Urban economics: A tale of two cities

By XN Iraki

Urbanisation seems to be the hallmark of all advanced societies.

By building together it becomes economical to provide social services like security, water and sewerage.

Data shows that the more advanced a society is, the more urbanised it is. But urbanisation can at times be puzzling, defying laws of economics. A case in point is Wangige, a small town 15km from Nairobi, while another is Kitengela, 30 km from the Capital.

Wangige, further up Lower Kabete Road is situated in a well watered place, strategically located near Nairobi. But curiously, the ‘goodies’ from Nairobi seem to evade Wangige.

It seems a town frozen in time and prospects. Any one visiting Wangige for the first time would not believe the place is so near Nairobi.

Kitengela is in a semi-desert location on the Nairobi-Namanga Road, on the way to Tanzania. It is a much younger town, but it far outpaces Wangige in terms of growth. Why the difference, what is the economic tale behind the two cities?

Some observers may blame politics and argue that Kitengela has been represented by a powerful minister who was once a vice-president. We could attribute Kitengela’s growth to the ‘Saitoti’ effect.

One could ably argue that Wangige was there when the President came from Kiambu, unless the small town could not experience any economic spill over from nearness to power.

We could also eloquently argue that current and past MPs from this area have had no political clout to bring any bacon home. Other observers argue that Wangige could be representative of most Kiambu small towns that have refused to grow.

They cite Kikuyu, Gachie, and many other small towns. With or without such MPs, the proximity to Nairobi should have had a higher economic impact.

For most of these small towns, you pass through posh estates then you are suddenly struck by the ‘ruralness’ of the small towns so near Nairobi.

Role of politics

To Wangige, you pass through Spring Valley, while to get to Gachie you pass through Nyari and Westlands. While politics can be good dustbins for our failures, we need to be realistic.

Why has Kitengela outgrown Wangige? The secret lies in culture, whose effect far outweigh economic forces. Wangige by tradition is a very homogeneous town where everyone talks the same mother tongue. The land tenure systems make it very hard for anyone to buy land and put it into better use.

Land in Wangige is owned by families and disposing it is a legal and cultural landmine. When people buy land in a new place, they do not just bring body masses, they bring new ideas that force the natives to think differently. Buying land in Wangige may be more than having enough money, it may matter who you know there. In Kitengela, all you need to buy land is money. There are as many strangers as you. What ties you together is not kinship as in Wangige, it is the money.

Without any cultural hindrances anyone with money moves to Kitengela, the place is enriched with different cultures and ideas.

The competition resulting has made Kitengela a more vibrant town. The economic tale behind Wangige and Kitengela can be generalised. The only reason Nairobi contributes to 50 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) is because the cultural roots in Nairobi are loose, people are driven by economic self interest that force them to be competitive. Nairobi is a swirling vortex that sucks the ambitious and the talented from all over the world. They bring their ideas enriching the economic and cultural life of Nairobi. For Wangige, the ambitious and the most talented are sucked out. Such rural areas remain like skimmed milk; backwaters deprived the most important resource in economic growth, ideas.

This sets a vicious cycle. Since the talented leave, there are no new ideas and the town declines further, leading to uneconomical behaviour like crime. The last time I was car jacked, I found myself not far from Wangige.

Vibrant states

At global level, leading towns happen to be the most diverse. London is very unlike a typical British city. If you visit Los Angeles, Toronto or New York, you will be very much at home. You will talk with an accent like anyone else.

America’s most vibrant states like California and New York also happen to be the most diverse, attracting talents and ideas, ceaselessly renewing themselves. Where do we go from here?

We need to unlock the economic potential of our small peri-urban towns and rural areas by enriching them with diversity.

Before post-election chaos and the land clashes of 1992 and 1997, Kenya was moving more towards the Kitengela model as opposed to the Wangige one. The immigrants in Rift Valley brought new thinking and new ideas. In fact, Rift Valley had the potential to rival Nairobi as the economic epicentre of the country.

That has since been deferred. We were simply following the global model, where talents are attracted to where they can earn the highest returns, not necessarily in terms of money, but also in high standards of living. What attracts foreigners to Kenya despite all the negative reports about insecurity?

Attachment to land

By ending our age-old attachment to the land, we could unlock the potential of these small towns. I at times wonder whether the owners of the small pieces of land near Wangige know how much gold they sit on.

Some argue this culture is ending, and the younger generation is seeing land for what is, a factor of production, and not a cultural curiosity. The younger generation is realising that a good life has nothing to do with land; it has a lot to do with how you can combine the factors of production-what entrepreneurship is all about.

We are attracted to towns not by buildings but by opportunities already present or we can create. Truthfully, we see such opportunities better when uprooted from the comfort of our homes. Economically speaking, the Kitengela is superior to the Wangige model.

Until we build enough confidence so that entrepreneurs can relocate to anywhere in this country, some towns will remain frozen in time and prospects. The tale of two cities will not end with Wangige and Kitengela.

The writer is a lecturer at the University of Nairobi, School of Business. [email protected]