Projects and Events

Regional Development of Metropolitan Nairobi and the Ruiru Master Plan

CSUD's first project is located in Kenya. The Spring 2006 Nairobi Studio has two foci: the regional development of metropolitan Nairobi and the planning of Ruiru; a dormitory city in the region. The two parts are interdependent. The planning of metropolitan Nairobi provides context and Ruiru provides a chance to more fully explore the site specific implications.

The Studio project involves close collaboration between students and faculty at Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation’s (GSAPP) Urban Planning/CSUD Studio, the Workshop in Applied Development at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Nairobi.

Context

Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s fastest urbanizing region.  Over the period 1982-2002, Africa’s urban population grew at an average annual rate of 4.7 percent.  By comparison, urban population growth rates in other regions of the developing world ranged from 0.8-4.0 percent per annum and the world wide average population growth was 2.4 percent.  The number of urban dwellers in Africa is expected to increase from 210 million in 2000 to about 533 million by 2025 (United Nations Population Division 2002).  Put differently, today approximately 33 percent of the African population is urbanized; by 2025 an estimated 52 percent of the population will be located in cities (Basti 2002). Consequently planning for this urban growth is imperative.

Kenya has been urbanizing even faster than Africa as a whole. Urban poverty too is on the rise.  Between 1982-2002, Kenya’s average annual urban population growth rate was 6.3 percent, more than double its annual national population growth rate of 2.8 percent.  Along with rapid urbanization the incidence of urban poverty and its share in total poverty is also increasing.  Currently, an estimated 49 percent of the urban population is poor compared to an incidence of 53 percent in rural Kenya.  Further, it is estimated that the share of urban poverty in total poverty will increase from 34 percent in 2002 to 49 percent by 2020 (Kessides 2002).

The “Old City” of Nairobi is 90 square kilometers, and the metropolitan area is 690 square kilometers (Mbogua and Ng’gang’a, 1973).

Background on Ruiru

Ruiru is located in Kenya’s Central Province within the Thika District of Kenya.  As a satellite town of Nairobi, it is growing in response to the scarcity of housing in Nairobi.  In 1999, there were about 100,000 inhabitants in Ruiru.  No one knows the present size of the population but it is estimated to have grown significantly in the last six years. The town is located along the Nairobi-Thika highway, 16km from the Nairobi city center and less than 3km from the Nairobi city boundary. It is accessible by both railway and highway and has a fertile hinterland. The entire municipality covers 292km2.

Land Use and Public Health

The Ruiru Municipal Council’s major concerns derive from the rapid population growth the Municipality is experiencing due to the expansion of metropolitan Nairobi.  This is expansion is occurring in an environment in which there is little to no land use, transportation or infrastructure planning.  Large buildings are “mushrooming”, using septic tanks for sanitation that cannot contain the quantity of untreated waste. This waste is dumped surreptitiously at night into open fields.  At the same time, most of the population still use wells as their primary water source and are facing an increase in waterborne diseases such as typhoid as a result of the leaching of this septic waste into the town’s ground water.  Slums, small houses and large houses are all expanding here.  Many of the smaller houses in the new subdivisions use pit latrines.

Structures are being erected on lands intended by the town for other uses.  For example, in the area that was intended for a school, a hotel was built.  There is no enforceable zoning.  The land upon which the present town market sits was not designated as the market’s location.  It became the town market, according to the Ruiru Municipal Council, because it was “invaded” by people who set up their stalls there.  Now the land can’t be used for other purposes, as the political difficulties of removing the vendors from the market are vast.

Ruiru is surrounded by coffee plantations and because of that the land pattern is characterized by large plots.  However, the large coffee plantation plots are being subdivided and rapidly sold by land companies without any public oversight or planning.  There is no current map of the municipality, as the last mapping project took place there in the 1970s and was based largely on aerial photos intended for mapping Nairobi.  Because Ruiru is on Nairobi’s outskirts, some of the images rendered for mapping Ruiru were useful but not ideal. In the meantime, new structures have sprung up and the municipality has continued to grow haphazardly.

Ruiru represents in a microcosm many of the problems facing the larger metropolis of Nairobi.  The structures being erected in Ruiru are mostly unplanned and there is no infrastructure in place to support them. While the population density may not yet be as high in Ruiru as in Nairobi, the city is growing and its problems are multiplying.  The problems of Nairobi are replicating themselves in Ruiru.

Transportation

Ruiru’s growth can be attributed to its proximity to Nairobi.  Traffic between the two cities clogs the highway as commuters travel to and from work.  As Ruiru’s population grows, it is likely that the traffic between it and Nairobi will increase, worsening the problem.  A transportation plan linking the two cities will be a key component of Ruiru’s sustainable growth.

The development of a transportation and land use plan to accommodate both the Ruiru population commuting to and from Nairobi and commercial traffic created by the transformation of Ruiru from a dormitory town to a combination residential and industrial city will be an important component of in the work of the Spring Studio Team.  The issue affects people both in Ruiru and Nairobi, as commuters bring increased traffic to the city.  This provides a link to the regional transportation problem within Nairobi.  Additionally, there are other satellite cities, such as Ongata Rongai, which are experiencing similar transportation problems as Ruiru.  Ideally, a plan for Ruiru could be used as a model to guide transportation and land use planning for other satellite cities.

There is a railroad link between Ruiru and Nairobi the potential of which needs to be fully explored.  There are plans to privatize the railroad and the possible effects of this may or may not increase train travel between Ruiru and Nairobi.  Commuters also travel via private cars, matatus and on foot.  There is a bypass road planned running through Ruiru that is intended to alleviate some of the heavy traffic on the Nairobi Metropolitan area. 

Economic and Social Development

The lack of infrastructure is thwarting investment in Ruiru and thus the growth of the local economy.  The Municipality is trying to address some of these needs by applying to the Nairobi Water Service Board (NWSB) to become a regional water service provider, or undertaker.  However, it seems clear that many steps need to be taken as part of this process and that an immediate, short-term solution is needed to address the growing problem of outbreaks of waterborne disease resulting from lack of appropriate sewage disposal.  Therefore, both short term and long-term plans for this problem need to be devised.

Social development may also be affected by the lack of infrastructure and investment in the city.  School enrolment and retention rates, literacy rates (by gender and combined) and access to schools may be an area for study, as well as access to health clinics, infant, child and maternal mortality rates, fertility rates, immunization rates, etc.

Because Ruiru is a dormitory city, its revenue growth fails to keep pace with its population growth as the businesses that employ the majority of Ruiru’s labor force are based in Nairobi and pay their taxes in Nairobi.  

Ruiru Municipal Council

The Municipal Council of Ruiru requested assistance in drafting a map of the city and devising a business plan for water provision.  The municipality has applied to the NWSB to be a water provider and it was explained that a business plan is needed for the NWSB to consider granting Ruiru the role of water service provider.  Ruiru on its own is too small to be a water service provider.  In order for its business plan to succeed, it needs to be part of a consortium of municipalities that would join together to provide water service to their residents.  A map of the city and its structures would be needed to assess the water needs of the populations located in different areas.  This map could also be used as the basis for a plan for the city.

Academic Collaborations

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation’s (GSAPP) Urban Planning/CSUD Studio will work in conjunction with the School of International and Public Affairs’ (SIPA) Economic and Political Development (EPD) concentration’s Workshop in Applied Development.  The two schools, both part of Columbia University, will work together to create a multidisciplinary approach for the Ruiru project.  Columbia University will be joined in this endeavour with students and faculty from the University of Nairobi’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning who will conduct a parallel and complimentary studio. A Memorandum of Understanding between Columbia University and the University of Nairobi was signed by Elliott Sclar, Director of CSUD and Professor of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at Columbia University and Peter Ngau, Professor of Urban Planning and Department Chair at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, to formalize the universities’ commitments to collaborate on this undertaking.

The Studio Challenge

The challenge in this planning studio is that Nairobi is a metropolitan region with some of the densest and worst slums in Africa if not the world. If it is going to improve the lives of its existing slum dwellers and provide positive alternatives for the future to retard new slum development it is going to be imperative that there be a regional plan for its growth that is integral to the policy goals and objectives of local and national governments. Our studio team is going to work with community based groups, local universities and government at various levels to help facilitate the planning process. The key to our regional plans are going to be around strategic investments in regional infrastructure, mainly transportation but also water and power. Where these investments are made and the exact nature of them will greatly influence the ways in which Nairobi grows in terms of spatial direction, social equity, environmental sustainability and economic efficiency.