that residents in such settlements, which provide a transition
from a rural to an urban lifestyle, apart from not being
able to afford accommodation elsewhere, consider the housing
adequate and are content to live in dwellings built of
materials using traditional construction techniques. Moreover,
these materials have patently demonstrated their durability.
What the inhabitants find lacking is services, utilities
and amenities. Thus, if provision is made for the phased
improvement of structures and introduction of infrastructure,
if apprehension about the future is eliminated, and if the self help
potential of the residents is harnessed, the possibilities
of settlement upgrading as a strategy for alleviating the
housing problem of the lower income groups in Nairobi are
considerable. | en_US |
