ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the ways in which unplanned urban settlements form and grow in relation to formal and informal systems of land allocation. It is supported by some limited data gathered in 1980 on Korogocho, large settlement which grew rapidly at the eastern edge of Nairobi from 1979 onwards. Pressures on rural land under the present system of ownership and methods of production contribute to one of the highest rates of urban growth as well. Urban growth results in the mushrooming of squatter settlements at the edges of towns or on marginal and under-utilised land within towns. In Nairobi, as many places, there is a combination of official low-income, urban settlement schemes together with widespread unplanned squatter areas. Sub-letting in squatter settlements may be particularly widespread where there is a shortage of older housing stock which can be used for rented accommodation.
