A critical analysis of the implementation of the slum upgrading policies in Kenya.

Abstract

For the past five decades, the provision of adequate housing for the urban poor has been an elusive exercise in Kenya, as in most developing countries. Several years before Kenya’s independence in 1963, concerns over the proliferation of slums and informal settlements began to emerge. Various intervention strategies have been attempted without any significant success. This study examines the historical manifestations of policies adopted by the Kenyan government to address the issue of slums from its independence to date. Since then, the Government of Kenya has recently shifted its approach from slum demolition to slum upgrading initiatives as an intervention measure. This study focuses on the case study of public housing project in Kibera Soweto East in Nairobi, an initiative conceived under the Kenya Slums Upgrading Programme (KENSUP), courtesy of a partnership between Government of Kenya and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) which began in 2002. Despite the timely intervention of KENSUP, various challenges encounter its implementation initiatives. This study aims to understand this complexity by uncovering the underlying KENSUP’s implementation challenges and suggest some recommendations to enhance the efficiency of government in providing its poor with decent and affordable housing.