Browsing by Author "Simiyu, Sheillah N."

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    Socio-economic dynamics of sanitation in the informal settlements of Kisumu City, Kenya
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12) Simiyu, Sheillah N.; Swilling, Mark; Rheingans, Richard; Cairncross, Sandy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Countries are experiencing a surge in the number of people living in urban areas. A majority of the poor in these urban areas live in informal settlements, which face challenges such as inadequate sanitation. There thus is a need to understand why informal settlements lack sanitation facilities, as well as a need for approaches that can be used to increase access. Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya, also hosts informal settlements that have inadequate sanitation facilities. Little is known about aspects within these settlements that influence sanitation. The goal of this study was to examine socio-economic dynamics in Kisumu’s informal settlements, and how they interact to influence access to and the management of sanitation. The main objectives were to describe living conditions in the settlements, to estimate the cost of sanitation from rental prices, to investigate determinants of shared sanitation quality, and to investigate decision-making for sanitation within the settlements. The study began with a quantitative phase, which was built on by a qualitative phase. A cross-sectional survey was conducted during the quantitative stage, while multiple case study designs and participatory research with concepts from action/transdisciplinary research were adopted in the subsequent qualitative phase. Respondents were residents of the settlements as well as stakeholders involved in sanitation. The results show that residents lack basic services such as sanitation. Residents living in compounds with absentee landlords often had poor housing, lacked basic services, and paid lower rents compared to those in compounds with live-in landlords. Sanitation facilities constituted 54% of rental prices, but willingness to pay a higher amount of rent declined when the number of households sharing sanitation facilities increased. Most sanitation facilities were shared by an average of eight households, and from inspection, 64% of these facilities were dirty. They were more likely to be dirty as the number of households sharing them increased. Reasons for dirty shared sanitation facilities were investigated using the common pool resource management principles, which showed that facilities were likely to be clean when there was a defined user group that collectively made decisions and had a defined management structure that made it easier to resolve conflicts and work together to keep sanitation facilities clean. Regarding decision making, landlords often made investment decisions, while tenants made decisions related to cleaning, often after consultations. At the community and city level, residents identified sanitation challenges within their settlements and proposed solutions to the identified challenges. The results indicate that sanitation in informal settlements is highly complex and is entrenched in residents’ daily lives. Most quantitative models lead to an understanding of measurable physical factors, but socio-economic factors such as relationships, beliefs, practices and norms equally influence access to and management of sanitation facilities. Efforts at improvement ought not to concentrate on provision only, but also on strategies to keep the provided facilities in a proper condition that enables sustained use. Stakeholders, including policy makers, should embrace working together for the common good.