Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Edited Legal Collections Data

Mumma, Albert --- "The Resolution of Urban Housing Development Disputes as a Mechanism for Poverty Alleviation: A Case Study of Kenya’s National Environment Tribunal" [2012] ELECD 656; in Le Bouthillier, Yves; Cohen, Alfie Miriam; Gonzalez Marquez, Juan Jose; Mumma, Albert; Smith, Susan (eds), "Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Law

Editor(s): Le Bouthillier, Yves; Cohen, Alfie Miriam; Gonzalez Marquez, Juan Jose; Mumma, Albert; Smith, Susan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781003282

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: The Resolution of Urban Housing Development Disputes as a Mechanism for Poverty Alleviation: A Case Study of Kenya’s National Environment Tribunal

Author(s): Mumma, Albert

Number of pages: 17

Extract:

12. The resolution of urban housing
development disputes as a mechanism
for poverty alleviation: a case study
of Kenya's National Environment
Tribunal
Albert Mumma

12.1 INTRODUCTION

Historically, in the urban areas of Kenya, demand for housing has always
outstripped supply, creating an acute shortage of habitable dwellings, over-
crowding and extensive slums and informal settlements. For instance, during
the 1970s, an average of 25 000 housing units were constructed annually,
compared to the 50 000 that were required. In the 1990s, the average number
annually was 112 000 compared to a demand of 560 000. Currently, the aver-
age annual urban housing demand is estimated at 150 000 units but only an
estimated 30 000 to 50 000 is expected to be constructed, representing an esti-
mated 20 per cent of the total number of new urban households required
(Ministry of Lands and Housing, 2004, pp. 2­3).
Consequently, more than half of the poor urban dwellers in Kenya live in
slums and other unplanned settlements, with limited access to basic sanitation,
potable water, garbage collection and security of tenure. Some of these slums,
such as the Kibera slums in Nairobi, which has a population of over half a million
residents, are among the largest urban slums in the world. This situation is likely
to be aggravated by the population trends which show that Kenya is expected to
be a predominantly urban country by 2030; by then more than half the population
will be residing in urban areas ( ...