It is well known and understood that public transport in Nairobi is accompanied by the struggles of traffic jam and misbehaviour by public service drivers. Just recently at the beginning of March, the long rain season began earnestly.

Land tenure is among the key elements that define slum settlements. The lack of tenure security limits both private and public investments in settlements translating to slum conditions. The form of land tenure also has implications on which settlements get upgraded whether by government, communities or other partners.

The Country is currently engaged in deliberations for undertaking a huge construction project that will have far-reaching impact on many aspects of the social, spatial, economic, environmental, and political consequences both now and in future. As we read about cost issues as well as the operational and political repercussions of the same, and what this project has to do to serve the economy, Planners have to ask and confront some fundamental questions:

In recent years Nairobi has seen the massive growth of mammoth high-rise developments in the name of apartments. They have attracted some research by Marie Hzermeyer and Baraka Mwau among others. They come up in many shades - but typically they are dense and feature small rooms. From one perspective they are viewed as the answer to the housing shortage and alternative to slums. On the other hand they are seen as accidents waiting to happen. Many of them have poor infrastructure and are poorly designed. Their social impact is least studied.