A Study on the Process of Informal Urban Development in Nairobi (Part 1)

Focusing on Development Types

Abstract

Africa is urbanizing faster than the other regions in the world and is projected to become 60 per cent urban by 2050. But from 30 to 70 per cent of urban population in Africa is living in informal settlements, which are developed outside of governmentally controlled urban planning. Now informal settlements are major dynamics of African urbanization. In order to understand the process of informal urban development in Africa, this paper explores the development types of informal settlements, using survey date from Nairobi, Kenya. It examines layout planning, material, plan and use of building, building coverage ratio, plot ratio, housing and land affordability, and characteristics of residents in informal settlements. We found out that informal settlements provide a variety of residential environments.