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Slum Improvement Lessons in Africa: Kibera

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Learning from the Slums for the Development of Emerging Cities

Part of the book series: GeoJournal Library ((GEJL,volume 119))

Abstract

Kibera is Kenya’s largest slum and one the most notorious and unsanitary informal settlements in Africa. With around 240,000 inhabitants Kibera plays an important role in Nairobi’s booming economy. Kibera’s notoriety stems from its lack of a basic functional infrastructure and its contested legal status as residents are excluded from formal access to land, housing and basic urban services. After decades of underperforming policies and failed upgrading projects, new legislation, policies and financing instruments have been established which are set to improve overall living conditions. Major slum improvement lessons learnt from previous slum upgrading policies in Kenya emphasise the importance of community collaboration, communication strategies, capacity building, and welfare policies.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Rent-seeking is the attempt to obtain economic gain by manipulating the social or political environment in which economic activities occur, e.g., by capturing privileges to illegally obtain government land.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eawag-Sandec, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Christoph Lüthi

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  1. Christoph Lüthi
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Correspondence to Christoph Lüthi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Jean-Claude Bolay

  2. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Jérôme Chenal

  3. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Yves Pedrazzini

Case Study: Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya

Case Study: Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya

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Lüthi, C. (2016). Slum Improvement Lessons in Africa: Kibera. In: Bolay, JC., Chenal, J., Pedrazzini, Y. (eds) Learning from the Slums for the Development of Emerging Cities. GeoJournal Library, vol 119. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31794-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31794-6_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31792-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31794-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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