The second Kenya Urban Forum (KUF) held at Lake Naivasha Resort, Nakuru, from 17th to 19th June 2025, under the theme “The future is urban: Driving Kenya’s vision for urban transformation” has been concluded. No country has ever reached high income levels with low levels of urban growth. Urbanization levels and the GDP per capita have a positive correlation just as is the case between the speed of urbanization and the economic growth rates. This is because urbanization changes the levels and speed with the economic development. The industrial revolution in Britain led to the emergence of three interrelated terminologies that are – industrialization, urbanization and globalization. The relationship is such that industrialization leads to the accumulation of economic inputs and hence economic growth, which then leads to accumulation of human and human activities in an area, hence urbanization. The drive towards urbanization is also driven by specialization of labour and the development of non-agricultural economy and sectors, which at the same time exposes one urban area to dependence of the global supply and factors, hence globalization. Evidence shows that all developed countries have a high level of per capita GDP and higher levels of urbanization Urbanization in Kenya has been reshaping the country’s socio-economic and cultural fabric, rural, peri-urban and mainstream urban areas. The expansion and growth of urban areas requires immense resources and construction and provision of immense and diverse infrastructural needs.
The 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census (KPHC) identified over 372 urban centres in Kenya with different levels of growth, and which requires installation of infrastructure to provide effective urban services. The census noted that the urban population grew from 9.1 million in 2009 to 14.8 million in 2019. During the same period, the proportion of urban dwellers relative to the total population rose from 23.7 percent to 31.2 percent, with an urban growth rate of 4.9 percent recorded in 2019; and it is estimated that by 2050, more than half of Kenyans will be living in urban areas. There is growing demand for financing the urban infrastructure, which poses a grave danger to the urban areas and their authorities; and there is always the battle to scout for alternative and sustainable ways of funding such infrastructure and services. It has been estimated that urban areas are always lacking over one billion US dollars of investments per years and the sad reality that in developing countries, 60 percent of urban areas financing is done by the central government. In order for urban authorities in Kenya – markets, towns, municipalities and cities to adequately provide the wide range of services they are required to provide, there is need for them to have access to solid financing arrangements Dr Giti is an urban management, public – private partnerships (PPP) and environment specialist. mutegigiti@gmail.com , @danielgiti
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 