Nairobi Metropolitan Services Urban Renewal of Eastlands Vol. 2 September 19 2019

The Urban Renewal Plan for Eastlands, Nairobi (2016 -2036) is one of the Nairobi Metropolitan Service Improvement Projects, which are being undertaken by the Government of Kenya, with support from the World Bank under the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS). It focuses on the old public housing estates and adjacent areas in Eastlands. The project is under the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development and the Nairobi City County Government. It is also one of the Local Area Plans, given priority by Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan (2014-2030) and Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Spatial Plan.

The plan preparation process has been participatory. There were numerous public consultation activities including series of stakeholder workshops, technical consultations, focused group discussions and key sector consultative meetings. Over 45 public participation fora have been conducted to-date. The stakeholders are generally supportive of the project and are keen for its implementation. Their concerns have also been well documented and addressed in the various proposals.

Eastlands currently experiences a number of development challenges, some of which include dilapidated housing, uncontrolled/illegal housing extensions, environmental degradation, urban poverty, dilapidated infrastructure and services, inadequate public transport, overcrowding/ congestion, inadequate inter-linkages, lack of updated development plans and sitting tenants

The plan provides a framework for the transformation of Eastlands through provision of decent housing and therefore develop a functional urban system as well as deliver a responsive & sustainable model for the redevelopment of the entire project area. The project area covers an area of 1264 Ha and an estimated population of about 150,000 people expected to rise to over 500,000 by 2036.

The renewal strategy emphasizes on densification of use of land through high-rise developments, expansion of trunk infrastructure and services and creation of sustainable neighbourhoods developed within the existing estates. The project proposals include a new comprehensive Land Use Plan- that provides for various types of land uses, Action Area Plans and various Sector Strategies. The key sectors are Housing, Infrastructure, Environmental Management, Disaster Management and Heritage Preservation, Economic Strategy, Revenue Enhancement Strategy and a Financing Framework. A Strategic Environmental Assessment Report was undertaken to mainstream social and environmental concerns that would arise from the implementation of the plan.

The proposed land use structure re-organizes the current land use primarily to optimize the use of land. Broadly, this looks at an appropriate mix of housing, work and public spaces. With emphasis on high-rise developments, the area under housing is proposed to reduce from 45% to 42% while work places increase from 8% to 9%. Land assigned for public spaces increases from 47% to 49%. Through densification, the formal public housing stock is proposed to increase from about 16,569 units to over 177,139 units. The units may also go increase further should higher levels than those suggested be adopted at the time of the implementation of the Action Plans at estate level. The proposed units are a significant contribution to the government’s Big Four agenda with regard to affordable housing. Given the additional estimated 33,893 extensions, the proposed housing stock is considered adequate to not only serve the existing tenants but also help in alleviating the housing shortage within Nairobi and the country at large. The units fall within zones of varying building heights ranging from 5, 8, 12 and 16 level zones depending on the proximity to the flight path serving Moi Airbase in Eastleigh.

Taking into account the socio-economic characteristics of the resident population, four sizes of dwelling units have been proposed with emphasize on low cost housing given the area is dominated by low- income earners. They include 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. These have been mixed in proportions that will promote inclusivity and integration of all socio-economic groups. House rental and sale options have been proposed. For sitting tenants is proposed that house access should be through rentals given the low-income levels.

In order to enhance implementation and access to affordable housing, economic and revenue enhancement proposals have been made. Also suggested are strategies for delivering affordable housing, cost implications, means of funding the urban renewal projects and the strategies for distributing the houses between the sitting and the new tenants, indicating the proportions which can be sold and that which can be rented out.

On work places, areas of employment have been expanded to create more employment opportunities. Special consideration has been given to the informal sector, which has been the primary employer within the project area. Opportunities to transform the informal sector into vibrant businesses have been proposed while also providing spaces for further formal activities. Key employment nodes are Gikomba, Kamukunji, Burma, Mwariro, Uhuru market, Makadara, Jericho, Buruburu and other minor shopping centres. High-rise developments on the nodes are proposed.

The additional work area provided is 8.7 ha, which translates to a total Gross Leasable Area of 353 Ha. The number of employment opportunities have also been increased from about 67692 to about 407,352. This is equivalent to 600% job increment. The Gross monthly incomes and annual government revenue are also expected to increase significantly. It is estimated that the former will increase from Ksh. 875 million to 5.3 billion while the latter will shoot to Ksh. 14.8 billion from the current Ksh. 4.4 million.

Given the scarcity of public facilities coupled with the significant public investments already undertaken at the institutions, it is proposed that all existing social facilities including schools and health facilities be retained. Additional land has been earmarked for establishment of new facilities while land has also been added to some of the existing institutions. Sites for establishment of a TVET college and a Level 4 Hospital in Makadara have been proposed as flagship projects in the education and health sectors respectively.

In order to address the challenges at estate level, action area plans have been proposed for each estate. At estate level the plans outline proposals including delineating areas for various land use, layouts and numbers of housing units vis a vis the existing estimated sitting tenants. The plans also show the infrastructure network services including road, water and sewer trunk systems. These plans provide an integration of strategies in each of the estate. Among the issues addressed are housing deficits, dilapidation of housing and infrastructural networks, inadequacies of transport networks, social facilities and utility services, environmental pollution, informal structures and encroachments into public spaces. These plans are intended to regenerate the quality of living environment in each estate, promote economic rejuvenation in the markets and enhance the restoration of the quality of the natural environment around Nairobi River.

The sector strategies on the other hand harmonize proposals within the various sectors such housing, transportation, water and sewerage, storm water management, education, health, community facilities, energy, environmental management, heritage preservation, economic development and revenue enhancement. The housing sector proposals provide strategies for increasing the housing stock to sitting and new tenants, improving quality of housing and service areas, enhancing access to affordable housing and improving government revenue accruing from the public housing.

On the transport sector, proposals include foremost the expansion of the major corridors to support the various infrastructure and service improvements. This will support the proposed introduction of LRT and BRT corridors, provision of NMT infrastructure, provision of new passenger and freight termini, provision of parking facilities, road expansion and development of missing links. The water and sewerage system has been reorganized to upgrade the currently obsolete network. Sewerage pre-treatment sites have also been recommended within the project area to improve the current sewer management system before offloading into the main city trunk sewer.

On environment, a Nairobi riverfront development strategy is proposed to protect the ecologically sensitive area. The riparian area has clearly been delineated and road buffer created along the entire corridor to protect the river from encroachments.

Given the rich history of the project area to the nation, a heritage preservation strategy has also been proposed. It identifies various sites that should be preserved as the rest of the developments are transformed. This will help to augment various efforts undertaken by the National Museums of Kenya in the recent past.

New development control guidelines have been proposed for the privately owned estates and shopping centres. The purpose of the review of the development control guidelines is to enhance optimization of the use of land. Of significance is the fact that some of the private estates have witnessed significant transformation towards renewal while some other estates have continued to retain their original character.

Areas for review or enactment of new legislation touching on various areas such as the Land Acquisition Act, the NSSF Act, renewal/ extension of lease guidelines, house allocation guidelines and inter-governmental affordable housing delivery guidelines have also been proposed

In conclusion, the plan addresses the various planning and developmental challenges experienced in the project area. The current state is not acceptable and there is need for urgent attention. Given the magnitude of the project area, it is recommended that the implementation of the urban renewal program be phased. Initially, it should start with pilot projects before the roll out of the rest of the project. It is also recommended that the implementation of any housing project should be preceded by an enumeration and identification of beneficiaries from the sitting tenants. This will help to enhance the success for the renewal project.