The paper demonstrates that public open spaces in Nairobi City have been increasingly threatened by congestion and deterioration as result of the rapid rate of urbanisation (5-7.5%), poor planning, weak management and illegal alienation. According to the 1948 Master Plan for the city, city planning was premised on the neighbourhood concept with ample provision of public open spaces. However, after Kenya's independence in 1963, the implementation of the Master Plan was largely abandoned. Rapid and uncontrolled urbanisation meant that public open spaces that were intended to serve a population of 250,000 now serve over 3 million people. Public open spaces in the city suffer from degradation, overcrowding and insecurity, thus denying city residents access to the muchneeded recreation and leisure facilities.
The design of street layouts in urban areas in developing countries has been centered around motorized transportation with little close to no consideration to non-motorized modes of transport. This has resulted in increased congestion, poor urban air quality, reduced safety for pedestrians and cyclists and poor health of urban residents. The transport planning of street layouts, especially within Nairobi City, has not adequately taken care of non-motorized transport (NMT) such as walking and cycling and the activities that occur around them resulting in competing use of pavements and roads, exposing pedestrians, cyclists, handcart operators and street vendors to insecurity and harassment. Through observation and interview methods, this study examined the current condition of the street layout along Luthuli and Haile Selassie Avenues and documented the NMT activities occurring along the two streets.The study aimed at assessing the impact street layout has on non-motorized transportation activities in order to determine both the positive and negative aspects of urban street design, in an attempt to improve the built environment of identified streets and in any other forthcoming redevelopments. It emerged that physical form and qualities of a place shape the way it is used, and the way people and vehicles move through it. Therefore, this study recommended that urban street design should help create spaces that connect with each other sustainably providing the right conditions to encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport.
Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste management has remained a big challenge in Africa and other resource constrained settings. However, to achieve sustainability, the gaps in governance of waste management need to be addressed speedily as populations are expanding rapidly, far exceeding available infrastructure and resources. Ruiru subcounty has a rapidly expanding population which has not been matched with sustainable waste management in commercial and residential sectors. This study sought to establish the influence of governance on Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste management in Ruiru Sub-County. Mixed methods research approach and descriptive research design were used in both data collection and analysis. This involved administration of Questionnaires, interviews and observation checklist through an online platform Kobo Collect. Results of the study showed that the County Government and subsequent sub-counties are responsible for waste management. Despites this mandate there are heaps of waste remain in commercial and residential areas. This is attributed to various governance challenges such as lack of prioritization of waste management, limited financial and human resources, minimal community participation, disregard of informal players in waste management cycle, weak implementation and enforcement of waste management policies. While it is desirable to attain sustainable solid waste management in Ruiru, and while the national legal frameworks are in place, there are major challenges and gaps in solid waste governance. Therefore, this study concludes enforceability of mechanisms, adequacy of funding, wholistic involvement of all players remain daunting. Unless these are addressed, sustainable waste management will only remain an unattainable goal.
Managing drinking water in its distribution pathways is one of the main indicators of the quality of service provided to the consumer. Its quality management is important since human health and livelihoods depend on adequate, clean, reliable water supplies. Unfortunately, this is not true to many neighborhoods in developing countries and the quality of water distributed in Umoja Innercore is no exemption. This research sought to evaluate how the management of water affects its distribution in the entity from source to the household. Six borehole owners and 5 water bowsers were interviewed and 156 households' questionnaires were administered in a systematic random manner through a survey carried out over a period of 10 days. The study found out that 29.3% of respondents get treated water directly from Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), 32.7 and 25.3% get untreated water from water bowsers and water carts through jerrycans, 10% indicated water kiosk and 3% from rainwater. The cost of water ranges from Ksh. 20 per 20-L jerrycan to Ksh., 50 during scarce periods. 89% of sampled households treat all water out of which, 52% boil water, 20% use filtration cans, 26% further chlorinate the water, and 3% strain water through sieve clothe. The study reveals the inconsistency of monitoring by NCWSC of the available sources of water and unregulated cartels compromising water quality. The study recommends regulating and incorporating private boreholes distributors to the network through a quasi-delegated model using an inter-estate bulk treatment for quality measures before supplying to households.
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