Resilient cities membership a good opportunity for Nairobi

Nairobi is easily recognisable anywhere you go beyond our borders. In most foreign cities, you would not miss someone who has been to Nairobi or plans to travel to Nairobi. On the continent, it is an even bigger name. Despite all its woes, the city has consistently featured on lists of fast growing African cities. It has at different times been presented as a possible continental hub  to rival South Africa’s Johannesburg.

When you talk to Nairobi residents, though, few understand how Nairobi makes it onto lists of African cities to watch despite unending problems that make living in the city a nightmare.

Those who work anywhere around the city centre, or even have to cross the CBD to an opposite side of the town in the morning, leave their houses hours early. Five oclock in the morning is an accepted time to leave your house to be at work, 15 kilometres away, by 8am.

Reports indicate that in the event of a minor tremor, most of the city would be levelled down - such is the poor quality of construction. Let’s not even get to the questions of waste collection and provision of services.

So when Nairobi joined the list of 100 Resilient Cities, few took notice. It is after all not the first time the city is announcing one plan or another to lift the capital  out of the mess it finds itself in.

However, those in the know see this as a golden opportunity to grow the city’s management of stresses occasioned by different factors. The recent floods left a bitter taste in the mouth — and a dent in the pockets — of many a Nairobian.

It is hoped that the facilities extended to the city under the 100RC network will be well-managed to make a difference in the quality of life for residents and visitors alike.