Harnessing the real estate market for equitable affordable housing provision in Nairobi, Kenya : insights from California, USA

Nzau, B

Abstract

Affordable housing remains a problem for both developed and developing countries. The Government of Kenya recently unveiled affordable housing as one of its main agenda. Housing provision approaches supported by the current planning and housing policies which have been used for many years are unlikely to bring much change in the provision of affordable housing given the financial constraints faced by the government. This leads to the question of whether alternative innovative and effective approaches for providing affordable housing exists. Such approaches could include tools such as Land Value Capture (LVC) and Inclusionary Housing (IH) which harness the real estate market as used mainly but not exclusively in some USA Cities. LVC and IH are considered as powerful tools for affordable and equitable housing provision and it is possible, they can provide theoretical and practical support for exploring new financing mode to solve urban housing problems in Kenya and other developing countries. LVC as a tool may enable the government to capture the market to support affordable inclusive housing (IH) provision. This research has reviewed literature and explored in case studies how these tools are being applied for affordable housing provision in some exemplar cases in California, USA with a focus on the cities of Santa Monica and San Francisco. Findings show that land use policies and planning can, through LVC and IH, help harness the strength of the real estate market to (1) increase affordable housing production, and (2) achieve effective social integration in neighbourhoods of opportunity. In demonstrating the potential application of LVC and IH in increasing affordable housing in Kenya, the study has adopted a proposed master plan and related housing policy, aimed at addressing housing needs in Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya. This simulated master plan has been complemented with residual land value analyses which demonstrate that by availing land to private developers for IH development, it is possible to meet slum residents' housing needs by including at least 27.9% affordable housing in new developments, entirely borne by the private sector. Findings suggest that under a robust public-led governance umbrella, market forces can (1) significantly contribute to fill the financial gap in order to achieve the end of slums by 2050 in coherence with the United Nations Agenda 2030 targets and principles, and (2) increase both affordable and market housing in upgraded neighbourhoods hence enhancing social inclusion in cities of developing countries.

Citation

Nzau, B. Harnessing the real estate market for equitable affordable housing provision in Nairobi, Kenya : insights from California, USA. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Nov 10, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 10, 2020
• Award Date: Oct 12, 2020