A fierce battle is unfolding across Nairobi as developers, backed by powerful political and business interests, systematically target the city’s remaining public spaces for commercial development, prompting unprecedented community resistance. From historic parks to recreational grounds and urban forests, Nairobi’s green lungs are disappearing at an alarming rate, with at least twelve significant public spaces currently under threat of conversion to shopping malls, office towers, and gated residential complexes. This development pressure reflects both the city’s rapid urbanization and a fundamental conflict over who the city serves—its residents or commercial interests—as Nairobi’s public realm shrinks to accommodate private profit.
The struggle is most visible at iconic sites like the 110-acre Jevanjee Gardens, where activists have camped for months to prevent its conversion into a mixed-use development, and at the Ngong Road Forest, where community groups are fighting to protect indigenous woodland from being parceled for luxury housing. The tactics employed by communities have evolved from traditional protests to sophisticated legal challenges, social media campaigns, and international advocacy, with several cases now before Kenya’s Environment and Land Court. These battles often pit well-funded development consortia against grassroots organizations with limited resources but deep community support, creating dramatic power imbalances that test Kenya’s environmental and planning laws to their limits.
The long-term implications of these conflicts extend beyond individual sites to shape Nairobi’s fundamental character as a livable city. Urban planners warn that the loss of public spaces exacerbates social inequality, reduces recreational opportunities, and diminishes environmental resilience in a city already grappling with air pollution and urban heat island effects. As climate change intensifies, the cooling effect and stormwater absorption capacity provided by green spaces become increasingly valuable public goods. The outcome of these battles will determine whether Nairobi evolves as an inclusive city that prioritizes the well-being of all residents or becomes a landscape dominated by private enclaves accessible only to the wealthy, setting a precedent for urban development across East Africa.