The evolution and politics of spatial planning in Kenya
Date
2016
Authors
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Publisher
AESOP
Abstract
The theory and practice of planning is highly dependent on the prevailing sociopolitical and economic conditions of where it is produced and practiced. This paper explores the culture, character and legacy of spatial planning emerging over time during the four political leadership regimes in Kenya since independence until now. It does so by identifying the perception and importance attached to planning by each political regime; the role and functions of planning and; the institutional frameworks and structures of planning during the various regimes. Planning in Kenya has been widely criticized for the mess in urban areas including haphazard development, socio-spatial segregation, the growth and expansion of informal settlements and complex land systems(Loeckx 2004, K’Akumu and Olima 2007, Huchzermeyer 2011, Ngau 2013). Rarely however do such critics analyse planning outcomes in Kenya under the context of existing socio-political and economic conditions. This paper is an effort to close that gap by demonstrating how multiple factors such as prevailing political leadership and economic systems played out over time to produce the current planning practice and systems in Kenya.
Description
Proceedings of the IV World Planning Schools Congress, July 3-8th, 2016 : Global crisis, planning and challenges to spatial justice in the north and in the south
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