Kenya stands at the crossroads of accelerated urban growth and climate urgency.
According to the population census captured by UN Habitat, while only 27 per cent of the total population lives in urban areas, the urbanisation rate is high (4.3 per cent per annum) and projections indicate that more than half of the total population will be living in urban areas by 2050.
Already, the rapid population growth has stretched existing infrastructure and services, leading to the growth of informal settlements characterised by overcrowding, lack of basic infrastructures such as sewage, safe drinking water, and decent housing, poverty, and inequality, and consequently increased poverty and delinquency.
This challenge calls for a raft of measures and provides a unique opportunity to redefine how we think, plan, and act on matters of urbanisation.
Urban development is no longer the sole domain of governments or planners. It is a shared responsibility that calls for genuine collaboration, strategic partnerships, and open channels of knowledge exchange among all stakeholders, including national and county governments, city authorities, the private sector, academia, civil society, and communities themselves.
It is no doubt that urban areas are the engines of Kenya’s socio-economic progress. But they are also home to some of our most pressing challenges such as inequality, housing deficits, environmental degradation, infrastructure stress, and vulnerabilities to climate shocks. Initiatives must therefore be rolled out to ensure that the growth of urban centres align with UN SDGs for a sustainable urban growth.
Diverse perspectives
The Affordable Housing Programme is one of the initiatives that has been developed by the State Department For Housing to enable Kenyans to access decent housing and to improve their living standards. So far, most of the projects are nearing completion, including the largest project in Nairobi City; the Mukuru Social Housing Project — which will house more than 13,000 people.
The complexities of realising the dream of sustainable urban centres calls for leveraging the diverse perspectives, experiences, and innovations of all the stakeholders in the forums and engagement platforms across the republic.
As we speak, Kenya’s urban centres are already incubating solutions that deserve national and even global attention.
The establishment of Kenya Urban Forum (KUF 2025) is timely as it provides a way to inclusive planning and sustainable infrastructure to climate adaptation and urban resilience.
The forum sets the stage for Kenya to localise global ambitions into implementable action. In addition, the forum also focuses on actionable partnerships across levels of government and sectors.
By strengthening vertical and horizontal collaboration, from national ministries to municipal governments, from startups to grassroots movements—the forum aims to unlock the full potential of integrated urban planning.
We must elevate our voices towards a common goal where we reward innovation and inspire replication of practices across all the cities in Kenya for us to have sustainable urban development.
The writer is a current affairs analyst
By Jason Nyantino