If accorded city status, Thika must avoid all that is wrong with Githurai

An aerial view of Thika town. [File, Standard]

The move by Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and his team to push for Thika town’s elevation to city status is both bold and timely. This initiative deserves full support from urban planners, architects, surveyors, and all stakeholders in the built environment. If successful, Thika would become the sixth city in Kenya under the framework of the Urban Areas and Cities Act which sets the threshold for towns to become cities. This is no mean achievement, but it must be anchored in deliberate, resilient, and inclusive planning to avoid repeating the mistakes that have haunted  our urban centres.

Many urban areas continue to grapple with the consequences of poor or absent planning. For instance, a visit to Githurai, also in Kiambu County, reveals the scars of uncoordinated growth and urban sprawl. Roads measuring less than 9 metres, crazy congestion, absence of truncations, confusions/chaos, lack of open spaces and playgrounds making children to play on the roads, and the unchecked rise of highrise apartments exerting pressure on already overwhelmed amenities are now defining features of the area. This is a textbook case of what Patrick Geddes warned against: “A city is more than a place in space, it is a drama in time.” The failures in Githurai dramatise the cost of neglecting structured planning. They remind us that “failure to plan is planning to fail.”