Nairobi’s informal settlements sit at the intersection of inadequate water infrastructure, exclusionary planning systems, and limited community participation in climate governance. Drawing on research in the Nairobi River Basin, this paper examines how pollution, ecological decline, and public-health risk can inform community-led river regeneration in Mathare, Kibera, and Mukuru.
The analysis combines water-quality evidence, ecological observations, household and key-informant data, and situational analysis. Downstream sections recorded contamination, including E. coli levels up to 100,000 CFU/100 mL, while riverine settlements face disease exposure, unsafe water, flood risk, and degraded riparian environments. Three findings are relevant for city decision-makers: regeneration must address sanitation, drainage, and waste-management failures; it is more durable when residents help identify priorities, monitor risks, and shape interventions; and implementation should link riparian restoration, safer water access, monitoring, and participatory governance.
The session offers an evidence-based pathway for rapidly urbanizing African cities where informality shapes climate exposure.
