Legitimizing Informality: A Self-Built Path to Self-Reliance in Mombasa

Abstract

Today, over half the world’s population lives in cities. As a result of urban migration, cities in the developing world are currently experiencing an unprecedented surge of informal settlements. Such is the case in Mombasa, a vibrant, multicultural port city on the coast of Kenya, currently facing an ongoing housing crisis attributed to the influx of urban migrants. All too often, these settlements are a manifestation of urban exclusion, and their inhabitants are overlooked in city planning initiatives and developmental strategies, leaving them without options to improve their well-being. This thesis questions the role informal settlements play in our world today and looks to harness the resilience, flexibility and creativity they are known to display. Through a self-build approach, architectural interventions that embrace the kinetic nature of informal settlements will be designed, focusing on communal space, self-reliance and knowledge mobilization to create spaces that support resident lives and livelihoods.