Move to satellite towns not good for urban growth - UN report

Like other global cities, Nairobi seems to have adopted car-centred models where green spaces have been turned into concrete jungles, with pedestrians competing with drivers for the little space left.

As land in the cores of cities dwindles, people tend to move to satellite areas. In Kenya, this has resulted in the growth of towns such as Kitengela, Ruai, Kiserian and Ongata Rongai. These areas are inhabited by the “new money” generation where owning a car is more of a priority than creating a sustainable environment. And now, a UN-Habitat document has sounded a warning over the uncontrolled growth of such satellite towns.

“Horizontally sprawling cities find it gradually harder to deal with an ever increasing urban population, and are not sustainable over the long-term, owing to overwhelming negative factors such as congestion, infrastructure issues, and pollution,” says the report.

The report states that such uncontrolled urbanisation — especially in the developing world — is bringing challenges in the spatial distribution of people and resources, as well as land use. It further states that the move from the inner municipality cores results in urban sprawl as residents occupy land that often lacks accompanying services, amenities, and infrastructure.

In the end, adds the report, the move to satellite regions starts to have a negative effect on the urban economy and overall efficiency of the entire metropolitan region.

Such projections may come as a surprise to make people in Kenya where the move to own a home in satellite towns can only be compared to the gold rush in South Africa over 100 years ago.

“In general, one of the key hindrances to good urban planning is the lack of adequate frameworks and legislation at the national or sub-national level. Our cities must become spaces that facilitate social, economic, and environmental progress. For cities to develop in a sustainable and inclusive way, they must become more compact, absorbing population growth by increasing their density,” says the report. “A national urban policy needs to be set up to provide a solid framework to deal with rapid urban development. As a key reference for legislative institutional reform in regard to urban matters, the national urban policy will also guide line ministries and urban service providers,” says the report.