8. Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan (2014-2030)

The Plan provides for different land uses in Nairobi to include: residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational, transportation, agricultural and public utilities.

Quick Link: https://www.fast-trackcities.org/sites/default/files/Nairobi%20County%20Integrated%20Development%20Plan%20%282014%29.pdf

· The master plan is the current development blueprint for Nairobi City County that guides urban planning and development of infrastructure. It incorporates all existing master plans of various infrastructure including urban transport, sewage, power, telecommunication and solid waste management. The Plan further provides for different land uses in Nairobi to include: residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational, transportation, agricultural and public utilities. The residential use is further divided into four categories: high-income (low density); middle income (medium density); low income (high density); and informal settlements.

· The Plan is the first major plan since the Nairobi Metropolitan Growth Strategy of 1973. There was a Rezoning Policy of 1979. The first was the Master Plan Study of 1948.

· The current Plan was developed in view of the failure of the old plans and the need to create a livable city which overcomes the identified challenges such as insufficient infrastructure, low supply of low- and middle-income housing, and inadequate coordination between relevant organizations, uncontrolled urban development and transport problems.

· The Plan notes that the ‘existing regulation in the development ordinance should be revised to change land use. The revision should convert some of non-residential land use to residential use, and also to increase plot ratio in order to promote higher population density and accommodate the future population.’ It consequently seeks to alter the land use zoning and plot ratios in areas earmarked for development to allow developers to build office blocks in high-end estates and also proposes to demolish old estates in Eastlands to create way for the construction of high-rise buildings that can accommodate more people.