‘Urban October” was launched by UN-Habitat in 2014 to emphasize the world’s urban challenges and engage the international community towards the New Urban Agenda. Starting with World Habitat Day on 5th October and concluding with World Cities Day on 31st October under the motto “Designed to Live Together, urbanists are organizing events centered around urbanization, […]
Nairobis Tom Mboya Street: User Friendly or Not?
City streets play a major function in urban life and economy. Dynamic Streets, like those within Central Business District areas that serve multiple users can at times be said to be the life of a city. Nairobi Tom Mboya Street is a relevant example of this type of multi user street . Located at the […]
Countering the Increasing Energy Consumption in Growing Cities
Current global trends indicate that over 50% of the world’s human population lives in urban areas. Although the figure for the African continent is lower at 40%; its growth rate of 3.6 % is double the worlds average and the highest globally. Urban centres have greater requirements for the generation, distribution and consumption of energy […]
Kenya: Two Railway Lines Running Parallel on Different Gauges
One of the most ambitious projects on the African continent was the construction of the (Kenya) Uganda Railway Line. A British imperial project, it was later dubbed the Lunatic Line. Passing through 5 different physical regions comprising a variety of vegetative and climatic zones the line stretches from the coastal lowlands to the vast plateau, followed […]
Mi Teleferico: Worlds Highest Cable Car Transports over 42,000 people daily
The earliest known use of cable transit for passenger transportation was in 250 B.C in South China. Though they have been used in European ski resorts for decades, it is only in the last few years that their use in urban centres has become widespread. Last year (2014), the Bolivian Government launched what is now […]
Cable Cars: Introducing the Likoni ‘Air-Line’ in Mombasa, Kenya
Transportation is the movement of people and goods from a point of origin to a destination. Several means can be employed; from the more popular cars and buses to bicycles, boats and even ferries. Over the last few decades Urban Centers have grown exponentially both in population size and surface area. Urban developers have realized […]
Planners: Does Security in Urban Centres begin with you?
Innovative approaches to Urban Security In addition to the visible challenges of mobility, human settlements and environmental sustainability, city planners have to think about Urban Security. Cities have been said to the “honeypot of criminal activities where incidents of muggings, car-jacking, house burglaries and occasional hooliganism are common. . Recent times have also seen cities become […]
Moving Urban Dwellers through the Air to alleviate Traffic Congestion
Aerial Cable Transportation, or simply Cable Cars, are better known for their use at Alpine Ski resorts and in mountainous areas. However, their ability to transport thousands of people per hour has seen them emerge as an efficient, effective and reliable means of mass urban transport. The idea of using Cable Cars in the urban […]
When the call to drive at 30 kph in Nairobi, Kenya is necessary!
Over 1.24 million people die and between 20 and 50 million are injured on the worlds roads annually. The largest portion of this burden is borne by those living in low and middle income countries. In Kenya, over 3000 people die annually on the roads and nearly double that are injured. A large number of […]
Land use management in Nairobi, Kenya is key to reducing congestion.
Nairobi has a population of 3.5 million and a density of 4,850 people/Km2. This is low when compared to Lagos with 11 million people (18,500p/Km2) or Bogota with 7 million (13,500p/Km2). Estimates show that by 2025 there will be about 5.8 million people living in the city. Nairobi has to plan towards sustaining such a […]
