In Kenya's 2007 post-election violence, the urban poor were the ones most affected-- with thousands of homes and shops burned and many killed in Nairobi's largest slum of Kibera. Almost 60 percent of residents in Nairobi live in the city's burgeoning slums and face challenges of inadequate housing, lack of clean water and sanitation, and social and economic exclusion. This phenomenon is not unique to Nairobi-indeed, most growing cities in the global South see ever expanding informal settlements as urbanization continues faster than cities can cope. Without social safety nets and living hand-to-mouth existences, urban poor communities often have the most to gain from political changes-a fact that politicians can exploit with rhetoric, promising to help improve the situations of the poor in exchange for votes. While Kenya's politics are complex, and election tensions cannot be said to come from one specific cause, Raila Odinga has largely campaigned as a champion of the poor, and his words and choices in the days ahead have enormous potential to either help keep the peace, or cause violent uprisings in the country's slums. IHC Global believes that social and economic inclusion are key to creating political stability and safety, and that working towards cities that are equitable and inclusive can help prevent desperate violence like that that overtook Kenya in 2007.

Read more about the situation in Kenya  here .