DETERMINANTS AND OUTCOMES OF URBAN LAND USE SUCCESSION - CASE STUDY OF UPPER HILL, NAIROBI

Abstract

This paper is based on a PHD research carried out to explore Urban Land Use Succession (ULUS) that is driven by private actors financed by local or global capital, referred to as property-led urban redevelopment. ULUS is manifested in indicators like land values, height of buildings, and migration. Its motive is profit taking contrasting it from ULUS that is driven by public and public-private partnerships (PPPs). ULUS has helped reimage cities, but in some cases, it has resulted in negative consequences such as pressure on existing infrastructure and patchwork land use patterns. A case study of Upper Hill is used to identify the determinants of the phenomenon with a view to mirroring findings to the rest of Nairobi. Simple random sampling has been used to identify a sample of plots whose landowners have been interviewed using semi-structured interview schedules. Data collected was processed and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The findings show that ULUS is being determined by spatial policy (planning controls on property, land tenure, and public investment in infrastructure) which is largely controlled by the state. The county government’s laissez faire approach demonstrated in failure to prepare comprehensive policy and to adhere to policy standards has put pressure on existing infrastructure and resulted in unsustainable outcomes. In addition, the presence of both public and private land has implied ease of redevelopment on privately owned land as opposed to state land resulting in a dichotomy of contradictory states.