Mukuru is an informal settlement located in the East of Nairobi, which stretches along the Ngong River. ‘Mukuru’ translated to Swahili means dumpsite. The settlement is made up of 13 segments, and is roughly estimated to occupy 647.8 acres of land and is home to 100,561 community households.

In August 2017 (vide gazette notice) 7654 Mukuru was declared a Special Planning area by Nairobi City County. The declaration provides for a 2 year planning period within which Mukuru residents and the Nairobi County Government have to develop a solid development plan for Mukuru.

This declaration placed an obligation on the county to develop an integrated development plan that would address the unique development challenges and opportunities of Mukuru. To meet the County’s obligation to develop the requisite plans, the county divided the planning process into 8 sectors. Each sector is supported by a consortium comprising of state and non- state actors and are led by the relevant County Department.

In the latest rejoinder on the Mukuru SPA, planning teams met earlier in November to deliberate on the status of the Mukuru Special Planning Area (SPA) project. The forum participants reviewed all existing planning standards; laws and policies, sectoral situational analysis, scenario modelling while reviewing the possible implications to ensure an inclusive community participation process.

Through the workshop the following were noted as some of the major milestones achieved in the process;

 Development of alternative standards applicable in the Mukuru SPA.

 Research and presentation of sectoral findings.

 Commmunity planning consultations meetings conducted.

Speaking at the side lines of the Mukuru SPA Stakeholders Forum, Sejal Patel of Urban Planning in India exuded confidence that the planning process is a phenomenal project which the world is watching. She added the that the entire process holds the potential to influence different cities and give hopes to informal settlements around the world.

“I think it’s going to be a landmark and a benchmark, we owe it to ourselves and the people of Mukuru” Sejal Patel.

Filomena, an Urban Planner from Nairobi County also added that the government is willing to work with Mukuru residents to improve their standards of living.

Christine Mwelu, a resident from Mukuru’s Viwandani Village said, ‘We all acknowledge that communities living in Mukuru can’t do it alone – it’s going to take collective agreement on the vision and actions, to achieve success.’

The SPA is an opportunity to re plan the urban future for Mukuru residents and Muungano Wa Wanavijiji and Nairobi City County have drawn together stakeholders to come together and provide a legal basis for the planning process identifying challenges and solutions in a bid to transform a slum area of 650 acres into an inclusive, and functional neighbourhood, that seeks to improve the lives of communities living there.