Nairobi Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This chapter examines the origin and brief history of Nairobi Metropolitan Area, which is Kenya’s principal economic and cultural center and one of the largest and fastest growing cities in Africa. This chapter looks at the urban primacy, urban land use/cover change patterns, and the factors that have influenced the urbanization of Nairobi, as well as the potential implications of these factors to the future urban development of this Metropolitan. Nairobi is an example of an African colonial city, with colonial origins, which shaped its structure and management at the time of Kenya’s transition to independence. Nairobi was born of the European colonial project and was first established as a transportation center, before it grew to become an administrative center. Like other African cities, after independence Nairobi was characterized by a rapid increase in rural to urban migration, accompanied by the proliferation of small-scale trade and commodity production. Nairobi has grown remarkably, with its urbanization driven by various interrelated factors. Land use/cover change analysis for Nairobi Metropolitan Area shows that the built-up areas would continue to increase at an average annual rate of change of 1.49 km2/year. The results of the landscape pattern analysis show that built-up land would be more aggregated but with disconnected, nonlinear, and complex patches of built-up land as Nairobi continues to expand. Nairobi’s accessibility as the regional hub, its relative position as the gateway to eastern African region, its status as the country’s capital, the adoption of various urban development strategies, and its population and economic growth, together, have combined to drive its urban development. Nairobi is, however, faced by a myriad of urban challenges that need to be taken into consideration in its future development including traffic congestion, inadequate urban housing, mushrooming slums, urban poor, unemployment, delinquency, crime, unavailability of clean water, inadequate drainage and sanitation, lack of adequate public transport, environmental degradation, and disaster unpreparedness. The Government of Kenya has embarked on an ambitious Nairobi Metro 2030 vision to spatially redefine the Nairobi Metropolitan Area and create a world-class city region which is envisaged to generate sustainable wealth and quality of life for its residents, investors, and visitors. It is hoped that this will be realized so that Nairobi can become a world-class metropolitan.