Struggling for the 'right to the city': In situ informal settlement upgrading in Kibera, Nairobi

The government of Kenya has implemented a ‘slum upgrading’ pilot project in the informal settlement of Kibera through the Kenyan Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) with the aim of improving the livelihoods of residents through upgrading housing structures, securing tenure, and providing infrastructure to increase access for service delivery. However, KENSUP’s project provides an altered version of in situ informal settlement upgrading that involves ‘replacing’ housing structures by building new apartment complexes instead of upgrading existing structures. This fails to address the limited employment opportunities available, access to capital, or social mobility of residents. Using data acquired through policy analysis and interviews with people connected to the project, this paper analyzes the impact of the project on factors important to residents’ struggle for a right to the city so that lessons can be learned about what strategies are harmful or successful towards achieving the goal of in situ upgrading initiatives.