The major land use systems dominating Murang’a town are classified into four clusters.

Central Business District consists of district headquarters’ offices and its department. There are also main business premises housing commercial activities.

Various matatu termini, seen as the major cause of congestion, are at the heart of the town next to Murang’a General Hospital. Also conspicuous at the heart of the town is the Kenya Medical Training Centre and the Law Courts.

A house in Murang’a. Modern rental houses are in high demand.

The second cluster consists of high-density residential areas where key estates include Mumbi, Mjini and Kiharu. These estates harbour light industries and minimal commercial activities. Mjini Estate is classified as a semi-slum, housing the town’s poorest while Milimani is the affluent zone, which houses the ‘who is who in the town’.

The third cluster consists of a peri-urban zones, which were originally rural but now have urban characteristics. These areas including Mukuyu Centre and St Mary’s are the basis of rapid expansion as investors scramble for space. As a result, the areas are undergoing chaotic land subdivisions and are a nightmare to the area Land’s Board dispute settlements.

The fourth cluster is the agricultural zone, which is fast diminishing as urban sprawl hits the town’s environs.

The town got its urban council in 1963, which was later upgraded to Town Council in 1973. In 1982, it received Municipal Council status.

The Council has a jurisdiction of 25 square kilometres and a population of 58,000, this according to the 1999 census. The figure is estimated to have since hit 100,000 owing to rural urban migration.

The town is the one-stop centre for the area’s Kiharu, Kangema and Mathioya constituencies.

The town has in the recent past been under security scrutiny owing to numerous incidents of insecurity that spilled from the rural areas, specifically Kahuro, Mathioya, Mugoiri and Iyego being the hot zones for Mungiki adherents.