Housing, environment and poverty management in Eastern Africa : the case of slum settlements in Nairobi, Kenya; final report (August 1997 – January 1999)

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1999

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Shelter Afrique, Nairobi, KE

Abstract

Urban poverty continues to escalate despite the many players, strategies and programmes that have been used in an attempt to reduce or alleviate it. This escalation is in terms of the depth, extent and severity of poverty. In order to come up with any measures that impact positively on poverty reduction or alleviation, information pertaining to the poverty situation in any country is fundamental. It is against this background that this study has been carried. The concern about the interrelationships between poverty, the environment and housing increased globally since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972. Studies have shown that poverty, the quality of the environment and the performance of the housing sector are inextricably linked. Poverty makes urban residents to resort to live in poor substandard housing which lacks important urban services. Overcrowding and congestion in tum results in degraded environments. Therein lies the link between poverty, poor housing and the degraded environment. Indeed, the poor have been considered to be agents and victims of environmental degradation. For most developing countries moreover, housing and environment sectors are not considered critical. Consequently, there are no clear implementable policies and strategies on the environment and housing. As an example, these two sectors do not top the list of the Government's development budget in Kenya. The result being increasing poor housing and environment degradation within the context of rising urban poverty…

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