Types of Urban Vulnerabilities Affecting Households in Informal Settlements of Kisumu County

Abstract

Households residing in informal settlements are often hampered by urban-induced vulnerabilities. Despite more than fifty per cent of urban residents in Kisumu County residing in informal settlements, it is unclear to what extent urban-induced vulnerabilities affect their livelihoods. To address this problem, the study examined the types of urban vulnerabilities in Kisumu County Informal Settlements. The data was collected from a sample of 396 households using structured questionnaires, key informant interviews and document reviews. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square, while the qualitative data was subjected to verbatim and thematic analysis. The data revealed that there were various types of urban-induced vulnerabilities which affected access to education including social economic and environmental vulnerabilities. The study recommended that adequate resources should be allocated to reduce environmental vulnerabilities in schools; measures to increase households’ adaptive capacities to urban-induced vulnerabilities among the residents in the informal settlements in Kisumu County should be prioritized.