Venturing Off the Beaten Path: Social Innovation and Settlement Upgrading in Voi, Kenya

Abstract

Access to land in Kenyan towns is severely constrained by supply (Yahya 2002; Bassett 2005). The official land delivery processes premised on conventional state and market mechanisms have proved inadequate in coping with the demands imposed by rapid urbanization (Midheme 2010). The result has been a steady proliferation of informal settlements in major towns, particularly as poor households seek alternative spaces for housing and livelihood opportunities. Meanwhile, policy makers are confronted with the twin challenge ofimproving the quality of housing already existing within informal settlements and expanding access to land and housing for those without it. Accordingly, informal settlements upgrading has been advocated as one way of improving both the quality and quantity of the urban housing stock (Bassett 2005). It has been claimed for example that settlement upgrading, particularly where it adopts the ‘assisted selfhelp’model,‘is the most affordable and intelligent way of providing sustainable shelter for the urban poor’(UN-Habitat 2005, p. 166). Proponents further argue that compared to conventional turnkey housing projects, settlement upgrading is cheap as it often adopts practical standards regarding material and construction methods. It also incorporates substantial amounts of sweat equity which cuts down on construction costs. Upgrading is also considered resourceful because households engaged in it acquire precious skills (both technical and organizational) in the process of constructing their dwellings. Moreover, it is flexible since dwelling units are designed to accommodate phased consolidation over time. More …