It is recognised that in developing human settlements, the use and tenure of land should be subject to public control, since land is limited in supply. The demand for housing by the middle-income group in Nairobi, as in many other cities of the global south, is of a significant size, and growing at an alarming rate. This article demonstrates that this group is not only an engine of economic growth, but also a driver for new urban spatial forms, including residential developments. However, housing developers for the middle income group, in pursuance of high investment returns, are not necessarily concerned about complying with planning laws and regulations; they have found ways to negotiate with land administration and governance to realise returns from their investments. This phenomenon of non-compliance with planning laws and regulations is an on-going issue of concern for sub-Sahara Africa cities; it creates informality in urban development in that the resulting developments have aspects which are perceived to be outside formal planning stipulations. This article investigates the effectiveness of land use administration and governance on controlling middle-income housing developments in Nairobi. Qualitative interviewing was aimed at understanding perceptions of the planning system by both planners and developers, and how and why their interests differ. It was of interest to this research to find out why non-compliance in land use planning is tolerated or ignored. The study argues that even though developers defy the planning system, their contribution to the production of habitable space is commendable because they bridge a large gap in urban housing provision – they play an important role and planners would do well to embrace this. Non-compliance in land use planning, and informalities in housing developments thereon, does not necessarily produce inappropriate housing for the residents. Resulting residential developments have a niche in the housing market and serve a housing need, affirming that local perceptions and realities are not in sync with formal planning requirements of the state.
| Published in | Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 9, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12 |
| Page(s) | 12-23 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Land Administration, Governance, Non-Compliance, Planners, Developers, Conflicting Interests
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APA Style
Mwangi, M. M. (2024). The Effectiveness of Land Use Administration and Governance on Controlling Urban Spatial Forms in Nairobi. Urban and Regional Planning, 9(1), 12-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12
ACS Style
Mwangi, M. M. The Effectiveness of Land Use Administration and Governance on Controlling Urban Spatial Forms in Nairobi. Urban Reg. Plan. 2024, 9(1), 12-23. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12
AMA Style
Mwangi MM. The Effectiveness of Land Use Administration and Governance on Controlling Urban Spatial Forms in Nairobi. Urban Reg Plan. 2024;9(1):12-23. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12,
author = {Mary Muthoni Mwangi},
title = {The Effectiveness of Land Use Administration and Governance on Controlling Urban Spatial Forms in Nairobi},
journal = {Urban and Regional Planning},
volume = {9},
number = {1},
pages = {12-23},
doi = {10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.urp.20240901.12},
abstract = {It is recognised that in developing human settlements, the use and tenure of land should be subject to public control, since land is limited in supply. The demand for housing by the middle-income group in Nairobi, as in many other cities of the global south, is of a significant size, and growing at an alarming rate. This article demonstrates that this group is not only an engine of economic growth, but also a driver for new urban spatial forms, including residential developments. However, housing developers for the middle income group, in pursuance of high investment returns, are not necessarily concerned about complying with planning laws and regulations; they have found ways to negotiate with land administration and governance to realise returns from their investments. This phenomenon of non-compliance with planning laws and regulations is an on-going issue of concern for sub-Sahara Africa cities; it creates informality in urban development in that the resulting developments have aspects which are perceived to be outside formal planning stipulations. This article investigates the effectiveness of land use administration and governance on controlling middle-income housing developments in Nairobi. Qualitative interviewing was aimed at understanding perceptions of the planning system by both planners and developers, and how and why their interests differ. It was of interest to this research to find out why non-compliance in land use planning is tolerated or ignored. The study argues that even though developers defy the planning system, their contribution to the production of habitable space is commendable because they bridge a large gap in urban housing provision – they play an important role and planners would do well to embrace this. Non-compliance in land use planning, and informalities in housing developments thereon, does not necessarily produce inappropriate housing for the residents. Resulting residential developments have a niche in the housing market and serve a housing need, affirming that local perceptions and realities are not in sync with formal planning requirements of the state.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Effectiveness of Land Use Administration and Governance on Controlling Urban Spatial Forms in Nairobi AU - Mary Muthoni Mwangi Y1 - 2024/01/18 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12 DO - 10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12 T2 - Urban and Regional Planning JF - Urban and Regional Planning JO - Urban and Regional Planning SP - 12 EP - 23 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-1697 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20240901.12 AB - It is recognised that in developing human settlements, the use and tenure of land should be subject to public control, since land is limited in supply. The demand for housing by the middle-income group in Nairobi, as in many other cities of the global south, is of a significant size, and growing at an alarming rate. This article demonstrates that this group is not only an engine of economic growth, but also a driver for new urban spatial forms, including residential developments. However, housing developers for the middle income group, in pursuance of high investment returns, are not necessarily concerned about complying with planning laws and regulations; they have found ways to negotiate with land administration and governance to realise returns from their investments. This phenomenon of non-compliance with planning laws and regulations is an on-going issue of concern for sub-Sahara Africa cities; it creates informality in urban development in that the resulting developments have aspects which are perceived to be outside formal planning stipulations. This article investigates the effectiveness of land use administration and governance on controlling middle-income housing developments in Nairobi. Qualitative interviewing was aimed at understanding perceptions of the planning system by both planners and developers, and how and why their interests differ. It was of interest to this research to find out why non-compliance in land use planning is tolerated or ignored. The study argues that even though developers defy the planning system, their contribution to the production of habitable space is commendable because they bridge a large gap in urban housing provision – they play an important role and planners would do well to embrace this. Non-compliance in land use planning, and informalities in housing developments thereon, does not necessarily produce inappropriate housing for the residents. Resulting residential developments have a niche in the housing market and serve a housing need, affirming that local perceptions and realities are not in sync with formal planning requirements of the state. VL - 9 IS - 1 ER -
Department of Construction and Real Estate Management, School of Engineering and Architecture, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
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