Volume 3, Issue 2, June 2014, Pages 218–226
Emmanuel Siakilo1
1 Environmental Planning and Management, University of Eldoret, Kenya
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Kenya is facing an increasing growth of informal settlements in her urban centers. As rapid urbanization takes its toll, so has the development and growth of informal settlements. The social, economic and environmental challenges which informal urban settlements face today, coupled with the speed of urban expansion, require an urban planning approach that integrates the concept of land information management systems in informal settlements in its blueprint. Based on a study in the capital city, Nairobi, this paper describes the characteristics of settlements and land ownership in of informal settlements in Kenya. First, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire to get an insight into the current situation of the informal land development sector in the study area. Structured interviews were used at the settlement level to gain knowledge on the operations of land management. Finally, focus group discussions were conducted with the village elders and headmen at the settlements to gain more insights on land ownership systems. Data for the study was analyzed descriptively. The study established that land information management interventions in these informal settlements are uncoordinated, ad hoc and overlapping. There is also lack of systematic dissemination of land information and updated land information since the stakeholders' interventions in land information management are uncoordinated and therefore undermine efficiency of environmental planning. Besides, there is poor security of land information due to lack of back-up data in these settlements and information on land registration, registration of rights and rights holders is in itself insufficient and does not address environmental planning. There is therefore need for the government and other agencies to create a platform for discussion, monitoring and coordination of the various land data collected to ensure interventions for environmental planning are coordinated and not overlapping.
Author Keywords: Characteristics, Land Ownership, Informal Settlements, Nairobi, Kenya.
Emmanuel Siakilo1
1 Environmental Planning and Management, University of Eldoret, Kenya
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Kenya is facing an increasing growth of informal settlements in her urban centers. As rapid urbanization takes its toll, so has the development and growth of informal settlements. The social, economic and environmental challenges which informal urban settlements face today, coupled with the speed of urban expansion, require an urban planning approach that integrates the concept of land information management systems in informal settlements in its blueprint. Based on a study in the capital city, Nairobi, this paper describes the characteristics of settlements and land ownership in of informal settlements in Kenya. First, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire to get an insight into the current situation of the informal land development sector in the study area. Structured interviews were used at the settlement level to gain knowledge on the operations of land management. Finally, focus group discussions were conducted with the village elders and headmen at the settlements to gain more insights on land ownership systems. Data for the study was analyzed descriptively. The study established that land information management interventions in these informal settlements are uncoordinated, ad hoc and overlapping. There is also lack of systematic dissemination of land information and updated land information since the stakeholders' interventions in land information management are uncoordinated and therefore undermine efficiency of environmental planning. Besides, there is poor security of land information due to lack of back-up data in these settlements and information on land registration, registration of rights and rights holders is in itself insufficient and does not address environmental planning. There is therefore need for the government and other agencies to create a platform for discussion, monitoring and coordination of the various land data collected to ensure interventions for environmental planning are coordinated and not overlapping.
Author Keywords: Characteristics, Land Ownership, Informal Settlements, Nairobi, Kenya.
How to Cite this Article
Emmanuel Siakilo, “Characteristics and the State of Land Ownership in Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 218–226, June 2014.
