Managing Risks for a Safer Built Environment in Kenya : Building Regulatory Capacity Assessment
Kenya is an emerging middle income country with a growing share of its population living in urban areas. The country is at a relatively early stage of urbanisation, with around 27 percent of Kenyans living in urban areas, yet projections suggest th...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/982831550848603568/Managing-Risks-for-a-Safer-Built-Environment-in-Kenya-Building-Regulatory-Capacity-Assessment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31325 |
| Summary: | Kenya is an emerging middle income
country with a growing share of its population living in
urban areas. The country is at a relatively early stage of
urbanisation, with around 27 percent of Kenyans living in
urban areas, yet projections suggest that by 2050, about
half the population will be living in cities. The Nairobi
Metropolitan Region in particular will see rapid growth.
Nairobi is expected to become a city of more than 6 million
people by 2030, up from its currently estimated 4 million.
This urbanisation has the potential to improve economic
opportunities and living conditions for all Kenyans.
However, there are also several challenges associated with
this shift and concentration of population. With
urbanisation comes a substantial amount of new construction,
much of which has occurred in cities with limited capacity
to ensure the structures in which people live, work and
gather are safely sited and built to withstand both chronic
stresses (i.e. fire and spontaneous collapse) and disaster
shocks (i.e. earthquakes and floods). Informality, low
density development and urban sprawl are common
characteristics across Kenya's urban areas.
Approximately 61 percent of Kenya's urban population
are living in informal settlements. Kenya is exposed to a
wide range of hazards, particularly droughts and floods, but
also landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and
wildfires. Kenya is also highly vulnerable to recurrent and
chronic risks. Its major cities witnessed 26 reported cases
of major building collapse since 1996. Furthermore, Kenya is
ranked as the 27th most prone country to fire-related deaths
in the world. The city of Nairobi recorded 244 fires in 2017
in its informal settlements, claiming the lives of 32
people. In many ways, Kenya is at a crossroads in its
efforts of urbanising and developing towards middle income
status. Regulatory decisions made now will have a
significant impact on the long-term safety, productivity and
resilience of the urban built environment. |
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