Kibera Special Planning Area

Kibera Special Planning Area

The Nairobi Metropolitan Service and other partners will embark on a development plan for two years in four informal settlements in Kibra Sub County as it declared it a special planning area in May 2020. The plan will be a reference framework for developers and regulatory agencies with regard to development control processes and infrastructure provision within the planning area.

The declaration was issued by NMS Director-General Mohammed Badi and will cover the areas of Sarangombe, Laini Saba, Makina and Lindi where a participatory, economically feasible, socially and environmentally sustainable Physical Development Plan in accordance with the provisions of physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019.

According to NMS, the declaration will facilitate the formulation of harmonized standards and guidelines for buildings and other forms of development as defined under the physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019. The four informal settlement areas join Mukuru Kwa Njenga which in August 2017 was officially declared as a Special Planning Area by the County Government of Nairobi.

Dr. Musyimi Mbathi from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, was previously involved in the development of the Mukuru Special Planning Area plan have been invited to join a multisectoral team composed of government and non-government actors to support the Kibera Community develop their own plan. The initiative will transform Kibera into a well-planned neighbourhood in addition to addressing existing infrastructure challenges. The Kibera plan will also develop ways which would promote the safety and health of the residents.