Pasar al contenido principal

page search

Biblioteca Sustainable urban communities: challenges and opportunities in Kenya’s urban sector

Sustainable urban communities: challenges and opportunities in Kenya’s urban sector

Sustainable urban communities: challenges and opportunities in Kenya’s urban sector

Resource information

Date of publication
Abril 2011
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
uonbi:11295/81971

During the last forty years, the economic and demographic structure of Kenya has become increasingly urban. In
the 1980s the urban population in the country grew at over
6.5 percent a year, more than double the rate for the
rural population. This expansion has occurred even under the most adverse conditions of repressed urban
investment, as was the case during the 1990s.
1
Presently, urban areas account for the predominant
share of
GDP; that is five largest Kenyan cities and urban centres generate more than 70 percent of the country’s GDP
2
.
The central role of cities in economic growth has been highlighted in the ongoing policy work especially the
Economic Recovery Strategy
for Wealth and Employment Creation for the period 2003
-
07 (ERS
-
WEC) and
Vision 2030.
3
The contribution of industry and services is estimated at 88 percent of economic growth over the
same period.
4
Policy acknowledges that development of urban areas is cl
osely linked to the rural economy
through the exchange of labour, capital, goods, services, information and technology that benefit residents in both
settings.
5
The urbanization process is accompanied by excess demand for housing, water, sewerage, and othe
r
basic urban services, and by increasing levels of urban unemployment. These problems are compounded by poor
public policy and institutional challenges. This paper describes the major challenges faced by the government,
local authorities and the Civil Soc
iety Organisations as they grapple with the processes and dynamics of
urbanisation. The paper draws from past experiences; lessons learned, and the opportunities that these lessons,
existing policy frameworks and the challenges themselves present for actio
n.

Share on RLBI navigator
NO

Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Ngayu, Margaret N.

Publisher(s)
Data Provider
Geographical focus