CASE STUDY - Nairobi

Question 1

background info on Nairobi

Answer 1

• capital and largest city in Kenya
• population of 5 mill

Question 2

what are the 4 areas of evidence of social inequality

Answer 2

1. housing
2. environmental quality
3. crime
4. digital divide

Question 3

how is HOUSING QUALITY, evidence of social inequality

Answer 3

• 50% of pop lives in informal settlements
• only 15% have floors made of durable material (not sand or mud)
• there are no proper waste disposal –> health risks
• KIBERA (very deprived area) - overcrowded housing, poorly ventilated, built with temporary materials
• Westlands (affluent areas) - large houses, security gates, big gardens etc
• in Cambridge even the deprived areas like king’s hedges still have structurally stable houses and access to basic utilities

Question 4

how is ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, evidence of social inequality

Answer 4

• less than 1/5 ppl in informal settlement areas have piped water
• so ppl in slums get their water from borehole/ truck deliveries
• air pollution in poorer areas is severely bas because they are close to rubbish burning areas and industrial zones
• rubbish collection only happens for 1% of residents
• in Cambridge the environmental quality doesnt not pose actual serious health risks to life - much more severe

Question 5

how is CRIME, evidence of social inequality

Answer 5

• slums have extremely high rates of crime - carjacking, theft, mugging, violence, trafficking
• limited policing in areas like Kibera bc can’t control all the gangs
• crime rate in Cambridge 133/1000 per year - no where near as bad - also the types of crimes much less bad - C more like assaults - N more like death and stabbing

Question 6

how is the DIGITAL DIVIDE, evidence of social inequality

Answer 6

• very limited access to internet and devices in slums due to lack of income to buy
• lack of infrastructure for internet and electricity etc
• 50% of informal settlement house holds have a TV compared to 75% in affluent areas in the Westlands

Question 7

what’s are the 4 factors that INFLUENCE social inequality

Answer 7

1. incomes
2. education
3. health
4. gender

Question 8

how does INCOME influence social inequality

Answer 8

• top 10% earn 45% of cities income
• poor 10% ear 2% of cities income
• Kibera ppl live on average $1-2 a day compared to Nairobi’s average of $10 approx
• 95% of Nairobi work in the informal sector doing cleaning etc –> vulnerable to job losses and exploitation - HR issues

Question 9

how does EDUCATION influence social inequality

Answer 9

• 53% males and 48% females in slums reach 2ndry ski VS 70% and 63% in affluent Westland areas
• education causes cycles of poverty and traps people for life
• dont have computers or textbooks - quality of education is much worse than Cambridge along with the access too

Question 10

how does HEALTH influence social inequality

Answer 10

• government clinics and underfunded and overcrowded - basic state supplied stuff isn’t good enough
• only about 4% of Kenya’s pop had private healthcare in 2025
• Malaria, HIV/AIDS, TB, other diarrhoeal
• life exit in kibera is 30
• life exit in Nairobi is 63

Question 11

how does GENDER influence social inequality

Answer 11

• women have less job opps
• less access to healthcare
• more vulnerable to violence bc no laws to protect them and badly upheld
  this os due to cultural norms and historical stereotypes
• far less extreme in Cambridge because the government prevents it

Question 12

how does inequality impact daily life in Nairobi

Answer 12

• queuing for water - unhygienic and tiring - susceptible to diseases and malnutrition
• living without flushing toilets - health issues
• cooking open fires - unhygienic and bad for environment - worsens air quality - respiratory diseases
• slums spend 1/3 of income on water alone - very little/ no disposable income
• many rely on borrowing loans –> depends financial insecurity