| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to establish the factors influencing occupancy level of
houses in slum upgrading projects; a case of Kibra Soweto-East in Nairobi County.
Urbanization plays a major role in the development of slums and informal settlements
which has become a major problem in Kenya. In an effort to improve the livelihood of
slum dwellers, the Government of Kenya initiated the Kenya Slum Upgrading
Programme (KENSUP) in 2001. By 2003 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed
between the Government of Kenya and UN-Habitat outlining a strategy for project
implementation by KENSUP whose mandate is to improve the livelihood of 5.3 million
slum dwellers in Kenya by 2020. The study was guided by the following objectives: To
establish how affordability influences occupancy level of houses in slum upgrading
projects; To ascertain how social networks influences occupancy level of houses in slum
upgrading projects; To determine how stakeholders involvement influences occupancy
level of houses in slum upgrading projects and to determine how UN Habitat housing
standards influences occupancy level of houses in slum upgrading projects. The
descriptive survey design was used for the study. The research instruments used were a
questionnaire for occupants of the Kibra Soweto-East upgraded houses and an interview
guide for KENSUP project officials. Quantitative data collected was analyzed by
descriptive statistics while content analysis techniques were used to analyze qualitative
data. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to describe the
data. The analyzed data was then presented in form of tables. From the findings, 78% of
the respondents agreed to a very high extent that affordability influences occupancy level
of slum upgraded houses. In terms of social networks, 63% strongly agreed that it does
influence occupancy level of houses in slum upgrading projects. In investigating the
influence of stakeholder’s involvement on occupancy level of houses, it was established
that 63% were influenced by level of involvement. In assessing the influence of UNHabitat
standards on occupancy level of the upgraded houses, it was established that it
influences the respondents with 64% indicating that it would to a very high extent. In
conclusion, the study found that all the independent variables of the study which are
affordability, social networks, stakeholder’s involvement and compliance to the UNHabitat
standards influence occupancy level of houses in slum upgrading projects. The
study recommends that the Government of Kenya should take immediate deliberate steps
to ensure that well targeted and transparent house rent subsidies are developed for the
lower percentile income groups; slum upgrading projects should be implemented through
improved urban planning practices coupled with recommended inbuilt poverty
eradication measures; slum upgrading projects should be designed and planned in such a
way that they provide for open air community spaces for small scale retail businesses;
Community members should be encouraged to participate through a participatory
approach to strengthen the citizen’s voice at all stages of the project cycle and finally the
UN-Habitat standards should be integrated as part of the slum upgrading policies to
ensure that at a minimum the houses are affordable, in a good location with availability of
services, habitable, accessible, have security of tenure and cultural adequacy. | en_US |
