Drone image of a sharply divided Nairobi neighborhood, showing informal and formal housing separated by a wall.

Upwardly mobile Kenyans live in planned, gated communities. Often these abut the poorest of slum communities, like this one in Loresho. 

Aerial photographs of Nairobi reveal how inequality is etched into the growing city’s fabric — stark divisions between wealth and poverty appear in the form of walls, roads, and rooftops. These images document the quiet violence of urban planning, where opportunity and exclusion coexist in plain sight.
Statistics on inequality and poverty are ubiquitous in the developing world. They are often underwhelming, however, in their impact. “It has been estimated that the richest 10 percent of the population of Nairobi accrues 45.2 percent of income, and the poorest 10 percent only 1.6 percent,” according to a 2009 study on urban poverty by Oxfam. 
But what does 45.2% of income look like? What does “urban poverty” look like? As, of course, every statistic is relative. Whatever the answer, inequality in Nairobi is definitely visible from above.
Aerial view of Kibera slum bordering a lush urban golf course in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Royal Nairobi Golf Course, next to Kibera slum, one of the most famous slums in Africa. 
View of Nairobi’s central business district rising behind dense informal settlements in the foreground.

An informal settlement next to the rich suburb of Parklands. Pockets of informality are commonly found within, and next to, neighborhoods that rely on them as a source of cheap labor.

Side-by-side aerial comparison of Kawangare slum and adjacent formal housing in Loresho with red roofs.

Loresho.

Overhead drone photo of Nairobi factory complexes bordering informal housing settlements.

The Viwandani slum, near an industrial estate in the city centre, is part of the massive tapestry of a city growing by leaps and bounds. The rapid urbanization of cities like Nairobi is due to the fact that Africa is growing, one of the only places on Earth where populations are still increasing, and several mega cities are projected to become amongst the world's largest in just a few short decades. How are planners making sure this huge migration to the city is done equitably?

Overhead contrast between tree-shaded Nairobi mansions and adjacent high-density informal homes.
Amazing geometric patterns emerge from the air in Nairobi's suburbs.
Aerial photograph of Nairobi river flooding in an informal area.

Floods and forced demolitions destroyed thousands of homes along the Nairobi River in 2024. 

Aerial comparison of Nairobi riverbank slum with industrial runoff and a contrasting greener section upstream.

The verdant farmland of the Kenyan highlands juxtaposed with the rapacious urban sprawl of Nairobi. 

Drone shot showing Nairobi’s urban inequality with well-spaced villas giving way to unplanned settlements.

Natural boundaries form incredible scenes like this one, on the edge of Kibera slum. 

Overhead image of Nairobi road dividing a gated housing estate and a large informal settlement.

New suburbs being built in one of Nairobi's wealthiest neighborhoods, next to slum communities which exist to service them. 

Loresho slums next to orderly planned communities.

Loresho.

Drone view of Dandora dumpsite adjacent to Nairobi slums, illustrating environmental and spatial inequality.

The Dandora dumpsite, a famous urban landmark in the city, which plays host to hundreds of waste pickers who comb its smoking hills every day for scrap to sell or recycle. The mound is so large it has even blocked the Nairobi River which flows next to it. 

Drone image of luxury high-rise construction in Nairobi next to crowded informal housing.

Parklands and the "Deep Sea" slums.

Aerial photo of Nairobi slum pressing up against the manicured edges of a private golf course.
Twice a day, a passenger train barrels through Kibera slum, less than a meter away from people's homes and businesses. Next door, people play golf at the Royal Nairobi Golf Course surrounded by greenery.  
 The Unequal Scenes I have found in Nairobi are a mixture of traditional “rich vs. poor” housing images, but also depictions of how infrastructure constrains, divides, and facilitates city growth, almost always at the expense of the poorest classes. Infrastructure, I've come to realize, represents the physical manifestation of inequality better than almost any other visual element - what Eyal Weizman calls "the surface of human inscription".  Further, it seems to make the reality of back-room discussions and planning meetings actually real. It's where decisions, usually taken around a table by a group of powerful men, come alive.
For example, the Kilimani-Langata road extension that bisects Kibera, estimated to have displaced over 11,500 people and destroyed over 598 structures, including schools and clinics. Of course this road helps alleviate the city’s traffic problem, but does it cause more problems than it will solve? For example, just to the south, a new road has already cut off part of Kibera, causing people to cross it illegally, resulting in many deaths. Additionally, the benefits in the form of improved connection times for residents of Kibera - most of whom take packed minibuses called matutus - is unclear. From interviews with residents, it seems that the planned infrastructure upgrades haven't even taken into account the public opinion in a meaningful way. Is this the price we need to pay for progress? Are some people just born to lose? 
It's important to understand that Nairobi is tasked with difficult choices. A vibrant, educated middle class is quickly growing, turning the city into a center for innovation and tech industries, not just on the continent but worldwide. It needs to grow. How can it be done equitably? Is it happening fast enough?​​​​​​​
Aerial image of Nairobi informal settlement with reddish soil roads and crowded tin-roof structures in kibera.

The Kilimani-Langata road connector was an audacious plan to bulldoze right through the middle of Kibera, Africa's "largest slum". In 2018, it happened two weeks before I arrived. 

Drone view of river winding through Nairobi’s industrial slum zone, with corrugated buildings on either side.

Viwandani after the flooding and demolitions of 2024.

Drone photo of Nairobi expressway with informal settlement tightly built up along its edge.
Kibera.
Pink houses and orange slums in Loresho.
Loresho.
Informal shanty houses amongst the trees in the Karura forest.

Huruma Village, on the edge of Karura Forest. 

Drone image of large rectangular market structures in Nairobi beside sprawling informal housing.

The dense settlement of Riara fits together with Imara Daima estate like two puzzle pieces. 

Overhead contrast between tree-shaded Nairobi mansions and adjacent high-density informal homes.
These barriers, whether concrete or imaginary, represent an entire class separation, one that may not be surmounted for generations to come. 
Bulldozed road in Kibera slum.

The scars of bulldozing through Nairobi's largest slum are clear. The initial stats: 11,500 people displaced, 598 structures destroyed. 

Drone view of contrast between informal densely packed tin-roof homes and an orderly planned housing grid in Mukuru.

The Mukuru Kwa Njema slums, next door to the Imara Daima estate.

Drone view of Nairobi public park meeting the edge of Kibera slum.
The chaos, noise, and density of the slum is neatly juxtaposed with the orderly calm green of the Royal Nairobi Golf Club, which opened in 1906. 
Photograph of Nairobi residents observing slum activity from a rocky outcrop above a busy settlement road.

Looking at homes slated for demolition, Kibera.

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