Why Kenya’s Affordable Housing Push Must Prioritize Dignity

 

By Claire Andere-Chege | Group Head of Marketing | Mi Vida Homes

 

Kenya's affordable housing programme is accelerating fast. Thousands of units are under construction as part of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), promising to tackle the housing deficit while creating jobs and boosting local manufacturing.

But here is the crucial question everyone's avoiding: What kind of homes are we actually building?

The Real Measure of Success

Forget counting units or calculating cost per square meter. These numbers tell us nothing about whether we are transforming lives. Real success means housing that delivers security, dignity, comfort, opportunity, and genuine community.

Consider this: a "cheap" unit located far from transport links and job centres might look affordable on spreadsheets, but it traps residents in poverty cycles. That is failure disguised as progress.

What Other Countries Got Right

The world offers powerful lessons:

• Singapore integrates schools, clinics, green spaces, and transit into housing developments.
• Vienna makes accessibility and thoughtful design non-negotiable.
• Medellín combines housing with mobility, safety, and community participation.

The pattern is clear: successful housing policy prioritizes dignity alongside density.

Rethinking "Affordable"

Kenya needs housing policy that goes deeper than construction costs. True affordability includes the total cost of living, transport, utilities, maintenance, and time spent commuting.

Location is everything. Dumping low-income developments on urban outskirts reinforces spatial inequality. Instead, new housing must connect to employment zones and public transit, with inclusive design for elderly and disabled residents.

Smart developers are already integrating solar energy, community spaces, childcare centres, and local retail turning isolated units into thriving neighbourhoods.

The Missing Accountability Loop

Once ribbons get cut, scrutiny often ends. We desperately need post-occupancy evaluations tracking infrastructure reliability, resident satisfaction, and long-term maintenance costs.

The Demographic Urgency

Over 75% of Kenyans are under 35, and urbanization is accelerating. The government's ambitious target of 250,000 annual units reflects this urgency.

But scale cannot compromise standards. Poor planning risks entrenching inequality by pushing vulnerable populations further to society's margins.

The Path Forward

We have the tools, political mandate, and demographic pressure. What we need now is leadership ensuring Kenya's housing revolution delivers transformation.

If we genuinely want to change lives rather than skylines, our housing policy must go beyond the brick.