KENYA POLICY STUDIO
History of Informal Settlements in Kenya
Founded in 1899 as a stop on the Mombasa-Uganda railway line, Nairobi quickly became the focal point of the British colonial strategy in British East Africa and was declared the territory’s capital in 1907. Flourishing intra-regional trading networks, chiefly among Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, drove Nairobi’s manufacturing industry, and at the same time, rural-urban migration.
By 1914 a host of African settlements began to appear in Nairobi, mainly in Pangain, Mji wa Mombasa, Masikini, Kaburini, Kibera and Kileleshwa. Following British military operations in the region during the second world war, around 180,000 Africans settled in Nairobi, expanding African communities and straining infrastructures.
After a period of sustained economic growth in the 1940s, the British began to improve residential settlements of African laborers in Kenya. Nairobi’s master plan, designed in 1948 and intended to last for 25 years, was heavily influenced by European city planning and was not designed with Kenyan topography in mind. Perhaps most importantly, the plan sought to insulate a growing European settler class and keep Africans in the city's periphery.
To find out more about the history of informal settlements in Kenya, download the report below:
By 1914 a host of African settlements began to appear in Nairobi, mainly in Pangain, Mji wa Mombasa, Masikini, Kaburini, Kibera and Kileleshwa. Following British military operations in the region during the second world war, around 180,000 Africans settled in Nairobi, expanding African communities and straining infrastructures.
After a period of sustained economic growth in the 1940s, the British began to improve residential settlements of African laborers in Kenya. Nairobi’s master plan, designed in 1948 and intended to last for 25 years, was heavily influenced by European city planning and was not designed with Kenyan topography in mind. Perhaps most importantly, the plan sought to insulate a growing European settler class and keep Africans in the city's periphery.
To find out more about the history of informal settlements in Kenya, download the report below: