Village Elites and Community Development in Kenya

Abstract

Current statistics show that urban growth rates are relatively higher in the Small and Intermediate urban centres in Kenya. This study sought to analyze the impacts of urbanization driven land use changes within the Mara river basin. Selected towns (Silibwet, Bomet, Longisa, Singiroi and Sigor) falling in the Small and Intermediate urban centres category were used in the analyis. The study used both primary and secondary sources of information collected through structured questionnaires administered to over 400 households, Key informant interviews, transect survey and observations. The findings indicate that the urban population growth rates within the basin are almost twice as much as the average national urban population growth rates. Most towns lack adequate institutional capacity to plan their physical/spatial growth thus leading to urban sprawl manifested by increased land cover changes dominated by the urban built environment. A better understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the urban centers growth, provided by this study, forms a basis for better planning and effective spatial organization of urban activities for future growth and development of towns within the Mara River Basin with possibility of replicating best practices in other towns.