Safe, affordable housing is not an end in itself but should be interwoven with other interventions to improve access to related services and benefits. As the pandemic exacerbates shortcomings in housing programmes around the world, Vidhee Garg on the need to re-think housing and to look beyond its purely quantitative aspects.
A well-functioning system for water and sanitation must address the needs of under-served urban residents. Eden Mati-Mwangi shows how a systems-change approach can have a lasting impact on Kenya’s sanitations sector.
The waste produced by cities does not need to be dumped – but instead can become the starting point of a new production cycle, argues Nick Jeffries from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
High density and poor building materials make informal settlements extremely prone to fire hazards. The Nairobi-based enterprise Kwangu Kwako has developed a housing model that, while being truly affordable, increases fire resilience and thus positively affects many aspects of residents' lives.
The number of children living in urban areas is on the rise. However, this is not reflected in cities' infrastructures. Rapid development is shrinking the amount of suitable and safe play areas for children. Using Nairobi as an example, Peninah Ndegwa, founder of Wow Mom Kenya, reflects on why and how cities should become more child-friendly.
UN-Habitat's municipal finance programme is witnessing an exciting evolution in Kenya that offers lessons for local governments worldwide. Marco Kamiya, UN-Habitat’s Chief of the Urban Economy and Finance Branch describes the challenges cities face in their efforts to advance the sustainable development agenda.
UN-Habitat's municipal finance programme is witnessing an exciting evolution in Kenya that offers lessons for local governments worldwide. Marco Kamiya, UN-Habitat’s Chief of the Urban Economy and Finance Branch describes the challenges cities face in their efforts to advance the sustainable development agenda.
Many people around the globe struggle with finance management and debt. Michael Ochieng Nyawino describes why it is important to teach everyone financial literacy skills to tackle the problem.
Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations play a key role for housing security in Kenya. Davina Wood explains how they work and discusses benefits and current challenges.
From 27-31 May 2019, the first UN-Habitat assembly is taking place in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi. Reuben Kyama reports directly from the conference.
An oft mentioned phrase in development parlance is “think globally, act locally”. Yet, when the change we seek is improved livelihoods globally, is local action enough? Doug Ragan, Rolf Wichmann, and Raphael Obonyo claim that local action is critical yet can’t be done in isolation of national and international realities. In their article, they explore different interventions that can be utilised to address the issue of improving youth livelihoods through interventions from the local to the global.
"LivelyHoods" forges economic opportunities for youth and women in Kenyan slums – while at the same time promoting clean energy. What are the project's success factors and what challenges does it face?
Rates of unplanned pregnancies and STD infections are high among youth in Kenya’s informal settlements. Jane Otai from Jhpiego calls for comprehensive education and non-judgmental health services.
Until today, women around the world experience harassment and even assault when moving in public spaces, including on public transport services. In Nairobi, Kenya, the Flone Initiative is combatting gender-based violence by supporting victims, and by training service providers to effectively prevent behaviour that compromises women’s safety and right to mobility.
Providing access to urban sanitation is challenging because of space limitations, complex land tenure and higher public health concerns in crowded settlements. This is especially true for low-income urban areas. For URBANET, Jane Njagi describes how this challenge has been tackled in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.
