Abstract
Article 43 1 (b) of the constitution of Kenya (2010), alongside other international treaties which the country is party to, obligates the state to provide housing for all Kenyans. These instruments place a greater emphasis on the slums and informal settlements upgrading and development, key among which is down market urban housing. Down market urban housing is principally housing for the low income urban households, or low cost housing. There are many challenges on this endeavour in Kenya, key among them being the application of outdated technologies, inadequate innovation, inadequate financing and low application of efficiency, effectiveness and economy considerations. This situation has led to backlogs in housing supply. The State Department of Housing in Kenya puts the demand for housing at 250,000 units per year while the supply is 50,000 units, creating an annual deficit of 200,000 units. Stakeholders have therefore scouted for alternative methods of addressing these gaps and PPPs have been cited as one of the possible solution to address the undersupply of down market urban housing. This study utilized the Delphi method to gauge the prospects of providing down market urban housing through strategic application of PPPs. It was found out that there are high prospects for applying PPPs in housing delivery. The public sector should come up with PPP models which can work locally, it should incentivise the private sector and more so create enabling environment. It was concluded that PPPs are applicable in the provision of down market urban housing with the right structuring. The recommendations made for Kenya and developing countries are to adopt application of PPPs if the country were to reduce the huge backlogs in housing. Key words: Public private partnerships (PPPs), down market urban housing, public and private sector, housing affordability/challenges and provision.
Highlights
Since time immemorial, housing has been recognized as a fundamental human need
The research was keen on getting the lessons learnt in the application of Private Partnerships (PPPs) in down market urban housing
Based on the lessons and suggestions made in the application of PPPs in down market urban housing, it has been concluded that PPPs models are applicable in housing
Summary
Since time immemorial, housing has been recognized as a fundamental human need. The demand for housing has been on the rise due to the rapid pace of urbanization and high population growth in developing countries. The problem of accessing housing is becoming unendurable It has the potential for causing class and wider societal upheavals in the majority of informal settlements and neighbourhoods throughout the world (UN Habitat, 2016; Tipple, 1994). The facilitation for construction of down market urban housing from the public sector has been dwindling over time. This is because the public pulse has been shrinking with time against the ever increasing demand for goods and services (Kutana, 2017; Mouraviev and Kakabadse, 2016; Brown et al, 2006). In the cases where public sector has attempted to develop housing, it has had mixed results, including inadequate quantities which excludes the poor from such housing projects, the need for down market urban housing or low cost housing (World Bank, 2015a; Brown et al, 2006)
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