Countries throughout the world are rapidly urbanising, particularly in the developing world, and for the first time in human history, the majority of people today are no longer living in rural areas, but rather in cities. This report examines the worldwide phenomenon of urbanisation from the point of view of women’s housing rights.

This is a policy brief that is derived from a study to understand the dynamics and trends that inform the availability of housing demand and supply in Kenya. It finds that Kenya’s formal housing policy has a strong supply focus that shortchanges rural dwellers whose main challenge to adequate and good housing is based on demand constraints.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Kenya Government housing policies and strategies for housing the urban poor in Kenya, and how the citizen have benefited from the scheme/plan. Objective of the article was to examine the effectiveness of Housing policies and their implementation strategies in the provision of low-cost housing to the urban poor in Kisumu City. The research question was, how effective are the various Kenya Government Housing Policies and implementation strategies targeting the provisions of low-cost Housing to the urban poor in Kisumu City?

Inequalities are linked with poverty and sustainable development, and have patently hindered development and stalled progress. Acting together, these inequalities further entrench the deprivation suffered by certain groups and individuals and manifest themselves clearly in the way space is used. The fight against inequality requires the establishment of a new governance paradigm which coordinates efforts, strengthens formal coordination mechanisms, establishes joint responsibilities and provides the resources and incentives necessary at every level of government.

Evidence from the first Nairobi Cross-sectional Slum Survey (NCSS) conducted in the city by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) in 2000 revealed that slum residents have the worst health outcomes of any group in Kenya (including rural residents). They have limited access to basic facilities such as water and sanitation, or opportunities for life such as education and employment, and that they endure the near absence of the public sector and law enforcement agencies in their daily lives.

The main aim of the study was to examine water provision in informal settlements in Nyeri town. The objectives of the study were; to identify the current water sources in Nyeri‟s informal settlements, assess the current levels of mains provision in the informal settlements, to identify and suggest ways of ensuring a sustainable method(s) of providing water services to the informal settlements within the municipality. The provision of this crucial service particularly in informal settlements is a major challenge and cannot be expanded at the desired rate.

The ‘Price Penalty’ exists where a poor person pays an above-average price per unit of the facility, product, or service. The ‘Quality Penalty’ refers to the provision of a facility, product, or service of low quality, which is still offered at a price similar to that of higher-quality.

Providing formal titles to residents in densely populated informal settlements without fuelling conflict or encouraging gentrification presents several challenges. It has been argued that, in some contexts, forms of collective tenure such as a Community Land Trust may help to overcome some of these problems. This paper analyses one attempt to legalise informal tenure arrangements, minimise relocation and prevent gentrification by introducing collective titling in an informal settlement in Nairobi.

The Constitution of Kenya provides that every citizen has the right to property. The provision ensures that an individual or group of people that acquire land have the protection to own this property if acquired lawfully. Individuals living in informal settlements then have a right to have property when acquired through proper means. Even though there are processes in progress to address the issue of securing tenure rights in informal settlements by the government.

Four years ago, I was part of a research team looking at access to land and basic services in informal settlements.

We conducted field interviews in Mukuru slums in Eastlands. We were amazed at the levels of development in the area. People were constructing permanent structures despite the fact that they were under the impression that informal settlements are characterised by temporary structures.

Four years later, there are ongoing discussions to address the plight of informal settlements. A fundamental starting point is to address issues of tenure security.

Formal land administration systems in developing countries have failed to cope with the wide range of land rights that have evolved under non-formal land tenure arrangements. Urban informal settlements in particular pose a challenge to existing land administration infrastructure in these countries. The tenure types, land rights and spatial units found in such settlements are inconsistent with the provisions of existing land law. Conventional land administration approaches can not work in these settlements.