Young people responding to multiple "crises": intersecting precarities and everyday life in an informal settlement in Kenya.

Mueller-Hirth, Natascha; Vertigans, Stephen

Abstract

Informal settlements, while being home to about 1 in 8 people worldwide, face many interconnected challenges relating to housing, services, health, employment, ecological vulnerabilities and legal marginalisation. Young people living in informal contexts are particularly vulnerable to crises and challenges due to their restricted access to power, finance and forms of social capital. At the same time, informal settlements are often said to be spaces of creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation and resilience. This chapter presents the findings of qualitative fieldwork in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, since 2020, particularly exploring the activities of a group of young environmentalists and their strategies to cope with diverse and interlinked acute and structural challenges. Residents of the informal settlement face many challenges and chronic stresses, including high levels of pollution, crime and violence, unemployment, and the conditions commonly associated with informality, such as no or little access to water, sanitation and essential public services and infrastructure. In addition to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change have also been increasingly felt. For example, in March 2024, some areas in Nairobi, including that in which this research has been conducted, were severely flooded, killing people and forcing residents out of their homes.

Citation

MUELLER-HIRTH, N. and VERTIGANS, S. 2025. Young people responding to multiple crises: intersecting precarities and everyday life in an informal settlement in Kenya. In Eriksson, S. and Buettgen, A. (eds.) Young people in times of crises: global revelations and social change. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing [online], pages 43-68. Available from: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-4711-3

• Online Publication Date: May 9, 2025
• Publication Date: May 9, 2025
• Deposit Date: Aug 1, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 1, 2025
• Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 43-68
• Book Title: Young people in times of crises: global revelations and social change
• ISBN: 9781036447113
• Keywords: Informal settlements; Young people; Kenya; Interconnected challenges; Youth; Resilience; COVID-19
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2959211
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-4711-3