Urban governance in a devolved Kenya

Abstract

In 2010 Kenya adopted a new constitution that ushered in an ambitious decentralization reform, known as devolution. The country has established 47 autonomous counties with executive and legislative branches. Under the reform, cities and urban areas have been reclassified using population thresholds that have lead to the elimination of virtually all urban local governments. Using primary data drawn from document/legal analyses and key informant interviews, this chapter presents a case study of devolution as it is unfolding in Kenya, with a particular focus on the implications of the reform for the country’s rapidly growing urban areas. By eliminating urban local governments, devolution has ironically reduced democratic representation and raised potential obstacles to effective urban management and for the governing of cities in general.