Publication: Kenya - Inside Informality: Poverty, Jobs, Housing and Services in Nairobi's Slums
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2006-05-31
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2006-05-31
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This report discusses the results of a study designed to fill gaps in knowledge about slums in Nairobi. Drawing on detailed surveys of households residing in slums in Nairobi, this study aims to develop a demographic, economic and infrastructure profile of slum settlements in these two cities. Analytically, it focuses on the following questions: how poor and inadequately served are slum dwellers in Nairobi What are the factors correlated with poverty among slum households in the city The report finds: First, the incidence of economic poverty is very high in Nairobi's slums and it is accompanied by horrible living conditions and other forms of non-economic poverty. Second, Nairobi's slums provide low-quality but high-cost shelter. Third, somewhat encouragingly, there is heterogeneity among Nairobi's slums dwellers, their living conditions, and their economic welfare. Fourth, a systematic comparison between poor and non-poor households reveals five types of non-monetary factors that are strongly correlated with poverty in the slums: (1) household demographics (size and gender and age composition); (2) education; (3) ownership of a micro-enterprise; (4) unemployment in the household; and (5) infrastructure access, in particular electricity and water supply. Given their strong correlation with poverty, these five factors can and should serves as a basis-a starting point-for the design of any poverty alleviation efforts in the slums. Fifth, slum dwellers' own development priorities -- a first proxy for "demand"-- resonate strongly with the technical analyses. Sixth, although upgrading efforts in the slums have been piece-meal and modest thus far, they do appear to have created some benefits. The paper is structured as follows. Section two outlines the research methodology and the data. Section three estimates poverty incidence in the slums and identifies factors correlated with poverty. Sections four through nine present both descriptive data and analyses on each of the following topics: demographcs, economic base, housing, previous residence of "emigrants," infrastructure, and education. Section 10 summarizes the development priorities of slum dwellers and Section 11 presents conclusions and policy implications.
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“World Bank. 2006. Kenya - Inside Informality: Poverty, Jobs, Housing and Services in Nairobi's Slums. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42049 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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