Exploring innovative strategies for local infrastructure financing through value capture
By Rose Waweru Kenya
Master’s Program in Urban Management and Development
October 2006 – September 2007
Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya is divided into 20 planning zones. The history behind the development of these zones reveals segregative policies applied during the colonial period which separated land uses on the basis of race. These policies which are now over a century old are still reflected to this day only that the segregation is based on income levels i.e. high, middle and low-income zones. The point of departure of this research is a municipal re-zoning policy passed in 1987 which allowed for higher density of development in three predominantly high-income, and low-density zones known as zones 3, 4 and 5. The subsequent development that has occurred over the years in these three zones reveals that the level of development has not been matched with a commensurate upgrading of the infrastructure.