Abstract
Lack of sanitation facilities is a common occurrence in informal settlements that are common in most developing countries. One challenge with sanitation provision in these settlements is the cost and financing of sanitation. This study aimed at estimating the cost of sanitation, and investigating the social and economic dynamics within Kisumu’s informal settlements that hinder provision and uptake of sanitation facilities. Primary data was collected from residents of the settlements, and using logistic and hedonic regression analysis, we identify characteristics of residents with sanitation facilities, and estimate the cost of sanitation as revealed in rental prices. Our study finds that sanitation constitutes approximately 54% of the rent paid in the settlements; and dynamics such as landlords and tenants preferences, and sharing of sanitation facilities influence provision and payment for sanitation. This study contributes to general development by estimating the cost of sanitation, and further identifies barriers and opportunities for improvement including the interplay between landlords and tenants. Provision of sanitation in informal settlements is intertwined in social and economic dynamics, and development approaches should target both landlords and tenants, while also engaging various stakeholders to work together to identify affordable and appropriate sanitation technologies.
Highlights
Informal settlements are faced with a number of challenges, including insecure land tenure, poverty, overcrowding and a lack of basic services and infrastructure [1,2,3,4,5,6]
This study has investigated the urban poor’s payment for sanitation in the informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya through their revealed preferences
Using the hedonic pricing method which estimates the willingness to pay for housing attributes through the rental amounts, the findings show that the urban poor are willing to pay for sanitation since those living in compounds with sanitation facilities pay a significantly higher amount of rent
Summary
Informal settlements are faced with a number of challenges, including insecure land tenure, poverty, overcrowding and a lack of basic services and infrastructure [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Sanitation is one of the basic services often lacking in informal settlements, a situation attributed to various factors, including limited public finances at the governmental level [7] and a reluctance from local governments to allocate public funds for such private goods as sanitation [8]. Households in informal settlements often provide their own sanitation facilities [10,11].
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