Conference Proceeding No. 03 of 2005 on Urban and Regional Planning as an Instrument for Wealth and Employment Creation

Abstract

According to estimates by the UN-Habitat, nearly 50% of the population in developing countries will be urban by the year 2020 as more people abandon traditional rural areas to live and work in cities. In Kenya, as in many developing countries, increased urbanization has been accompanied with reduced capacity of national and local governments to provide vital infrastructure and services. The trend has also reduced the usefulness of traditional approaches to fulfilling core urban and regional planning objectives. The Government of Kenya has already initiated measures to improve urban and regional planning and· increase its contribution to wealth and employment creation. The measures include the ongoing formulation of a land policy; continuing legal and institutional reforms towards restructuring and right sizing of local authorities; and development of strategic plans by regional development authorities...