Updated October 2026: this post was first published in November 2019 to share an IIED synthesis report. We have expanded it with a summary of the study’s approach and recommendations.
This report synthesises findings from a three-city study on access to shelter and basic services for low-income groups in Nairobi, Mogadishu and Hawassa. Written by Lucy Earle of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Emma Grant of Social Development Direct and published in October 2019, it forms part of the IIED-led project Shelter Provision in East African Cities: Understanding Politics for Inclusive Cities, funded through the UK Department for International Development’s East Africa Research Fund. It sets out lessons for agencies working in cities on why and how city dwellers make particular shelter choices, and how to respond. For anyone working on durable solutions in urban areas, where many displaced people settle, these dynamics shape whether integration is possible.
How the study was done
The study used a gendered political economy analysis covering formal and informal politics, alongside a sociological analysis of power. Fieldwork in 2018 and 2019 combined key informant interviews and focus group discussions with national government, municipal authorities, financial actors, local leaders, civil society, brokers and developers, and community members, with market surveys and social mapping where data was missing. The authors note that it is not a comparative study: each city was chosen for its particular characteristics.
Key lessons
- Informal institutions and actors shape how and whether people access shelter. Informality can both widen and limit choices for low-income groups. Huge demand for shelter and the inability of national or local government to meet it have driven the growth of informal settlements and whole industries that both sustain and exploit vulnerable people.
- The urban poor are not one group. Low-income groups face the greatest difficulty accessing decent housing, and women, people with disabilities and in some cases young men face additional barriers linked to their identity.
- Ethnicity and migration status matter. In Mogadishu, a hierarchy of clans strongly influences where people live, security of tenure, urban development and evictions. Hawassa has seen insecurity linked to land disputes and ethnic tensions, and Nairobi has a long history of politicised land deals and irregular allocations.
- Rental housing is underexplored and needs better regulation. The high cost of land creates informal rental markets, and weak protection for renters has led to severe tenure insecurity and exploitation, especially among poorer groups.
- Poorly handled evictions cause long-term vulnerability and erode trust in government. Evictions occur in all three cities and cost households their livelihoods and social networks.
- Affordable housing is often out of reach. Housing classed as affordable is beyond most city dwellers, earlier schemes were captured by the middle classes, and mortgage finance for low- and middle-income groups is highly constrained.
- Organised civil society working with city governments can improve housing at scale. Government funding for community-directed upgrading, plot purchase and house construction can widen what low-income communities achieve.
- National political settlements frame city decisions. The visions of national politicians shape urban policy, and changes in infrastructure and services intersect with city politics, with effects on local stability.
What the report recommends
The authors recommend that donors and programmes learn how urban systems actually operate, including informal practices; apply gender, power and intersectional analysis; and carry out detailed social and conflict analysis, with land solutions that cross regional and ethnic boundaries. They call for a rethink of what counts as affordable, with subsidised or low-interest loans piloted where markets fail; recognition of informal rental housing by national and city governments, with action against abusive tenancy practices; relocation of informal settlement residents only as a last resort, following good-practice standards on compensation and consultation; participatory policy making where low-income groups are organised; and political analysis built into any assessment of urban development outcomes.
Read the full paper.
References
Earle, L. and Grant, E. (2019). Access to shelter and services for low-income groups: lessons from Hawassa, Mogadishu and Nairobi on the politics of informal settlements and shelter access. Synthesis report. IIED, London. https://www.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/migrate/10874IIED.pdf
