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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Transformation of the Production and Retail of Building Materials for Low-Income Housing in Mombasa, Kenya
Author:Macoloo, Gervase C.
Year:1991
Periodical:Development and Change
Volume:22
Issue:3
Period:July
Pages:445-473
Language:English
Geographic term:Kenya
Subjects:dual economy
retail trade
construction materials
housing construction
Development and Technology
Urbanization and Migration
External link:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.1991.tb00421.x
Abstract:This paper examines the changes which have occurred in low-income settlements in Mombasa, Kenya, in connection with the production and retail of building materials. The typical low-income housing in Mombasa was the Swahili house which had its own market for the supply of traditional building materials. With the commencement of the provision of low-income housing based on international aid, the Swahili house scene has undergone a tremendous transformation. The proscription of the use of traditional (indigenous) materials in housing construction has resulted in raising the cost of housing beyond the means of the majority of the urban poor. In addition, it has adversely affected small-scale retail outlets which specialized in the supply of these traditional materials. This process has gone hand in hand with the prescription that only industrially manufactured materials are to be used in low-income settlements. The paper concludes that the articulation between the traditional and the modern modes of housing production in Mombasa has been to the benefit of the latter. It is, however, pointed out that the process of commercialization of low-income settlements had commenced before the involvement of international aid agencies, and therefore State intervention in this sector merely speeded up this process and increased its magnitude. Bibliogr., notes.
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