By Wesley Lang’at
Nakuru County, Kenya: Nakuru town which was recently elevated into a city status is undergoing a comprehensive physical urban upgrading. The City is located in the Great Rift Valley region 160 km to the west of Kenya’s capital city Nairobi.
Paul Tarbei a bodaboda rider in town applauds the move by the County Government of Nakuru to decongest the City center.
“ I feel more secure, we no longer clash with county askaris(police), everyone gets money and pays county fees, unlike before we couldn’t even meet our daily targets” he said.
Previously, the town was struggling with congestion and poor planning, and public services vehicles converged in a small and dilapidated terminus. Tarbei described it as very congested with a lot of traffic jams. “I could hardly get customers, it was overcrowded with matatus” he says.
While Mary Muthoni, a food vendor who operates a food kiosk, says a significant problem of congestion interfered with her business is due to poor air quality. “On a sunny day, everywhere is dusty with a bad smell” she explains.
By the end of 2020, the World Bank report estimated that the global pandemic has already pushed over 150 million people globally to extreme poverty. For example, in Kenya, the vibrant economic growth, and flourishing business opportunities that came with devolution were shattered by the global pandemic.
Covid-19 Recovery
In an interview with Nakuru Municipal Board Manager, Mr. Gitau Thabanja in his office emphasized the importance of urban planning as a key to a healthy and just city where everyone gets equal opportunity, spaces to work, and access to social amenities. Mr.Gitau says that the Covid-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst to decongest the city.
His municipality is implementing a comprehensive urban planning program to accelerate Covid-19 recovery. The plan involves building new bus terminals, markets, and Non-Motorized Transport to mitigate the future spread of airborne diseases such as the Covid-19 Pandemic, cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the vulnerability of the city to climate-related hazards.
New Face of Nakuru City
To align the next generation of cities to Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) 11, “Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, the Nakuru County government prioritized improving transport within the city. This is part of the initial implementation of the Nakuru County Vision 2050. The City Manager described the relocation of the matatu terminus as one of the urgent moves to decongest the city to meet the Covid-19 measures of social distancing.
Mr.John Kosgei, a matatu driver who operates from a new bus terminal is enjoying the free adequate spacing for parking and says that he no longer struggles for parking. “Currently, we have spacious parking and hardly get harassed by the county askaris” Says Kosgei.
The public transport system is a key enabler to empowering cities, Philip Dinga, a climate change consultant commented on the current county’s efforts to promote mobility. Evidently, there is a strong link between good transport connectivity and the quality of life in the cities.
Mr.Dinga recommended, “County governments should prioritize the transport system as an enabler to driving economic empowerment of their cities,”
Kenya’s The Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan show that carbon emissions from the transport sector account for 33% of all the emissions from other sectors. Therefore, as an upcoming smart city, Nakuru is at the forefront of reducing carbon emissions by introducing Non-Motorized Transport(NMT).
In this regard, the city is expanding and building sidewalks within the streets to encourage walking safely. This includes taking back spaces that were previously overtaken by other modes of transport. “We have given more space to the people who are walking”—as such, converting car parks into pedestrian lanes” City Manager says
As opposed to the common traditions where sideways were turned into a hawking area, displaying of wares and any other forms of obstruction are not allowed so as to have walk-friendly streets. New designs consider even people with mobility challenges like the ones moving on wheelchairs, the elderly, the blind, and those with crutches.
“As a county, we are building a secure connectivity. There are street lights powered by solar and clear signage like zebra crossing”
To ease the business environment that was constrained by Covid-19, the county is constructing modern markets for small-scale traders in four sub-counties so that traders and consumers do not need to travel into the town to buy or sell their goods. This includes a KSh600 million ultra-modern market that is expected to accommodate over 3000 traders.
Nakuru County has recognized the importance of the green spaces as a necessity to the urban dwellers and help in mitigating pollution, the county launched an upgraded NyayoGarden within the CBD, with green serenity where residents go to relax
Inclusivity for Effective Urban Reforms
For effective implementation of these planning, all the stakeholders are involved such as matatu Saccos “In our planning, we are to live with the fact that some structures have been erected in areas meant for other land use but we relocate them in a very human way” says Mr. Thabaja.
But Mary Muthoni says that there is a need for the county to organize more public participation. In some instances, these meetings come during business hours when one can’t afford to close the business.
“We need to be involved as women so as to get up to date on what is happening,” She said.
According to Mr.Dinga, it is very important to promote dialogue with beneficiaries of the projects to understand more about the needs of the people and capture their concerns.
“There is a need to listen to the people’s voices so as to understand how all these projects are impacting their lives.” He concludes.
While the current model of urban planning is a game changer in the region, this is clear proof that more resources and proper planning are needed to adequately enable urban centers in Africa to handle the shocks of pandemics. In order to realize a dream of cleaner and resilient cities in Africa, the total investment needs for example in Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa are US$42 billion, US$27 billion, and US$215 billion according to Coalition For Urban Transitions report, “Financing Africa’s Urban Opportunity.”
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Wesley Langat and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
