Participatory Planning and Implementation of Urban Upgrading Projects in Kenya

In Kenya, Urban planning processes is characterized by citizen non-engagement especially in low income communities since the city elites prefer top-down approach and this has led to a series of project failures coupled with forced evictions and violation of economic and social rights of the urban poor. The purpose of the study is to establish the influence of Participatory Planning on Implementation of Urban Upgrading Projects in Kenya. The study is grounded on Stakeholders’ theory. The study design involved desk review. The study found that whilst there is no specific policy for urban renewal in Kenya, there has been urban renewal projects carried out in different cities and towns. The situation has been aggravated by inadequate public participation in planning urban renewal projects due to dormancy in participatory planning of urban renewal by responsible authorities, limited resources and lack of political goodwill. Though there is evidence of social groups within the estates, they lack a strong and coherent neighborhood residents’ association that would act as key stakeholder during the planning, implementation and maintenance of the estate during urban renewal. Effective participation of residents in rebuilding their community reduces the risk of disintegration of existing networks or homelessness. Critical to the success of projects is the early and continuous integration of the community in the planning, decision-making and implementation process as this would lower costs, better target peoples’ needs, incorporate local knowledge, ensure that benefits are equitably distributed and create grassroots capacity to undertake other development projects besides maintaining benefits.