Urban Integration in Africa A Socio-Demographic Survey of Nairobi Philippe Bocquier Alfred T. A. Otieno Anne A. Khasakhala Samuel Owuor Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa preliminaries.pmd 1 04/09/2009, 13:36 © CODESRIA 2009 Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop, Angle Canal IV P.O. Box 3304 Dakar, 18524, Senegal Website: www.codesria.org All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission from CODESRIA. ISBN: 978-2-86978-229-7 Layout: Hadijatou Sy Cover Design: Ibrahima Fofana Printed by: Imprimerie Graphi Plus, Dakar, Sénégal Distributed in Africa by CODESRIA Distributed elsewhere by the African Books Collective, Oxford, UK. Website: www.africanbookscollective.com The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is an independent organisation whose principal objectives are to facilitate research, promote research-based publishing and create multiple forums geared towards the exchange of views and information among African researchers. All these are aimed at reducing the fragmentation of research in the continent through the creation of thematic research networks that cut across linguistic and regional boundaries. CODESRIA publishes a quarterly journal, Africa Development, the longest standing Africa- based social science journal; Afrika Zamani, a journal of history; the African Sociological Review; the African Journal of International Affairs; Africa Review of Books and the Journal of Higher Education in Africa. The Council also co-publishes the Africa Media Review; Identity, Culture and Politics: An Afro-Asian Dialogue; The African Anthropologist and the Afro-Arab Selections for Social Sciences. The results of its research and other activities are also disseminated through its Working Paper Series, Green Book Series, Monograph Series, Book Series, Policy Briefs and the CODESRIA Bulletin. Select CODESRIA publications are also accessi- ble online at www.codesria.org. CODESRIA would like to express its gratitude to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA/SAREC), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Danish Agency for In- ternational Development (DANIDA), the French Ministry of Cooperation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Rockefeller Foundation, FINIDA, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), IIEP/ADEA, OECD, IFS, OXFAM America, UN/UNICEF, the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the Government of Senegal for supporting its research, training and publication programmes. preliminaries.pmd 2 14/09/2009, 18:59 Table of Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms........................................................................... v Foreword ............................................................................................................. vii Notes on Authors............................................................................................... ix Acknowledgement ............................................................................................. xi 1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 2. Methodology and Limitations of the Survey ........................................... 37 3. Residential Integration in Nairobi ................................................................ 53 4. The City Labour Market and its Dynamics ............................................... 79 5. Union Formation ........................................................................................... 135 6. Family Formation: Fertility in Nairobi ........................................................ 153 7. Conclusion — Integrating the City: The Paths to Adulthood ................ 179 preliminaries.pmd 3 12/09/2009, 19:00 preliminaries.pmd 4 04/09/2009, 13:36 Abbreviations and Acronyms CBD Central Business District CBS Central Bureau of Statistics DHS Demographic and Health Surveys EA Enumeration Area GDP Gross Domestic Product GoK Government of Kenya HHs Households ILO International Labour Organization ILS Integrated Labour Force Survey IMF International Monetary Fund KUR Kenya–Uganda Railway MCEB Mean Children Ever Born MCN Municipal Council of Nairobi MSS Mean Sibship Size NCC Nairobi City Council NCSS Nairobi Cross-sectional Slums Survey NHCK National Housing Corporation of Kenya NHIF National Health Insurance Fund NRC National Research Council NSSF National Social Security Fund NUrIP Nairobi Urban Integration Project NUSG Nairobi Urban Study Group PPS Proportional to Population Size TFR Total Fertility Rate ULFS Urban Labour Force Survey UN United Nations UNCHS United Nations Centre for Human Settlements UNEP United Nations Environmental Programme WFS World Fertility Survey preliminaries.pmd 5 04/09/2009, 13:36 preliminaries.pmd 6 04/09/2009, 13:36 Foreword Nairobi is the main door to the East African market and a safe haven for most international firms and organizations, yet it nurtures so much poverty. Part of the explanation is embedded in the social history of today’s citizens of Nairobi. This book is based on the collection of almost 1,600 biographies of men and women aged 25-54. Using data collected in 2001, a team composed of researchers from the University of Nairobi’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and the Population Studies and Research Institute and the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA-Nairobi) analysed how the Nairobi city-dwellers entered the labour market, had access to independent residence and form their family since the 1960s and the factors that influence timing of these main paths to adulthood. The results show that men’s entry into adulthood is conditioned on employment, whereas women did not emancipate from their role of mother and spouse. Socio-cultural origins and migration status play a minor role in urban integration while education and gender is crucial. The formal economy declined since the 1980s, not as much to the benefit of informal enterprises as to the expense of the protection of employees. At the same time, youth unemployment increased while women’s labour force participation decreased. The resulting poverty makes it harder for couples to form and sustain a family. This book is an important resource to sociologists, demographers, geographers, economists, urban planners and historians who want to know more about urban integration in Africa. preliminaries.pmd 7 04/09/2009, 13:36 preliminaries.pmd 8 04/09/2009, 13:36 Notes on Authors Philippe Bocquier, at the time of writing, was a researcher at the French Institute for Research and Development (IRD) and member of the Research Unit ‘Development, Institutions, and Long-term Analysis (DIAL)’, Paris. He is now senior lecturer at the Demography and Population Studies Programme of the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Dr Bocquier specialises in the fields of urbanisation, migration, child health, urban employment and entry into adulthood in Africa, using event history analysis. Alfred T. A. Otieno is a lecturer at the Population Studies and Research Institute, University of Nairobi, Kenya. He has been involved in extensive research on fertility and reproductive health. He teaches courses in demography, with special focus on statistics and social science research. Dr Otieno’s research interests cover adolescent transitions to adulthood, fertility and migration. Anne A. Khasakhala is a lecturer at Population Studies and Research Institute, University of Nairobi, Kenya. She teaches courses in demographic techniques, population and health. Dr. Khasakhala’s research interests are in areas of child health and development; maternal and reproductive health; adolescent sexuality and health; and social aspects of HIV, among others. Samuel Owuor is a senior lecturer in urban geography at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya, and an affiliate researcher at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands, the French Institute of Research in Africa (IFRA-Nairobi), and at the Centre for Urban Research (Nairobi). Dr Owuor’s research interests include urban development, governance and management; urban poverty, livelihoods and food security; and urban-rural links. preliminaries.pmd 9 14/09/2009, 18:34 Acknowledgement This book presents the results of the Nairobi Urban Integration Research Project (NUrIP) — a collaborative research project of the University of Nairobi with technical support of the French Institute of Research in Africa (IFRA). First and foremost, we would like to acknowledge the generous funding and institutional support from the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), the Rockefeller Foundation, IFRA-Nairobi, the Institute for Research and Development (IRD), and the University of Nairobi. Secondly, the study could not have been carried out without the cooperation of all our respondents — the Nairobi City residents — whom we are grateful to. Third, we would like to acknowledge the support of the postgraduate students from the Departments of Geography and Environmental