The rate of Urban development in African cities is at levels never experienced before. Sub-Saharan Africa is the least urbanized region globally, however, it nevertheless has the highest rate of urbanization. Small towns, municipalities, cities and metropolises are expanding at extremely high rates. Only three decades ago, Nairobi had a population of slightly over 1 […]
Putting People at the Core of Design
In today’s world it is common for us to associate cities with features like buildings, roads, cars and spaces. It is, however, important that we don’t forget the most important element in a city – its citizens. What is a city without its citizens? Probably a ‘lost city’ or ‘abandoned ruins’. Yet, more often than […]
Riparian Lands: Nairobi starts demolitions
Short Discussion on Citizen TV The City of Nairobi has started demolishing constructions on Riparian lands. Riparian zones are vegetated strips of land on each side of a watercourse or adjacent to a water body. The laws on riparian lands give a range of 6m to 30m for rivers. The distance oceans, lakes and dams […]
Creating vibrant urban communities in large cities: Kilimani Project Foundation
In the last decade, the pace of urbanization, especially in Africa and Asia, has been rapid. It is predicted that by 2050 about 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized. That is equivalent to approximately 3 billion urbanites by 2050. In many fast-growing cities in Africa, what constitutes an urban […]
Placemaking Week: Can Nairobi create “Places’ out of ‘Spaces’?
Over 30 community groups and professional organizations came together from the 15th to 19th of November 2017 for the second consecutive year to organize what is now the annual “Nairobi Placemaking Week. Although the term “placemaking is still strange to the ordinary city resident, there is nevertheless a deep appreciation and understanding among citizens of the […]
The Nairobi Pedestrian: An Unwanted Species
One of the most notable scenes in the city of Nairobi is the large number of people walking. Many of these people walk from the informal settlements to the industrial area and middle income neighbourhoods. It is understood that approximately 47% of residents in Nairobi walk to work. With a troubled and chaotic paratransit system […]
#MjiWetu: Do Walls improve the Security of our City?
Slightly over two decades ago, most residential fences in middle class areas of Nairobi consisted of natural trees like cypress or key-apple. For a city that doesn’t drain well, this manner of fencing greatly benefited it during the wet season, providing adequate paths for rainwater to flow towards the many small rivers that pass through […]
Nairobi: Mixed Use Zones are Redefining the City
Both Homer Hoyt’s Sector Theory of Urban Development and Ernest Burgess’ Concentric Zone Theory highlight how cities grow outward from a core district (the Central Business District) towards the periphery with distinct land use zones. Without good land use management, cities run the risk of growing too far out, a concept known as urban sprawl. Sprawl […]
Is Nairobi Central Business District DEAD?
The Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) has undergone a gradual transformation in the last few years that has seen it turn into a large bus yard and parking area for public transit vehicles (towards the east), a queuing zone for authorized buses (around the centre) and a large taxi park (towards the west). Retail stores […]
Nairobi, Kenya, faces a Growing Challenge of Noise Pollution
Noise Pollution is defined as a form and level of environmental sound that is generally considered likely to annoy, distract or even harm other people. The sounds we hear become noise when they are unwanted, that is, when they interfere with thinking, concentrating, working, talking, listening, or sleeping. By virtue of rapid and continuous growth, […]
