Sustainable urban design approach for Dump site rehabilitation: Case of decommissioning Dandora Dump site for urban park

Abstract

Neglecting of 4R hierarchical solid waste management, reject, reduce, recover and reuse has led to questionable urban environmental qualities contrary to Nairobi the green city. Key to the study is investigating the rehabilitation strategies through landfill mining (LFM) concept, vegetative cover concept and their benefits to a sustainable urban environment. A literature review was done on hazards of waste, LFM process and its benefits, use of plant cover to ‘cure’ recovered soil and their secondary benefits, sustainability concept and its application in cities, cost-benefit model and best practices in LFM. Further the study examined the physical, social, environmental, and economic attributes in developing an urban design approach for dumpsite rehabilitation. However, environmental aspect were found wanting and formed the basis of study‘s approach. The research methods applied included interviews and observation. The findings from Dandora dumpsite revealed the reviewed concepts on sustainable approach for rehabilitating the landfills to improve the livelihood of urban dwellers in creation of urban Public Park and increase the environmental benefits. The study recommended use of LFM concept coupled with vegetative cover to create a sustainable Dandora urban park. Key words: landfill, solid waste, sustainability, landfill mining, landfill rehabilitation, vegetative cover, evapotranspiration, phytoremediation