Assessing planning policy framework for public urban parks: A case of city park, Nairobi

Abstract

Public urban parks provide environmental, economic and social benefits to the urban communities. In Kenya their quality over time has deteriorated resulting in encroachment, lack of attention, poor maintenance, lack of development and under utilization. Kenya lacks a policy framework for urban park planning and management but has legislation dealing with their different aspects and components. Existing loopholes in policy, low priority in planning and management and lack of structured systems of maintenance and monitoring and evaluation has resulted in their vulnerability and dilapidation hence exploitation. Furthermore the lack of full community participation in their planning and management as required by the Constitution of Kenya has resulted in community resistance to rehabilitation efforts. This study sought to: evaluate the policy framework that guided the provision of City Park as a public urban park in Nairobi; to assess effectiveness of the policy framework with regard to park management of Nairobi City Park; to establish the place of the community in planning and management of City Park; and to propose planning interventions that can be embraced for sustainable creation and management of urban parks such as City Park. The descriptive study included the use of both primary and secondary data. Purposive sampling was used to select City Park while embracing a case study approach. The target research population consisted of the park‟s users, informal and formal traders, households within City Park‟s neighbourhood, park‟s administration, and relevant institutions. Random and non-random sampling methods were used to select the sampling unit while data collection methods involved observation, interviewing and questionnaire administration. Study findings derived from collected analysed data indicated that the existing policy framework alluded to certain aspects and components of urban park planning and management and that there is low involvement of the community in planning and management of Nairobi City Park. The study recommends consolidation of existing policies into a coherent co-ordinated urban park policy framework for planning and management of urban parks. It further recommends the development of a structured framework for public participation with regards to urban park planning