It is late afternoon on a Wednesday in late May. Clouds gather over Nairobi, painting the sky dark grey. In the capital’s central business district, you can almost feel the city’s famed fast pace take a pause.
Few look up to see the contrast between Nairobi’s tall buildings and the fast darkening sky. Even fewer, like this writer, whip out their phones for a quick picture to upload to Instagram later. There is no time for that immediately; once Nairobi sky darkens, it is time to leave the city centre as fast as you can.
On ordinary days — days without a big conference in town, a visiting head of state or rain — traffic at peak hours is a nuisance Nairobians have learnt to grudgingly deal with and make jokes about. When a drop of rain hits the ground, the city clams up.
Understandably then, when it was announced last week that Nairobi had been nominated among the 100 resilient cities, few took notice. The only ululations that could be heard came from Charter Hall, where the announcement was made.
The announcement from 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) and The Rockefeller Foundation said the city had been nominated among the final group of 37 cities in a highly competitive selection process. Governor Evans Kidero, city staff, officials and guests, including former city mayors stood up to dance. Outside on City Hall Way life went on uninterrupted.
The nomination will see Nairobi join the 100-member network, including 10 cities in sub-Saharan Africa. These include the likes of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Cape Town (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria), Luxor (Egypt) and Paynesville (Liberia).
But what does this nomination mean for Nairobi? When will the city start seeing the fruits of the nomination? Will the traffic jams end? Will the city be resilient or be able to prevent disasters like terrorism attacks that have punctuated life in the capital in the recent past?
Cost of traffic jams
According to Dr Kidero, traffic jams cost the city Sh50 million a day. As rapid urbanisation takes its toll, such problems will only get worse. Speaking during the event, the governor said Nairobi has grown to more five million people today, from a previous 300,000 residents in 1979. It is expected to host 28 million people by 2050. According to government figures, this number was 4.1 million in 2014.
Kidero, however, maintains that the county government is dedicated to addressing Nairobi’s challenges. “Nairobi’s selection is not only a significant honour, but will provide the city with tools to support a better today, tomorrow and future generations,” he said.
So what qualified Nairobi to get the nomination? According to 100RC President Michael Berkowitz, Nairobi was selected because it is a prominent economic and political capital in East Africa and beyond: “Faced with challenges like flooding, aging infrastructure, terrorism and informal settlements, Nairobi is joining our network to take the necessary steps to build back stronger, and to learn from cities around the world experiencing these same issues.”
“The city has expressed and shown a willingness to try innovative solutions,” he added, without mentioning what those innovative solutions were. Natural disasters like the recent heavy rains have put a stress on the city’s housing infrastructure, drainage and resulted in tragedies like the recent Huruma house collapse in which over 50 people lost their lives.
The city has, however, set aside Sh6.2billion for roads construction and Sh200million to curb water shortage this financial year.
“Nairobi will gain access to tools, funding from the Sh160 billion grant set aside by the Rockefeller Foundation, technical expertise, and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century,” said Berkowitz.
Experts agree that the city’s nomination is a plus. “It is good for the city in terms of visibility. It will continue to attract investments as it has done over the last 10 years,” says Lawrence Esho, the chairman of Kenya Institute of Planners.
“The problem with us is we have not positioned ourselves in the global economy. We do not look at the big picture. If we did, we should be bench-marking ourselves against top global cities. We have a bigger status than the reality on the ground,” notes Dr Esho, who is also the chairman of the Department of Spatial Planning and Design at the Technical University of Kenya.
He argues that Nairobi should make good use of its global reputation: “We are getting a lot of positive response globally but we are not positioning ourselves properly.”
What is a resilient city?
A resilient city according to Berkowitz, is one that has good emergency response and meets its citizens’ needs. It has diverse economies and takes care of both its built and natural infrastructure. It has effective leadership, empowered stakeholders, and an integrated planning system.
Ibrahim Mwathane, the chairman of Land Development and Governance Institute, argues that for Nairobi to be resilient, it should sustain its growth and status. “Nairobi must pay more attention to the expansion of support infrastructure (water, sewer, roads, power, management of solid waste), which had been initially planned for a much smaller population. It must intensify efforts to plan its neighbourhoods to avert the growth of unplanned settlements,” he says.
According to Mwathane, a land surveyor, Nairobi will need to also deal with the increasing traffic problem which makes intra-city travel a nightmare to local residents and international guests. It is hoped that the current efforts to introduce a city rail system will have positive impact.
“Nairobi will need to design a better flood mitigation system. Nairobi must also go an extra mile in protecting its diminishing green cover along with the remaining public spaces,” he adds.
All these need money. How much money will Nairobi get from the network? Berkowitz said member cities receive funding to hire a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO). However, the value of our core offerings, especially through our platform partners.
The CRO will lead the citywide resilience — building process and engage stakeholders - government agencies, public and private sectors, and various communities — in incorporating diverse perspectives and knowledge.
Dr Kidero said that by submitting its application, the city contributed to the global dialogue that will help it shape a sustainable and resilient urban future.
The city recently finished the Master Plan in conjunction with Japanese Government through Agency Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) and is awaiting approval.
Past cities that have benefited from the membership in Africa include Accra, Ghana, which received funding for the recruitment of a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) after being nominated in 2014. “Three members of the 100RC Network, including New York, New Orleans, and Norfolk, received federal funding after successfully leveraging their resilience strategies to apply for funding,” said Berkowitz.
“This partnership not only arms cities with new tools to deal with the constantly evolving risks they face, but will also ensure the livability and vibrancy of cities by building their economic and physical resilience,” he adds.
