Housing the Masses: Applying Singapore’s Housing & Development Board Successes to Kenya’s Affordable Housing Program

Abstract

Kenya faces several significant challenges regarding housing affordability; many of its urban population live in informal settlements, which increases the risk of infectious diseases such as malaria, cholera, and respiratory infections. In addition to diseases, there is also the issue of insecurity. Fortunately, the government of Kenya in 2017 came up with an excellent initiative to provide affordable housing to the people of Kenya called the Affordable Housing Program. In addition to Kenya, other countries are facing the same problem, some have been able to solve it, and others, such as Singapore, were once in the same situation. In addition to housing shortages, indecent housing, and disease outbreaks, the city had a high unemployment rate. When the Housing and Development Board was established, these challenges were addressed, and Singapore now has one of the best public housing systems in the world. In order to help Kenya’s affordable housing program implement its strategy, this study will provide lessons from the housing and development board. The study identified two lessons Kenya could learn from the Housing and Development Board using secondary sources such as academic literature, government reports, and news articles. As a result of affordable housing programs, homeownership rates can be increased, and ethnic integration can also be facilitated. It is concluded in the paper that Singapore’s Housing and Development Board can be used to promote national stability in Kenya.