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

Authors

  • Winfred Mumbe Mwangangi Graduate Student, Department of Disaster Management and Sustainable Development, 1,2,3Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya, P.O. Box 190-50100, Kakamega, Kenya
  • Ruth Simiyu Lecturer, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya, P.O. Box 190-50100, Kakamega, Kenya
  • Namenya Daniel Naburi Lecturer, Department of Disaster Management and Sustainable Development, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya, P.O. Box 190-50100, Kakamega, Kenya https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6721-1107

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.4.2.125

Keywords:

Education, Informal Settlements, Urban Vulnerabilities

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.

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Published

2023-11-23

How to Cite

Mwangangi, W. M., Simiyu, R., & Naburi, N. D. (2023). Types of Urban Vulnerabilities Affecting Households in Informal Settlements of Kisumu County. African Journal of Empirical Research, 4(2), 1235–1243. https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.4.2.125