Changing slums to beautiful sceneries

By JECKONIA OTIENO

1. Is landscape improvement in the slums possible and sustainable?

Yes. It’s possible to landscape low-income settlements. If it has been done in Central and South American city slums like Bogota and Sao Paulo, why not here? I believe if the same idea is applied, the settlements can be changed for the better.

2. What should we focus on in improving LIVING CONDITIONS IN slums?

For long, concerned parties have focused on building houses for slum dwellers, but this has not worked out well. What can be done is to focus on the spaces between the buildings to ensure litter does not accumulate.

3. Can a uniform landscape design be applied TO every slum?

Every informal settlement has its own special needs. A comprehensive analysis needs to be done before any work is started. Both social and physical aspects of each of the settlements should be studied in totality. Aspects such as the economy, climate, culture and existing structures should be exclusively studied. It is only then that one can start thinking of how to deal with problems of design.

4. Where would the starting point be and how would one go about it?

Start with the inhabitants and involve them in every step of the process so that they feel part of the initiative. Pulling them out and resettling them could prove disastrous. They might not even appreciate your efforts, which is counterproductive in the long run and beats the sense of changing the residential areas.

Look at the settlements, the murk, sewage, waste plastics and papers — all those bad things associated with these informal settlements. Think of how they can be used to generate income and teach the dwellers how to use them for their benefit. As they use it, they will slowly be ridding the area zof pollutants. If residents feel they own the idea, they’ll embrace it and put their strength to it.

5. Has this worked anywhere else?

In Haiti, a non-governmental organisation has built a public toilet where the waste is treated and used for other purposes. Locals rear fish in the ponds of filtered water while the solid waste is turned into fertiliser. It doesn’t cost them money, but earns them a living.

6. Any other insights?

You would find that most households in the slums use charcoal as fuel. This contributes to a lot of carbon emission. Human waste can be used to produce biogas for every household in these settlements. This biogas can be used to light up the homes and even for cooking if it is produced in large scale. Imagine Kibera houses having free electricity. The river would then be free of pollution.

7. What does it take to achieve this?

It will take everybody. It is difficult if one group is left out of the picture. The other way is to start with a small project with high chances of success. When the small area is changed, interest will grow in the wider community. Success in one place breeds curiosity and interest from another place and with time, the bug of ‘we can also do it’ spreads, leading to change.

Start with the basics. In a space in Kibera, for example, the garbage dampsites dotting the area can be transformed to beautiful vegetable gardens.

8. Shouldn’t multi-storey buildings be provided to accommodate more people?

Not really. The people are probably accustomed to living close to the ground and might not like climbing stairs. Sometimes it is difficult to change what people are used to.

9. Wouldn’t restructuring the slums force people to move?

Moving people might not be the solution. If people are to be moved, let it not be far from their area. They should also be willing to move and shouldn’t be forced. If you use force then you are losing the trust of the people whose lives and environment you want to change.

10. What other measures can be taken to ensure slum improvement measures are sustainable?

The informal settlements have always been stigmatised and not many people would like to associate with them. Let there be systems, which will ensure that neighbours can visit and feel secure. Let the development of these settlements be undertaken one step at a time and with the involvement of everybody so that there is consensus throughout.