Unique architectural heritage sacrificed at the altar of profit

Newly built apartments in Westlands, Nairobi. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Parklands, like many other old neighbourhoods in Nairobi, has become a victim of developers’ insatiable greed for land.

  • Homes in which families have lived for generations are being sold purely because the land they sit on is considered more valuable than the houses.

  • It seems that making the most profit, rather than preserving the city’s history, is what is propelling urban development and construction in Nairobi.

  • The scramble to fill up every available space in Nairobi with buildings has led to an unhealthy type of urban development.

The other day, while driving through Nairobi’s Parklands area, I couldn’t help but notice how much the neighbourhood I grew up in had changed.

Gone were the art deco houses with round verandahs and tiled roofs. Gone, too, were the mango and frangipani trees that littered every garden in this once-Indian-only neighbourhood.

These have now been replaced with ugly apartment blocks or office buildings that have eroded the sense of community that once characterised this neighbourhood.

Parklands, like many other old neighbourhoods in Nairobi, has become a victim of developers’ insatiable greed for land and a short-sighted view of urban development by the authorities.

Homes in which families have lived for generations are being sold purely because the land they sit on is considered more valuable than the houses. The result is that a part of Nairobi’s unique history and architecture is being destroyed at the altar of profit.

APARTMENTS

The proposal in Parliament to allow construction of highrise apartment blocks in similar old neighbourhoods in Nairobi may satisfy the city’s demand for affordable housing but it risks destroying its architectural heritage.

It seems that making the most profit, rather than preserving the city’s history, is what is propelling urban development and construction in this city — which is such a shame because even the most advanced cities in the world have preserved buildings that they consider to be part of their heritage.

In the US, for instance, I can’t imagine New York without Greenwich Village or Boston without its Back Bay area, where old homes have been designated as national heritage sites because of their historical significance.

When I was at university in Boston in the 1980s, I lived in an old red-brick townhouse on Marlboro Street in the Back Bay area that had been converted into a students’ dormitory.

The townhouse probably belonged to a rich merchant in the 18th or 19th century. It had a parlour, ornate ceilings and carved fireplaces. The tiny rooms upstairs were probably once used by maids.

Even though the building was in a very fashionable area of Boston, there was no danger of it being demolished to pave the way for a highrise apartment or office block because the townhouse had been declared a national heritage site.

LAND GRABBERS

This is because somebody had the foresight to realise that the demolition of such a building would not only erase the city’s history but also reduce the value of real estate in Back Bay, an area known for its “old English charm”.

Some people might say that the demand for housing trumps the desire to save the city’s heritage. This thinking has led to almost every piece of land in the city being grabbed or to become a target for grabbers.

The housing boom has led to construction of apartments and gated estates all over the city (most of which are carbon copies of each other and lack any creative design or aesthetic appeal). But has this led to the city becoming more liveable? I think not.

The scramble to fill up every available space in Nairobi with buildings has led to an unhealthy type of urban development — where even playgrounds, parks and other open spaces are being grabbed to give way to apartments. Where will the children who inhabit these apartments play?

UHURU PARK

Since the colonial government built Uhuru Park, there has not been a single public park built by the authorities. The “Green City in the Sun” is becoming less green and more gray.

In the 1990s, Wangari Maathai successfully waged a long battle against President Daniel arap Moi’s regime to save Uhuru Park — Nairobi’s largest public park — and Karura Forest on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately, the urban environmental movement in Kenya seems to have since lost much of its steam.

Before any plan to commercialise or convert old Nairobi neighbourhoods into highrise buildings, there should be an assessment of each and every building in the area by the relevant authorities to determine its historical, architectural or environmental significance and to decide whether its demolition would add value to the neighbourhood or diminish it.

There are still a few gorgeous old houses in Parklands that have not (yet) been demolished. They should be declared national heritage sites as soon as possible. I am all for affordable housing but we cannot achieve this goal by obliterating the city’s unique history.