Walkways become new informal marketplaces

Make shift businesses along walk ways in Ruaka town, [Juliet Omelo ]

Makeshift businesses are rapidly spreading from city centres into surrounding estates and residential neighbourhoods, taking over pedestrian walkways, feeder paths, and service lanes in major towns across the country.

What began as a predominantly CBD-based hustle has now morphed into a vast estate economy, reshaping public spaces and raising concerns over safety, planning, and congestion.

A walk through Umoja, Kayole, Pipeline, Zimmerman, Githurai, Rongai, or Ruai in Nairobi tells the story more vividly than any county report.

Food carts line narrow footpaths, mitumba sellers spread bales on walkways, mobile money booths sit on culverts, and makeshift kiosks hug estate roadsides.

The same trend is now common in Mtwapa and Kisauni in Mombasa, Manyatta in Kisumu, Kaptembwo in Nakuru, and Maili Nne in Eldoret.

For thousands of small traders, these improvised spots have become their economic lifeline.

“I moved here from the CBD because of constant harassment,” said Peter Arogo, a chips vendor in Umoja.

“Here, at least, I can work the whole day without running when askaris appear. I know it is a walkway, but I have no alternative. My children must eat,” he added.

His story mirrors a shift happening quietly but rapidly. As counties intensify CBD clean-ups and attempt to decongest central business districts, informal traders have simply recreated new economic corridors in estates.

Instead of clearing the problem, enforcement has displaced it, pushing it deeper into residential spaces where monitoring is weaker, and human activity is constant.

Pedestrians say they are now the ones paying the price.

“Estate paths were meant for walking, especially for school children. Now kids are forced to share space with mkokoteni carts, grills, and customers. It is chaotic and unsafe,” said Purity Waweru, a parent in Zimmerman.

In some neighbourhoods, the pathways have become so clogged that residents are forced to walk on the roads, the same dangerous trend once blamed on CBD congestion.

County authorities acknowledge the challenge but insist the root of the problem goes beyond enforcement.

“We are dealing with a space crisis and an economic crisis at the same time. We push traders out of the CBD, but the economy keeps pushing them somewhere else. Without new market infrastructure, you cannot enforce your way out of this,” said Patrick Analo, Chief Officer for Urban Planning at Nairobi County.

Urban poor

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) 2024 Economic Survey, the informal sector accounts for more than 80 per cent of total employment, making it the backbone of survival for the urban poor.

With urban populations growing at around four per cent annually, estates have become the new frontier for low-cost enterprise, especially for unemployed youth and displaced CBD hawkers.

Urban experts say counties are now confronting the consequences of being reactive instead of planning.

“For years, most counties focused planning on CBD order, not estate reality. But estates are now where most people live, work, shop, and commute. If you don’t design and allocate space at the neighbourhood level, people will create their own informal spaces. That is what we are seeing,” said urban planner Dr Janet Wekesa.

In Mombasa, feeder roads in Kisauni and Mtwapa have become evening market corridors, especially after 4 pm.

In Kisumu, Manyatta and Nyamasaria estates have seen makeshift butcheries, vibanda eateries, and mitumba lines multiply near walkways and drainage paths.

Nakuru and Eldoret are also reporting growing settlement–market hybrids, where commerce and residence overlap without clear planning guidelines.

The trend has also altered estate transport patterns, with matatu and boda boda operators saying walkways are no longer predictable pedestrian zones, making shared movement difficult.

“People suddenly step into the road because the walkway is blocked by traders. We don’t want accidents, but the confusion is too much. Everyone is squeezing for space,” said boda boda rider Samwel Kweyu.

Residents also worry about the long-term impact on safety and sanitation.

Makeshift grills and food kiosks operating next to drainage lines or on narrow paths create fire risks, waste disposal challenges, and late-night noise in residential zones.

Yet, despite the frustrations, many Kenyans remain sympathetic. Behind each stall, display, or cart is a story of survival in a harsh economy.

“I don’t blame them. Life is expensive. People must hustle. But the counties should organise it. We cannot lose our walkways,” said Mary Atieno, a resident of Ruaka.

County governments say plans are underway to address the crisis through structured neighbourhood markets, new zoning policies, trader registration systems, and shared-space concepts that allow controlled vending.

“Plans are underway to construct 20 modern markets within Nairobi to accommodate those operating on roadsides. We acknowledge they play a role in the city’s economy and cannot be ignored. Once these markets are completed, traders will be relocated,” said Mr Analo.

However, most proposals remain on paper or in pilot phases, meaning estate walkways continue to function as unplanned commercial channels.

Analysts warn that without urgent intervention, the problem will deepen as estates multiply faster than official market spaces.

“Nairobi alone adds tens of thousands of new residents annually. If counties do not rethink estate planning, tomorrow’s crisis will be unmanageable,” Dr Wekesa noted.

For now, Kenya’s estate pavements remain contested ground, part walkway, part marketplace, part survival corridor.

Counties want order, traders want income, residents want safety, and somewhere between those competing needs lies the future of urban living in the country.