From garbage to impassible roads: The nightmare of living in Pipeline

A section of Pipeline Estate, Nairobi with raw sewage water that has created a swamp in between apartments. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

Within sight of Kenya’s main international airport in Nairobi’s east, Pipeline residential estate stands out like a sore thumb. Composed almost entirely of tightly packed high-rise tenement flats, the estate has been described by the media as an urban planning nightmare. They point to its garbage problem, its waterlogged and frequently impassable streets, and the effect of dense living conditions on children’s health.