Paper short abstract:

In the presentation I will analyze how Korogogocho slum in Nairobi was formed by forcing displacement conducted by the Kenyan government in the 1970s' and the later resettlements from the rural area. I will answer the question of what are the social and cultural consequences of these actions.

Paper long abstract:

Korogocho is one of the most populous slum in Nairobi, estimated to house 42.000 inhabitants. It is located roughly 11 kilometers from the city center. Most of Korogocho land is owned by the goverment and the residents are squatters. Korogocho history dates back to the 1970s forced resettlement carried out by the Kenyan government, aimed at 'cleansing' the city center from the poor.

In my presentation (1) I will analyze how Korogocho was formed as an idea, place and community. I will deal with this theme in relation to literature as well as the narrations of the inhabitants of this slum, who underwent these resettlements or were later forced by the economic situation to move from the countryside to the poorest parts of Nairobi. (2) I will discuss the definition of a slum in the context of displacements and answer the question of how Korogocho 'received the identity' of a slum. In order to do so I will refer to the memories of Korogocho inhabitants who reminisce on the situations in which they have heard for the first time the word "slum" and got to know its "universal" meaning, as well as their stories of the conditions of how their dwelling places "transformed" into a slum. (3) Based on 20 months of participant observation I will show what are the social and cultural consequences of 1970s (and later) displacements. My research suggests that a structure that formed the slum still affects residents every day life practices.