The Land Question: Addressing Urban Planning and Land Use

Land has been seen to be an important commodity which has social, economic and political value. Land forms the basis for the establishment of urban areas and other forms of human settlements. This importance attached to land has seen various conflicting uses put to it and this has therefore resulted to what in Kenya is commonly known as the land question. Urban planning and land use form a salient form in which the land question has manifested itself and this is particularly due to the weak legal and policy framework on urban planning and land use in Kenya. This book seeks to explore the nature of urban planning and land use in Kenya and this is through a look at the governing legal framework and important lessons on urban planning and urban land use are drawn from a comparative study done in the U.S.A. This study can be used to help build a case for reform on the legal and policy framework on urban planning and urban land use in Kenya while at the same time inform best practices to be adopted in other parts of the world.