Spatial Strategies For Manyatta

DESIGNING FOR GROWTH
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

Urban Design Lab, The Earth Institute
Urban Design Program, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Millennium Cities Initiative, The Earth Institute
EDITORS
Susan M. Blaustein
Victor Body-Lawson
Priscila Coli
Kirk Finkel
Petra Kempf
Geeta Mehta
Richard Plunz
Maria-Paola Sutto
MANAGING EDITORS AND DESIGNERS
Priscila Coli
Kirk Finkel
COPY EDITOR
Brian Duff
Copyright 2014, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information
storage or retrieval, without permission from the publisher.
ISBN 978-0-9822174-7-4
PUBLISHED BY
The Urban Design Lab at the Earth Institute
Columbia University in the City of New York
The Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 239
New York, NY 10115
www. urbandesignlab.columbia.edu
Printed in the United States of America.
SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

DESIGNING FOR GROWTH
A report based on an urban design study by the Master of Science in Architecture and
Urban Design, Spring 2014.
A COLLABORATION OF
Urban Design Program, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Urban Design Lab, The Earth Institute
Millennium Cities Initiative, The Earth Institute
MASENO UNIVERSITY - KISUMU CITY CAMPUS

School of Planning & Architecture
CATHOLIC ORGANISATION FOR RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT AID (CORDAID)

Urban Matters Program - Africa
III

THE EARTH INSTITUTE
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director
URBAN DESIGN LAB, THE EARTH INSTITUTE (UDL)
Richard Plunz, Director
Patricia Culligan, Co-Director
Maria Paola Sutto, Program Coordinator
Priscila Coli and Kirk Finkel, Research Assistants
MILLENNIUM CITIES INITIATIVE, THE EARTH INSTITUTE (MCI)
Susan M. Blaustein, Co-founder and Director
Geeta Mehta, Advisory Committee Member
Beldina Opiyo-Omolo, Public Health Specialist for Kisumu
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND PRESERVATION (GSAPP)
Amale Andraos, Dean
URBAN DESIGN PROGRAM, GSAPP
Richard Plunz, Director
Victor Body-Lawson, Adjunct Associate Professor
Viren Brahmbhatt, Adjunct Associate Professor
Michael Conard, Adjunct Associate Professor
Juan Esteban Correa Elejalde, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Petra Kempf, Adjunct Associate Professor
Geeta Mehta, Adjunct Professor
Kate Orff, Assistant Professor
David Cohen, Urban Design Administrator
Juliana Azem Ribeiro de Almeida, Faisal Almogren, Nasim Amini, Ku Hun Chung, Shirley
Dolezal, Betty Fan, Kirk Finkel, Olivia Gibbeson, Fan Guo, Nijia Ji, Du Young Yoon, Juan
Guzmn Palacios, Dimitra Papageorgiou, Grace Pelletier, Kenneth Lang Mata, Wagdy
Atef Moussa, Crystal Ng, Jihan Lew, Yu-Hsuan Lin, Yu Zhang, Priscila Coli, Sunjana
Thirumala Sridhar, Yue Zhao, Cheng Zhou, Graduate Students
IV
RESEARCH COLLABORATORS
MASENO UNIVERSITY - KISUMU CITY CAMPUS

SCHOOL OF PLANNING & ARCHITECTURE
Dr. George G. Wagah, Dean
PLANNING STUDIO IN PROJECT PLANNING, MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING &
EVALUATION - Rejuvenation of Kisumus Lake front (Lwangni Beach)
Professor Franklin Mwango, Studio Master
Wycliffe Hezekiah Agengo, Risper Dinah Anyango, Illah Josiah Illah, Edwin Koyoo,
Celestine Kovola, Jesicah M. Mabonga, Mary Atieno Oyugi, Benjamin Odera Osiemo,
Martin Onyango Oluoch, Maxwell Kevin Otieno, Phoebe Mercy Otieno, Kevin Owade
Otieno, Master of Arts in Project Planning and Management Studies, 2014
CATHOLIC ORGANIZATION FOR RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT AID

(CORDAID)
URBAN MATTERS PROGRAMME - AFRICA
Inge Bouwmans, Expert on urban planning and housing
Carina Mensching, Marketing Communications Officer
Erick Makokha, Project Manager of Urban Matters Programme
Merciline Oyier, Program Officer of Urban Matters Programme
OTHER CONTRIBUTORS AND GUEST CRITICS

Doreen Adengo, Abenaa Akuamoa-Boateng, Fernando Arias, Bojan Boric, Ankita Cachra,
Samarth Das, Kate Dunham, Liat Eisen, Eleni Gianpapa, Alexandra Gonzales,
Brian Holland, Aseem Inam, Etta D. Jackson, James Khamsi, Kaja Khl, Alexis Landes,
Moumi Maoulidi, Jelena Mijanovic, Justin Moore, Oyebanke Oyeyinka, JacquesEmmanuel Remy, Julia Watson, Lynette Widder, Wassim Shaaban, Katherine Specht,
Morana Stipisic, Tse-Hui
Kisumu
Africa
Kenya
6.Manyatta
Kenya
Lake Victoria
5.Nyalenda
4.Downtown Kisumu
Kisumu
Manyatta
4
2
3. Dunga Beach
5
Winam Gulf /
Lake Victoria
1.Kisumu International
Airport KIS
2. Maseno University
01 KISUMU OUTLOOK
City view from East Kisumu
Au ji Ri ve r
Ko
na
M
bu
ta
R
oa
d
M A N YAT TA A
Roa d
Jo
Hi
gh
Kisi
u
isum
Ke
ay
ny
at
ta
yp
an B
ass
B
usia
Roa
d
mu
Kisu
M A N YAT TA B
02 AERIAL VIEW OF MANYATTA

Surrounds of Manyatta A and B
BENJA PORK AND M-PESA

Commercial strip in Manyatta
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
08
Seeding Success in Manyatta: Transforming Kisumu

Communities through Innovative Affordable Investment
Susan M. Blaustein
14
Growing a Self-Investing Manyatta

Beldina Opiyo-Omolo
WORKING.COLLABORATIVELY
28
CORDAID Strategic Planning

Merciline Oyier
32
Collaborative Thinking: Addressing Contemporary Challenges

Franklin Mwango
34
Kisumu Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Plan

Jacques Emmanuel Remy
URBAN DESIGN.MANYATTA
41
Engaging Pilot Planning for Manyatta

Richard Plunz
50
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
70
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
90
WATER.PUBLIC SPACE.ECONOMY
108
FARM.WASTE.WATER
126
ROAD.INFRASTRUCTURE.ECONOMY
144
MARKET.ECONOMY.TECHNOLOGY
NEXT.STEPS
165 The Thirty-Year Plan: Addressing the challenges of new density
through a pilot planning network

Priscila Coli and Kirk Finkel
APPENDIX
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
Seeding Success in Manyatta: Transforming Kisumu
Communities through Innovative Affordable Investment
Susan M. Blaustein
Growing a Self-Investing Manyatta

Beldina Opiyo-Omolo
SEEDING SUCCESS IN
MANYATTA
Transforming Kisumu communities through innovative,
affordable investment
Susan M. Blaustein
Susan M. Blaustein is the co-founder and director of the Millennium Cities
Initiative (MCI), a project of the Earth Institute designed to help selected cities
across sub-Saharan Africa achieve the UNs Millennium Development Goals.
Blaustein also serves as director on the board of Millennium Promise, a nonprofit established to support the Millennium Villages Project.
OLIE MARKETPLACE
Women compose nearly 75 percent of all informal
marketplace economy in Kisumu
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
For the past nine years, the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) has assisted selected
sub-Saharan cities in assessing their respective challenges with respect to achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), identifying each citys top MDG-related
priorities and devising strategies for realizing these. We have focused in this effort
on health, education, gender, water and other civil infrastructure, and private sector
development -- all intimately interrelated sectors for which the programming and
budget are controlled in some measure by the municipalities themselves.
Naturally, in the Sub-Saharan context, the local leadership teams in the Millennium
Cities find themselves ceaselessly juggling competing priorities, including those
raised by powerful national, regional and local business leaders. It is rare, therefore,
that the sometimes inaudible voices of the poor and marginalized sectors of the
population those whose residence in the cities may have been occasioned by
forced in-migration from a failed farm in their ancestral villages; whose ethnicity
differs from that of those currently in power; who may be infirm, orphaned, elderly
or simply poor resonate loudly and strongly enough to have a serious impact on
public policy or budget prioritization.
This population those demonstrably the furthest off-track from attaining the
MDGs is precisely the core and focus of MCIs mandate. And those sectors
targeted by the MDGs, and hence, by MCI specifically, water, sanitation, energy,
transport, education, gender, health and economic development -- are also those
that have been so beautifully and creatively illuminated by the solutions offered in
this latest volume by the Urban Design Lab (UDL), MCIs longtime partner and a
joint program of Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Architecture, Planning
and Preservation (GSAPP) and The Earth Institute.
After three years working together to assist Ghanas two largest cities, Accra
and Kumasi, in reimagining and reinventing more fully integrated and functional
downtown neighborhoods there, in this fourth year of MCIs and UDLs collaboration
we have moved eastward to Kisumu, Kenyas third largest city and a Millennium
City since 2006, which hugs the northeastern corner of Lake Victoria, Africas
largest lake. As in Accra and Kumasi, UDLs brilliant faculty and young professional
graduate students, hailing from all over the world, were invited to apply their
collective knowledge, skills, and experience in the citys most impoverished, least
connected areas, in this case, the informal settlements comprising Manyatta A
and B, where MCI has long been working in association with multiple local and
international partners.
Despite this engagement by capable actors, the Manyatta communities have
DA
Jinja
UG
AN
Dijibouti
Kisumu
Portbell
Lake
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
Bukoba
Victoria
Musoma
KE
NY
A
TAN
ZA
KENYA
NIA
Mwanza
ea
n
Nairobi
Oc
Lamu
EAST AFRICAN ENERGY AND TRADE
In
di
an
03
This region is facing international pressure to extract

oil and abundant energy resources.
Mombasa
Dar es
Salaam
04
LAKE VICTORIA REGION
A valuable resource shared by three countries, the

lake provides a means for trade, travel, and tourism.
05
Railway / highway
Oil pipelines
Hydroelectric dam
Trade port city
KISUMU COUNTY BOUNDARIES
Kisumu city district map with growth footprint.
t
Go
Kadero
1972 city limit
Mkendwa
Urban footprint
Bar A
Konya
Nyahera
Dago
Bar B
Ojolla
Bandani
Winam Gulf /
Lake Victoria
Chiga
Nyalunya
Osiri
Migosi
rn
he
ut
So
Manyatta A and B
ta
Kogony
i
en n
lol er
Ka orth
N
Kanyawegi
INTRODUCTION
Wathorego
Kanyakwar
Koran
do
Korando B
Okok
Ny
aw
i
Neighborhood
boundaries
10
do
on
ab
Ny
Mayenya
Nyalenda A
Nyalenda B
Kasule
Buoye
Trade partnerships
PORT FLORENCE, FOUNDED 1901
Existing development
Present construction
Proposed development
1930-1939
1940-1962
remained effectively cut off from the hum of the Kisumus central business district
since the citys inception. Possibly because both Manyatta communities are situated
nearly at the citys lowest point, in an area prone to flooding twice annually, as well
as to contaminated and stagnant water and malarious conditions year-round, the
original designs for the City of Kisumu did not include any plans for incorporating
these swamp-like outskirts.
Yet Kisumus very vibrancy and magnetism as a lakeside trading post and way
station to Kenyas northern regions and to the port city of Mombasa, coupled
with the relentless population pressure from the surrounding countryside, have
long since pushed the city far beyond its original planned bounds, to the point
where Manyattas two communities have long been considered a part of the city,
albeit a part that is still unplanned, severely under-resourced and underserved.
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
06
Ergo, the invitation to the Urban Design Lab from longtime MCI partner Catholic
Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID), a Dutch non-profit, which
instigated and has helped lead the development planning process in Manyatta
and had seen some of UDLs prior work to come, learn about and support the
community in improving its access to public goods and services and revitalizing its
neighborhoods and economic life.
Since MCIs first arrival in Kisumu, Kenyas government structures have been
transformed, both locally and on the national stage. Following the terrible violence
associated with Kenyas 2007 elections a key locus of which, tragically, was Kisumu
-- a newly installed Parliament drafted and approved a new Constitution, which, to
strengthen regional autonomy, now accords budget and planning authority to newly
delineated county governments and their duly appointed Governors. As this new
structure is being rolled out nationwide, freshly reorganized county government
teams are striving to gain understanding of their new, broader jurisdictions, which,
in the case of the new Kisumu County, now incorporates both urban and rural
communities voicing different, sometimes competing priorities. The deliberate
pace of this implementation has slowed the launch of specific programs focused
on urban upgrading in Kisumu, thereby prolonging the extreme poverty of many
Manyatta residents and of Kisumu as a whole.
There has been, nevertheless, significant movement, and investment: a Chinese
and Israeli-built road now under construction will put Kisumu on the map as an
important link both to the west and to Nairobi; the road passes just by Manyatta,
making this immense project an important juncture in the communitys future. Will
this highway generate service opportunities that can enable Manyatta to prove its
usefulness and become increasingly integrated into the commercial and civic life of
11
the city, or will the community be further, and perhaps more permanently, severed
from city life by this infrastructural divide?
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
There are big plans as well for reviving the fishing and tourism industries through
increased public and private sector investment in upgrading the lakeside facilities.
Manyatta fishermen and women take justifiable pride in their expertise and
their historic proficiency at their trade, and Manyatta residents are excited at
the many hoped-for job opportunities just downstream at the waters edge. Here
is another critical turning point, where County policymakers will soon determine
these communities future: will they be included in this effort, constructively
and sustainably, as proposed by UDL in some of the infrastructural innovations
described here, to dispose of solid waste, increase the clean water supply and
revitalize the fishing and the markets? Or will the real estate development on Lake
Victorias shores be so dramatically upscaled as to leave most Manyatta residents
behind?
MCI, UDL, CORDAID, and other partners have seized this opportune moment to
listen closely and to amplify the concerns and ideas put forward by the residents of
Manyatta, thereby propelling them into the center of the conversation about their
communitys future and using our technical skills to realize their aspirations, in
accordance with local topography, cultural mores, and with tenets of sustainability,
structure, and urban design. The work found within this volume has been carefully
thought through, always with the strengthening of the Manyatta communities in
mind. Care has been taken to map out safe places to play, to live, and to work;
to involve the schools, students, and their families in the efforts to promote
sustainability; to propose land-pooling in ways that can bridge class divides far
enough to share facilities and resources that can build a sense of community along
with a more healthful and sustainable environment, resulting in a win-win, all
around.
It is our hope that the plans and innovations proffered here can spur the thinking
of County policymakers, who can then work together with community residents,
City officials, and the private sector to transform these exciting, groundbreaking
designs into real-life versions of the income- and energy-generating, healthful, and
cooperative communities envisaged here.
12
INTRODUCTION
KIWASCO OUTLET
Water provider in Manyatta A
GROWING A SELF-INVESTING
MANYATTA
Beldina Opiyo-Omolo
Beldina Opiyo-Omolo, Millennium Cities Initiatives (MCI) Public Health
Specialist for Kisumu, works closely with the administration of the City of
Kisumu, including the Medical Officer of Health, the Director of Environment
and the Director of Social Services, as well as various local and international
partners to expand and strengthen MCIs public health support for Kenyas
third largest city. She is responsible for carrying out research on public health
needs, services and structures, as well as organizing direct interventions both
in public health and in strengthening the education, entrepreneurial training,
savings, and livelihood opportunities for girls and women in Kisumus informal
settlements.
Ki
u
um
i
-V
ga
hi
Jom o Keny atta
Kibos
High way
s
Ki
um
s
Ki
ia
By
pa
Y
AN
MAN YATTA B
Auji
Rive
K
is
um
u
us
-B
ia
R
oa
d
07 MANYATTA A / B MAP
Surrounding environmental boundaries, major
roadways, and rivers
Nya
mas
aria
Rive
ss
A
TT
Ko na
A
Mbuta
Road
Road
Ro
ad
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
Kisumu, like all urban centers in developing countries, faces numerous challenges
associated with its rapid urban growth as it increasingly attracts more people in
search of better income opportunities. The population, as per the 2009 national
census, stood at 409,928; however, this number has since grown to an estimated
500,000-700,000. This extraordinary growth rate has been higher than that of
services planning by local authorities. Today, the roughly 20 percent of the city that
is planned hosts a full 20 percent of the population. A large majority (about 60
percent) live in informal settlements, which form a ring fringing the planned areas
and account for 17 percent of the 297 square kilometers under the jurisdiction of
the Kisumu City Council, with densities as high as 20,000 people per kilometer in
communities such as Manyatta.
Kisumu is home to six informal settlements, all located a few kilometers from the
town center: Nyalenda, Manyatta, Obunga, Kaloleni, Nyawita and Nyamasaria, of
which Manyatta is the largest.
Manyatta settlement is divided into two: Manyatta A and Manyatta B, which together
comprise nine units. Manyatta A, home to approximately 60,000, is located on the
northeastern fringes of the city, on approximately 2.2 kilometers that constitute
six of Manyattas nine units. Administratively, the settlement is known as Kondele
Ward, with a Member of County Assembly representing the community in the
Kisumu County Assembly, and is also considered a sub-location, with an Assistant
Chief reporting to the Local Government. The settlement underwent a partial
infrastructure upgrading supported by the World Bank under the 1980s Sites and
Services scheme, which effectively separated it from Manyatta B. As such, it is
more urbanized, with a higher population representing mixed economic levels. The
land tenure is freehold, with various landowners selling off some of their pieces
to outsiders who then built better houses to rent out, while the few indigenous
who never sold their land put up permanent housing or semi-permanent (mud and
wattle-walled and tin-roofed) rental units on their homesteads. Despite its high
population density, more than 20,000 people per square kilometer, the settlement
shares four primary schools, residents have no running water, and they live in
poor housing under filthy conditions, leading to high rates of preventable disease.
Security is poor, due in part, perhaps, to the near-complete absence of incomegenerating opportunities.
Manyatta Bs three units include Upper and Lower Kanyakwar, where education
has lagged terribly since colonial times when the missionaries concerned
themselves only with spreading Christianity to the neglect of more generalized
learning. One legacy of this poor educational foundation is that in all of Upper and
15
08
NEIGHBORHOOD MAP
AA
YATT
MAN
a
et
09
ROADS WITH WATER ACCESS
10
BUILDING DENSITY IN MANYATTA
a
et
Kondele
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
Flamingo
Magadi
Upper Kanyakwar
Kona Mbuta
Gonda
r
wa
yak
an
rK
e
Low
A
YATT
MAN
Kuoyo
11
PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Pre-primary schools are large in number but are

sometimes illegally operated or lack basic resources.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Compared to pre-primary, far fewer public / private
primary schools are accessible within Manyatta.
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Limited access to only a few secondary schools within
Manyatta A and B.
MANYATTA
KOSAWO
PRY SCH
MAGADI PRY SCH
NYAMASARIA
16
INTRODUCTION
DIVIDING LAND
Division of land ownership over time
Plot of land
Household
Household growth
Property division
Our ancestral land has been subdivided to such
an extent that it can no longer provide a reasonable
living to the respective patrilineal heirs and their
families. - Mazee Osawo family in Manyatta A
Lower Kanyakwar, both of which are densely populated, there is no single public
school, primary or secondary, meaning that, to get to school, students are forced to
walk unusually long distances. This additional burden has led, predictably, to high
absenteeism, poor performance, and a dropout rate of more than 50 percent. This,
in turn, resulted, perhaps predictably, in high unemployment and a consequent
increase in the level of poverty, with elevated rates of prostitution as one of the few
means of earning a living, resulting in an increased HIV prevalence rate in the area.
Due to the population density and the complete absence of health facilities in the
area -- government hospitals are located far from the settlement, and the private
clinics nearby tend to be expensive -- frequent disease outbreaks often result in
death; sick people often end up bedridden and uncared for at home.
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
12
Upper and Lower Kanyakwar also face a problem in their supply of fresh clean water.
Although residents depend on borehole water for their daily use, the boreholes
sometimes get contaminated, and the water normally has a distinct taste and
odor, signifying its contamination. Residents resort to boiling the water or using
chemicals to treat it, and when they cant afford the fuel and chemicals to boil or
treat the water, they consume the water as is. The only safe drinking water is tap
water, which is sold by private water vendors and, in most cases, is not reliable. This
insufficient water supply has resulted to regular outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
In both Upper and Lower Kanyakwar there are no sewer lines connected to septic
tanks and pit latrines, so once a households pit latrine is full, most residents either
call the City Council exhauster to empty it or dig a new one. People also dump
solid waste and dirty water along the road, clogging the roads with stagnant water,
rendering them filthy and smelly.
One tarmacked road affords access to the Kanyakwar settlement. However, internal
roads in Upper and Lower Kanyakwar are poor, and in emergencies, people cannot
reach the tarmacked road easily, especially during the rainy seasons. Areas long
since set aside for future road construction, known as road reserves, have been
encroached upon by people building their own houses and have never been cleared
by government. Upper and Lower Kanyakwar have the worst possible planning, in
terms of house construction. Home building materials here are so poor that, given
two consecutive heavy rainy seasons, houses are normally washed away.
Divisions make regulating ownership and

infrastructure a challenging process.
Kuoyo unit is also in Manyatta B, with a total of 847 households and a population
of 5,082, most of whom live in mud houses. Most Kuoyo residents own the land
on which they live, although some dont have their land title deeds. There are no
eviction threats in Kuoyo.
17
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
Water in Kuoyo is normally provided by the Wandiege Water Company, a joint entity
of SANA International and Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company (KIWASCO). The
water is very salty and is thus not good for drinking and cooking. Few use water
from boreholes. Residents in Kuoyo use pit latrines, and there are no public toilets.
Few people also use electricity, perhaps because the area is not well connected.
The Kuoyo area has poor drainage, with terraces full of mud / water; hence, the
water flow escape points are blocked. During the rainy season, the roads are always
muddy, making transport a challenge. And with no specific waste disposal point,
residents find their own ways of disposing of their household or workshop waste.
There are two primary schools in Kuoyo, one public, one private, and just one private
clinic; the closest referral hospital is far away.
In general, the majority of houses in Manyatta are semi-permanent, and the
permanent houses are mainly home-based shops, hardware businesses, and
other commercial premises. Most of the house structures are single roomed, with
convenience facilities located outside; only a few homes boast two rooms. Residents
often dig boreholes within their home compounds where people fetch water using
small jerricans of 10 to 20 liters in size. As mentioned, tap water is mainly owned
and controlled by private individuals. Water points allocated by KIWASCO do not
always work, compelling people to buy water supplied door to door by water vendors
using handcarts. Manyatta has very few public toilet facilities; the available ones
are in poor shape. The types of toilets found in Manyatta are mainly pit latrines,
which, as in Upper and Lower Kanyakwar, are not connected to any sewer lines.
Also as in Kanyakwar, once the latrines are full, new ones are dug. These toilets
tend to sink during the rainy seasons, posing a threat of disease outbreak.
Building materials decay seasonally. Poor drainage

also contributes to erosion and contamination.
Water resources become frequently mixed with

waste, resulting in waterborne diseases.
The drainage system in Manyatta, particularly in Manyatta B, is poor, resulting in

regular flooding that leaves behind stagnant water along the roads and breeding
grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitos in peoples compounds.
Payment for the legal usage of electricity normally depends on how much people
use. A few homesteads are legally connected through Kenya Power. Waste is
normally disposed by individual residents or dumped along the road. Several people
distribute polythene trash bags and collect them weekly, at a charge of 10 Kenyan
shillings, for the City Council to take to the dumpsite.
There are now many public and private schools, but with few teachers. Health
facilities are also very few, with residents compelled to travel long distances for
better-equipped government hospitals, the nearest of which is five kilometers away.
18
INTRODUCTION
Waste water from home often spill into the street.
Corrugated metal
roofing
13
HOUSING CONSTRUCTION
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
Wooden framework contains

locally harvested stone, mud,
and soil aggregate
The majority of housing within
Manyatta A and B are built
semi-permanently
57%
Manyatta A
72%
Manyatta B
16.4%
Household
water access
72.5%
62%
Land that is
owned
17.5%
Household
toilet access
Household
electricity
access
14
WATER IN MANYATTA
A family bathing, collecting,

and transporting drinking
water from a local ground well
53%
10 - 20
Liter
jerricans
Kisumu residents within 200

meters of water access
20%
Kisumu residents with formally

piped water
19
The major economic activities in Manyatta are self-run, such as selling fried fish or
briquettes (an alternative to charcoal), tending grocery shops, and the informal, or
jua kali sector, including boda-boda, tailoring, poultry-keeping, and other small
businesses, such as selling eatables like mandazis along the road. Residents
purchasing power is very low, however, and only a few are employed.
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
Manyattas high population density without planning for service delivery is the result
and course of the vicious cycle of poverty afflicting the neighborhood. As detailed
above, the majority of residents have no reliable source of livelihood and live in
deplorable conditions, predisposing them to the shocks of life, further consuming
their resources and destroying their confidence. Given these circumstances, many
non-governmental organizations have stepped in to try seal the gaps in these
residents lives. Today, Manyatta is teaming with many such actors working to
improve residents livelihoods in various ways. The City Council of Kisumu, under
the Kenya Slums Upgrading Program (KENSUP), with support from the Ministry of
Housing, and through the Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plan (LASDAP)
process, has also been making efforts towards improving the living conditions in
these areas.
The Manyatta informal settlement was selected as a pilot site by Kisumu city
stakeholders for the following reasons: (1) It had a high mix of different income
groups, hence a greater possibility of uptake of joint investment activities; (2)
Having experienced partial upgrading by the World Bank, stakeholders felt it would
give the City the opportunity to add value to the initial upgrading process; and (3)
Manyatta already had many development partners and organized community
structures (Manyatta A and B Resident Associations) that would facilitate better
community engagement.
The Millennium Cities Initiative settled on Manyatta as a key locus of its work in
Kisumu to help spur both the settlements economic growth and long-awaited
infrastructure upgrades. Our work in Manyatta has therefore concentrated on
localizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Using as our entry point
the Neighborhood Association, initiated by the non-profit SANA International, in
collaboration with the City Council of Kisumu, our work has focused on strengthening
this structure and clarifying its lines of authority, so that it might become the center
of community development. One achievement has been to bridge the gap between
the three seemingly parallel development structures, i.e., the Location Development
Committee, under the area chief; the Ward Development Committee, under the
area Member of County Assembly; and assisting the Neighborhood Association in
becoming registered as a community-based organization, or CBO.
20
INTRODUCTION
Health specialist Beldina Opiyo-Omolo addresses

Community Health Workers in Kisumu, 2011
Workshop discussions at Millennium Cities Initiatives

Multi-Sector Household Survey in Kisumu
Group Savings & Loans Training Program, 2014
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
When MCI started work in Manyatta in 2009, we came across several barriers to
community development there, prime among which was that most community
members were unaware that they are a resource unto themselves, and they lacked
confidence in their abilities to effect change. There was a sense of hopelessness
and helplessness amongst them. Community members had a tendency to work
on their own, rather than coming together to merge their efforts toward achieving
a common development goal. At the same time, the intermediary agencies were
also not working together to further community development, with certain existing
power structures performing in ways that were demonstrably counterproductive.
Local development committees and development agencies organized themselves
separately around each new effort, with little communication among them.
Community members also feared or lacked opportunities to access financial
services, and they lacked as well the appropriate technical support to equip and
encourage their further development. The bureaucracies of the lead and other
development agencies were also a big hindrance, including the City Councils own
Social Services Department, which at the time lacked the requisite skills to steer
effective community development.
Realizing this, MCI decided to engage further in community development activities
in Manyatta through capacity-building of the relevant agencies and leadership
structures. At the city level, MCI formed linkages with the Councils Strategic
Planning Unit, to help incorporate the Manyatta community development plans
both in the citys own Development Strategy and in other development plans. At the
community level, MCI helped build the capacity of the Neighborhood Association
to lead by fostering a sense of neighborliness and community and mobilizing
local resources to address their challenges. MCI hosted a series of workshops
and development forums where the various community-based actors and the
Neighborhood Association shared and agreed on modalities for supporting each
other. Under the Neighborhood Associations leadership, the community then took
the lead in identifying its primary challenges and was able to map out the resources
within the community, with a view toward suggesting actions to improve their living
conditions that might be taken by their own members, in partnership with local
groups and intermediary organizations.
MCI also saw an opportunity to change the grant dependency attitude in the
community by mobilizing residents to develop enterprises that might help them
address their own challenges. We introduced Group Savings and Loaning (GS&L) a community-managed, micro-finance project that, with no external funding, builds
the capacity to work in small groups to mobilize savings and to access loans from
personal savings. MCI trained eight womens groups, which are still saving to date.
21
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
MCI was also able to facilitate the training of more than 138 Urban Community
Health Workers in Manyatta A and B, through our partnership with the Catholic
Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID) Urban Matters project and
City Councils Department of Health. Until Community Health Workers (CHW) are
able to work on a paid, professional basis in Kenya, our own experience would show
that this program appears to arouse less interest than the savings programs, at
least within this community.
Manyatta has seen many program activities brought in by various agencies,
ranging from local government to international aid projects to community-based
groups. But government efforts have been disorganized, often operating at
cross-purposes: Manyattas Location Development Committee contributes to the
District Development plans; the Ward Development Committee contributes to the
plans of the City Council; the LASDAP has its own process for contributing to the
local authorities anti-poverty plans, through funds devolved from the national
budget; and still other committees contribute to plans supported under the
Constituency Development Funds, available to each Member of Parliament at her
or his discretion. Under the Kenya Slums Upgrading Program, in partnership with
UN-Habitat, Manyatta was included in the situational analysis of Kisumus slums
and has benefited from this program, with the construction of classrooms and a
local market. The settlements only social hall, Kosawo, is run by the City Council.
But these overlapping governmental structures are only the beginning: in the course
of MCIs work in Manyatta, the Neighborhood Association has mentioned as many
as 42 non-governmental organizations, local and foreign, that are either working or
have worked here. Most of these have come up with various structures to support
their activities, which have centered around livelihood improvement for women and
youth through various means, including access to financing; promotion of education
activities; water and sanitation programs, where wells have been upgraded and
pit latrines constructed; health-related issues, including other Community Health
Worker programs; environmental activities, including waste management and
urban agriculture (gardens and livestock); and programs for youth, orphans, and
vulnerable children.
The work of some community-based organizations and individuals has been very
successful, including orphanages and other orphans and vulnerable children-based
programs; youth-centered programs, such as sports entrepreneurial activities; and
social entrepreneurship, the largest being boda boda savings and cooperative
society, the formation of housing and waste cooperatives, and MCIs own GS&L, all
of which started up within the last year.
22
INTRODUCTION
The Dunga Beach Cooperative is a strong example of

self-empowerment in Kisumu
Raising participatory awareness is a key issue when

introducing new programs and partnerships
Public buildings host both community discussions

and religious meetings
Fibers from water hyacinth are harvested at Dunga

Beach to be used for hand-woven products such as
hats and baskets.
15
AWARENESS
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
The Dunga Beach Cooperative

serves as an outlet for free
and educational radio,
conversations about local
policy, and means for
productive change.
2009
Project for Microcredit program
2010
Dunga Primary School founded
Water hyacinth is an invasive

species present at Dunga
Beach in Kisumu.
138
Trained urban
Community Health
Workers
42
Non-government
partnerships in
Manyatta
3.5
Group Savings &

Loan womens
groups
Million
listeners for
Champions of
Peace radio
16
SELF INVESTING
Table Banking meeting

in Manyatta A; weekly
meetings are used to organize
communal resources.
2009
Millennium Cities Initiative

began working in Manyatta
to establish long-term, selfinvesting strategies for growth.
23
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
While all these programs have made noble efforts, it is becoming clear that they
have largely not achieved sustained development at the desired scale. Being propoor, resource allocations have been dictated by the perceived severity of the
communitys needs. As such, there has been a competition to be seen to be
the most needy, so as to influence the allocation of resources. This has resulted
in gatekeepers and competition amongst the actors, thereby killing the spirit of
inward community development. A majority of community members has come to
believe that they are powerless in the fight against the challenges they face. As
such, the rate of dependency has gone up, accompanied by a downward spiral of
the community.
While working in Manyatta, MCI has attempted to promote a self-investmentdependent development concept within an environment heavily skewed toward
donor-oriented development paradigms. We have strived to enable a different
working environment, framework, and ethics between the Kenyan government
agencies, the international agencies, and the local organizations. We have
encountered challenges associated with the introduction of these new ideas, such
as the slow uptake of new concepts and a distinct lack of capacity to manage
these new approaches to collaborative development work. Yet, through it all, we
have demonstrated that information-sharing is key to the empowerment of citizens
and to developing and strengthening partnerships, and that focusing on positive
relationship-building through the deepened involvement of interested stakeholders
can ease conflicts and create a favorable environment for conflict resolution and
genuine, lasting development.
24
INTRODUCTION
KISUMU BYPASS
Intersection and market under construction
CORDAID Strategic Planning
Merciline Oyier
Collaborative Thinking: Addressing Contemporary Challenges

Franklin Mwango
Kisumu Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Plan

Jacques Emmanuel Remy
CORDAID STRATEGIC
PLANNING
Merciline Oyier
Merciline Oyier is the Program Officer for CORDAIDs Urban Matters Programme
in Kisumu, Kenya. She is part of the team managing the multi-stakeholder
process that creates linkages and partnerships between the private and public
sectors to address priority development needs in the informal settlements of
Kisumu city through integrated projects and programs.
LAKE VICTORIA DISCUSSION

Columbia University students tour the shoreline of
Lake Victoria with Maseno University
Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID) is one of The
Netherlands largest development organizations committed to contributing to a just
and sustainable world. CORDAID plays a key role in fighting poverty through support
to partner organizations, awareness raising and public support, and collaboration
and networking. Through its innovative Urban Matters Programme, CORDAID
responds to urban development challenges in growing economies in Africa, Asia,
and Central America.
Urban development specialists have recently observed that cities in developing
economies are growing particularly fast, due to the allure of their perceived
economic attractions and opportunities. This has led to the emergence of unstable
populations occasioned by rural to urban migration as people move in search of
a better life. This generates enormous pressure on housing, infrastructure, and
services and, consequently, contributes to the poor livability of these urban centers
across the globe.
Since 2008, as part of its response to urban development challenges in
Kenya generally, and the rapid urbanization faced by mid-sized cities such as
Kisumu specifically, CORDAID has implemented a collective, multi-stakeholder
neighborhood development approach in selected informal settlements. Situated on
the shores of Lake Victoria, bordering Tanzania and Uganda on the north tip of the
Winam Gulf, Kisumu is Kenyas third largest city, after Nairobi and Mombasa, with
an estimated population of 474,760, the majority of whom are under the age of 19.
Kisumus high urban poverty of 48 percent accounts for its current ranking as the
poorest of these three cities. Major drivers of this poverty include: poor land use
planning; high HIV/AIDS prevalence; lack of public awareness due to low literacy
levels; outdated and inadequate water and sewerage systems; poor solid waste
management practices; an inadequate supply of energy; the overabundance of
water hyacinth on Lake Victoria, which hampers economic activity as well as the
water supply; unplanned settlements; and high unemployment levels, particularly
among the citys youth.
To address these issues, CORDAIDs Urban Matters Programme has been working
with other partners in Kisumu toward the integrated neighborhood development
of the Manyatta informal settlement anchored on key urban development themes:
housing; water and sanitation; urban transport; and solid waste management.
Through a consultative process, Manyatta was selected as a pilot site for these
integrated interventions in the hope of replicating possible successes in Kisumus
other five informal settlements. One of Kisumus largest informal settlements,
Manyatta, has been characterized by: poor, unplanned housing; the lack of
29
17
In 2012, CORDAIDs Urban Matters Programme undertook a participatory housing

visioning and designing process that brought together in a common platform
residents of informal settlements, government agencies, local authorities, the private
sector, and academia to devise innovative solutions for the housing challenges
facing low-income earners in growing cities within developing economies. In Kisumu,
this process was led by the Housing Thematic Team, composed of CORDAID, the
Millenium Cities Initiative (MCI), the Kenya Investment Authority, Maseno University,
Pamoja Trust, Kisumu Pamoja Housing Society, the City Council of Kisumu, Nation
Cooperative Housing Union (NACHU), K-Rep Bank Makao Mashinani, and
Single family house
The result has been a carefully thought through, interactive work process that
has resulted in this unique piece of work the first of its kind in Kenya. As a key
participant in this process, I have been impressed by UDLs approach and by the
ways in which the team has kept in tandem with the emerging school of thought in
planning that focuses on people (the urbanite), as opposed to the car, and which
has integrated beautifully the principles of livability, walkability, and smart cities, all
while providing room for architectural flexibility.
It has been an interesting and challenging journey for us all. I am confident that
the outputs and proposals documented here will go a long way toward providing
strategic direction to Manyattas redevelopment and will provide insights as well for
the improvement of Kisumus other five informal settlements. It is my belief that, if
followed keenly, this piece of work will guide both the City Council and the Kisumu
County government in unlocking the potential of the informal settlements, turning
them thereby into powerful drivers of Kisumus future development.
30
INTRODUCTION
A 2012 participatory housing visioning made by

Maseno University graduate students
Street
Condominium
Street
Manyatta community. The two year process culminated in a workshop in which one
of the key resolutions was to realize the planning for Manyatta as soon as possible,
so as to pave way for well-organized housing improvement. The city made a formal
request to CORDAID to support this within the multi-stakeholder framework in
which CORDAIDs Urban Matters was working. Realizing the magnitude of the
assignment, the challenges of limited resources both financial and technical, and
the opportunity to strengthen ongoing partnerships, Urban Matters, having seen
and appreciated some of the work produced by Columbia Universitys Urban Design
Lab in collaboration with MCI in Ghana, approached MCI to explore the possibility of
partnering again with UDL, this time, for the benefit of the people of Manyatta and
of Kisumu as a whole.
HOUSING TYPOLOGIES
Street
Commercial and residential building
Street
clean water; inaccessible roads in times of heavy rains; a poor drainage system;
inadequate waste management services; poor security; and serving as home to a
huge unemployed youth population.
Street
Access
Plot
Parking
Commerce / service
MANYATTA COMMUNITY CENTER

Community members and Columbia University students
COLLABORATIVE THINKING
Addressing Contemporary Challenges
Franklin Mwango
Professor Franklin Mwango is Assistant Lecturer at Maseno University, School
of Planning & Architecture in Kisumu, Kenya. He is also Director of Belen
Development Limited, an architecture and project management company
dealing with environmentally friendly ventures. In the past, he served as
Assistant Lecturer at the University of Nairobi, School of the Built Environment.
MASENO UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP

A workshop with Columbia Universitys Urban Design
studio and Maseno Universitys Planning studio
In Kisumu, Maseno Universitys School of Planning & Architecture was founded

to address contemporary challenges in Kenyan cities, human settlements, and
habitats at a national level. To further collaborative thinking, students frequently
work alongside visiting international students participating in related academic
programs elsewhere. In 2014, the class had the opportunity to work with the Urban
Design Lab (UDL), of Columbia Universitys Earth Institute, and the Urban Design
Program within Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP).
Such collaboration raises the students global perspective regarding planning and
design issues as they continue to exchange and develop their own ideas.
In January of 2014, Maseno worked with Columbia University in the major slum
neighborhood of Manyatta. Groups of students from both universities toured the
neighborhood in six teams, conducting comprehensive interviews with residents,
visiting with community leaders to discuss planning issues, sketching, and recording
data regarding residents daily routines.
Maseno Universitys School of Planning & Architecture has worked closely with
Manyatta residents in the past, most notably through the Urban Empowerment
Project, wherein the School engaged residents in participatory planning by
thinking deeply about the communitys future goals. One discussion that figured
in this exercise was entitled Towards a livable and Sustainable Manyatta, and
the conversation generated three key issues which, if properly and urgently
sorted, would see improvements in water and sanitation, housing, drainage, and
flood control. These projects involved close collaboration with the Urban Matters
program of the Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID)
and the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), which have had a longstanding presence
in Manyatta and in Kisumu as a whole. There is great potential here for Columbias
Urban Design Program, as it continues to build on these existing partnerships, to
create a sustainable, international, trans-disciplinary project. From the impressive
level of student and faculty engagement, we have seen a superb exchange of
knowledge and ideas in planning and designing this neighborhood for the benefit
of the larger city of Kisumu.
An exchange of ideas with regard to teaching pedagogy and research involvement is
critical towards building a strong studio dynamic and planning proposal. Columbia
Universitys Urban Design Program and Millennium Cities Initiative are engaging
critical interdisciplinary studies within a rapidly urbanizing region, locally, regionally,
and internationally. Manyatta residents will benefit enormously from this northsouth collaboration, aimed at promoting sustainable ways of developing their
neighborhood.
33
KISUMU INTEGRATED
SUSTAINABLE URBAN
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Jacques-Emmanuel Remy
Jacques-Emmanuel Remy is a development specialist with international
experience in technical assistance. He is currently involved in two large
projects in Kenya and in Kuwait, as Team Leader and Implementation Advisor,
respectively, after assisting the Interim Haiti Commission for Recovery with a
reconstruction and housing financial strategy.
KISUMU RAILWAY
An abandoned railway following along the coast of
Lake Victoria
By plane from Nairobi, Kisumu is reached with a very short east-northeast flight
over the Rift Valley. On some trips, the snowcap of Mount Kenya can be seen on the
right hand side, not long before the aircraft takes a large left turn over Lake Victoria,
to land close to the shore. Whilst rapidly descending, the city reveals features which
will be the object of all my thoughts, when designing its new strategic plan: the
immense expanse of the Lake turning from blue to brownish as it gets closer; the
grain silos Kisumus reserve for recurrent food shortages; the boatless pier Ill
discover the wrecks and empty sheds later, the overgrown rail tracks and beautiful
empty and intact station; one tower a tropical version of Brutalist architecture,
where meetings are never held higher than second floor because the elevators
never worked; the distinctive tessellation of the slum belt roofs, starting where the
regular block patterns stops.
Kisumu is one of those cities born for a reason and remains highly dependent on
the persistence of this reason for its ongoing subsistence: transport and trade
are the raison dtre of Kisumu. They have shaped the city, commending its form
and location of land uses, its street layout and block pattern, its housing types, its
social divide. This translation into space of British Empire commerce and related
transport activities is still very much pregnant, more than a century after the first
steamer ships, freight trains, and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)
flying boats made Lake Victoria a hub, connecting the surrounding countries and
linking them also to the Indian Ocean, through Mombasa port.
Today the city seems at a standstill. No train ever enters the station, a few small cargo
boats ferry sugar from Jinja, Uganda, and bags of brown sugar, once produced in
Kisumu, are unloaded by hand by a few men. The huge estates where railroad staff
were housed in rigorously differentiated dwellings, depending on their position
in the company are empty or half full; the vast rail yard and port land holdings,
though inactive, remain off-limits, still severing the city from the Lake; the brewery
and cotton mill have closed, rice and aquaculture are on a debilitatingly slow takeoff, farming and fishing are down to subsistence level, and tea plantations are
further away, to the northwest. Tourism, 11.9 percent of national gross domestic
product, has left Kisumu out: the Lake cannot rival the Kenyan coast, and all game
has disappeared both from this county and from neighboring ones. That said, the
famed Kisumu sunset is now starting to attract domestic tourism: one luxury lodge
has been built on the shore, whilst unlicensed hotels are multiplying mainly built
by Luos, the native ethnic group, which is now reportedly repatriating funds after
ethnic rifts during the two last presidential elections discouraged investment by
expatriates, returnees, and others. Heavy investments were also made to upgrade
the airport, which is now able to welcome long-haul flights.
35
Kisumu has been in a sort of recession for three decades or more, with a few
short-lived recoveries. Nevertheless, it has grown, both naturally and through
rural-to-urban migration, triggering organic, unsupported, largely spontaneous
development, made up essentially of dwellings ranging from shacks to modest villas
built mostly on farmland beyond the servants and non-white quarters of Nyalenda
and in Manyatta A and B the so-called slum belt circling almost three-quarters
of the city. This extensive growth continued, while the colonial districts remained
ensconced in a tight grid, paradoxically dotted with large expanses of vacant lots
surrounding schools, churches, and vast housing estates for public servants and
personnel of the Kenya Railway Company (KRC).
18
URBAN MORPHOLOGY
1930
A structure plan drawn up in 1984 to address this growth reveals that the vast
majority of buildings in the planned city are 40 years old or more. This plan was
never implemented, however, and whilst the city remains manageable in size,
still with fewer than half a million inhabitants, Kisumu needed both to organize
its growth and to revamp itself. Its nomination as Flagship City in Kenya Vision
2030 led to the entry of the French Agency for Development (AFD), to help plan and
revitalize the city, and (separately) to the phased upgrade of the Kisumu-Mombasa
rail link.
The 2012-2013 planning exercise funded by AFD was to prepare an Integrated
Sustainable Urban Development plan, to guide urban growth, in order to contain
the urban footprint extension and to achieve an efficient density and an adequate
and equitable repartition of services and amenities. Our mission, as we came
to understand it, included: reconnecting the city and the Lake to make Kisumu
a true lakeside city; providing improved mobility and accessibility to and within
the city; reintegrating and restructuring the slum belt; preventing sprawl and
slum formation through adapted housing supply and zoning; and protecting and
valorizing Kisumus natural environment and heritage, all while providing for an
increase of roughly 300,000 inhabitants (45 percent) by 2030.
I will speak briefly about our work on Manyatta, the subject of this volume.
Manyatta is part of the Special Planning Area 3 (SPA3), which includes the
entire slum belt. Our approach was meant to be as little disruptive or expansive
as possible and to include direct contributions from residents, whether they be
landlords, owners-occupiers, tenants, or sub-tenants. We began by designing a
hierarchic road structure based on desired paths (as informed by the community)
and intended to reconnect the area to the formal city to improve throughways and
internal mobility, and to give some breath to the fabric by creating plazas (Figure
36
INTRODUCTION
1945
1962
1980
2000
PRELIMINARY STRATEGIC OPTIONS
19
Tech city / Business hive
New stadium
possible location
Logistic hub :
Kibos
Freight port
possible relocation
Manyatta
Natural barrier
Densification area
Cruise / boating
Artisan fishing
Airport possible
relocation
Winan Gulf /
Lake Victoria
20
Densification area
Possible relocation
Re-designation areas
Stitching areas
Extension areas
Sub-centers:
High density
Higher heights
Services and retail
KISUMU INTEGRATED SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Kisian hills
Riat hills
SPA3
Manyatta
Peri-urban
farmland
Kano plains
Industrial areas
Urban growth boundary
Conservation area
Winan Gulf /
Lake Victoria
Wetlands
SPA3
Extension area
Densification areas
Sub-centers:
37
21 and 22), maintaining and encouraging a diversity in block patterns, and, most
importantly, ensuring maintenance of ownership and as little dwelling demolition
as possible (limited to 26 percent of the total housing stock).
21
THREE OCCUPATION PATTERNS
Most of the ensuing work consisted of developing a range of housing, plots,

and block typologies with the intention of offering a varied supply that might fit
residents aspirations and means, with the capacity to adapt to various blocks
sizes and shapes.
This catalogue is not prescriptive; rather, it is intended to serve as a demonstration
that an organic, self-built settlement with a very fine-grained, highly built density
and comparatively low population density can be restructured in a non-brutal way,
with minimum eviction, while also making way for resident-driven improvements, if
PATTERN 01 - High density areas, Manyatta A
some knowledge can be shared with the community even as new streets are being
built.
PATTERN 02 - Transition areas, Manyatta A - B
PATTERN 03 - Low density areas, Manyatta B
Proposed main
streets
Proposed open
spaces
38
INTRODUCTION
Proposed secondary
streets
Kib
os
Roa
ay
Kisumu By Pass
City main access
Jo
Ke
ny
at
ta
Hi
gh
Auji River
Bypass Highway
Kisu
mu
- Bu
sia
Roa
22 SPECIAL PLANNING AREA 3

Planning strategies to address Manyatta.
Nyam asaria M a rket
Engaging Pilot Planning for Manyatta
Richard Plunz
ENGAGING PILOT PLANNING

FOR MANYATTA
Richard Plunz
Since 1992, Professor Richard Plunz has been Director of the Urban Design
Program at Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Architecture, Planning
and Preservation (GSAPP), one of the most substantive curricula in the field. In
2005, he was appointed Director of the Urban Design Lab at Columbias Earth
Institute. Plunz is the author of many articles, studies, and reports on urban
development and ecology, including projects related to urban infrastructural
innovation and urban developing economies. With Maria Paola Sutto, he edited
Urban Climate Change Crossroads, which pioneered an interdisciplinary
dialogue between hard science and social science metrics related to changing
climate. Plunz is also a well-known expert on housing and urbanism. A revised
edition of his landmark study, A History of Housing in New York City, will be
released in 2015.
MASENO UNIVERSITY
A meeting with Columbia Universitys Urban Design
studio and Maseno Universitys Planning studio.
Kisumu has always been strategic, given its crossroads location on Lake Victoria; it
has experienced several cultural hegemonies from native Luo, to Islam, to European.
Now, having been released from its colonial constraints, Kisumu is experiencing a
new regional context within national constitutional reform: a new global context in
terms of economic transformation around infrastructure and population growth.
In spite of recent development pressures, Kisumu remains exceedingly pleasant,
at least in the central area and related formal districts. Manyatta, however, is
worlds apart given its identity and needs. There are those who see its informality
as a negative. We have disagreed and have argued that what exists at Manyatta
should be nurtured in that it harbors enormous energy in terms of human capital
and potential for growth. Nonetheless, this new opportunity must be wisely directed
such that with success it will be a significant economic and social engine in Kisumu.
In this it shares potential with many other places in a newly urbanizing planet.
Thomas Piketty in Capital in the Twenty-First Century points to an imminent shift
of global production away from Europe and North America, reduced from 80 to
20 percent. He also advises that crucial to those places that will most benefit
from this change will be their success in increasing skills related to innovation and
technology knowhow. The innovation skills include planning for urban development
and the question is how to get to that moment. Manyatta lies at the center of this
consideration.
In spite of its phenomenal growth, there has been no formalized planning in
Manyatta, at least on the surface. Certainly, given its proximity to the city center, and
the low cost of its land, Manyatta is experiencing a certain level of land speculation
with recent signs of land transaction activities. In this process, it should be obvious
that all stakeholders in Manyatta will benefit from proper planning for its rapid
growth. How this planning occurs is a crucial, a question left unresolved to date.
Indeed, that Manyatta has experienced no planning at all makes the question of
the nature of planning in this context an open one, with the opportunity to leapfrog the normative planning methods that have often proven ineffective elsewhere.
In contrast to normative static master planning ideals, our work has attempted
an alternative that entails a pilot planning strategy rather than master plan.
Involved is place-based and conditional thinking, following the logic that the
master plan will have limited effectiveness in this context of rapid growth and few
substantial external capital resources. In Manyatta, the importance of providing
flexibility in addressing short-term strategic targets would seem to far outweigh
long-term definitions of overall development goals in the abstract.
Short-term interventions should not compromise longer-term options; they should
instead open up an array of possible actions for both the short- and long-terms,
43
INFRASTRUCTURE
Road
Kon a Mb uta Roa d
os
Ro
ad
A uj i R iv er
Kib
ia
Bus
LAND
u
K is u m
PUBLIC SPACE
er
GENDER
as
WASTE
am
Riv
ECONOMY
Ny
a
ari
Lake Victoria /
Winam Gulf
Ki
su
n
io
at
rn
te
S
In
KI
mu port
r
Ai
al
Ki
Bus
u
sum
Jo
m
o
Ke
ta
wa
at
gh
ny
Hi
y
Kis
um
K
u
n
isia
Byp
ass
Kis
um
u
Vih
i
ga
Ro
ad
23 PROJECT AERIAL PERSPECTIVE OF KISUMU

An aerial view of project locations and the
surrounding environment of Manyatta A / B
oa
ia R
and not one to the detriment of the other. Within this sensibility several potential
pilots were explored. In our study sequence, the first stage was to understand
possible realistic soft-site options for the purpose of scoping specific locations and
stakeholders that might serve as test beds for exploring immediate development
possibilities. Selection criteria included sites where minimal intervention could
have maximum positive impact. Next came exploration of possible programmatic
strategies with particular emphasis on infrastructural development. From this initial
work came definition of six base elements that drove development of the pilot
proposals. They are GENDER, LAND, PUBLIC SPACE, WASTE, INFRASTRUCTURE,
and ECONOMY. For each pilot each consideration appears to a greater or lesser
degree, depending on site and program.
A last step in our process was the assemblage in this report of six possible pilot
projects around the question of projecting toward a larger strategic planning
strategy. Their further elaboration should be part and parcel of strategizing toward a
broad planning evolution in Manyatta. In general, this process can be considered as
a discovery phase, with some pilots directly actionable and others needing more
consideration. We have purposefully not arrived at a rigid template for development.
Rather, the intention is to begin a dialogue about options that seem most realistic
for immediate action within a framework of concerns to be further explored. Our
strategies recognize that all six base elements may not necessarily be addressed at
once, but are interrelated around specific pilot project proposals. The six elements
remain as a fundamental metric, however, through the discovery process and
toward future planning strategies the interconnections are numerous. The ultimate
overall planning goal involves spatial INFRASTRUCTURE development that in turn
enables crucial secondary effects. Apart from roads, infrastructure maintains rights
of way that enable access for PUBLIC SPACE, water, and WASTE management.
Rights of way require LAND that is intimately connected to the ECONOMY and, in
the Manyatta case, to GENDER. And so on. In our pilot proposals, an informal circle
is closed between these elements.
Of course, the crucial next phase of this work lies in gaining the capacity for
implementation of one or several pilots. Involved is not just money, but political
will. And in this regard, we are hopeful that our local partners in this work will be
well equipped. We are extremely grateful for the collaboration of Millennium City
Initiative (MCI), Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID)
and Maseno University Kisumu Campus in pursuing our work.
46
STUDIO MANDATE
PUBLIC MEETING AND PRESENTATION

A presentation of Columbia Universitys Urban
Design studio with the Manyatta community
CHILDREN OF MANYATTA
New construction continues in the growing
neighborhood of Flamingo while the next generation
of Manyatta emerges into a 21st century Kisumu
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER

Manyatta A, Metameta
HOUSE
ECONOMY
PUBLIC SPACE
WATER
FARM
WASTE
MARKET
INFRASTRUCTURE
TECHNOLOGY
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
Gender Implementation Timeline
Comments by Geeta Mehta, Richard Plunz
Kondele Market Catalyst
ad
s Ro
Kibo
Kondele market
M
na
Ko
ta
bu
ad
Ro
Commercial Corridor
Chiefs House
Manyatta
Primary School
WOMENS COLLECTIVE
Start having savings; Adult schooling;
Children stay in school
Womens current condition
Work
Education
Personal time
Chores
Family
SOCIOECONOMIC INCLUSION
2014
- Inclusionary policy
- Land transformation
- Collaboration
- Social economic zone
INFORMAL
ECONOMY
FORMAL
ECONOMY
2016
2020
2030
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
Courtyard Support System
WOMEN-CENTRIC DEVELOPMENT
Socio Economic Empowerment through Design
Juliana Azem Ribeiro de Almeida, Nasim Amini, Priscila Coli, Sunjana Thirumala Sridhar
Within Kisumu we have observed that, as a result of little access to formal jobs,
women have carved out a formidable position for themselves in the informal
sector. This research highlights these women as the main driving force of the
micro-economy, not only in Kisumu, but more specifically in Manyatta, making
them potential and critical game changers for the socioeconomic prosperity of
this sprawling informal settlement. Knowing that Manyatta will need to respond
to Kisumus expected urbanization, there is a critical window of opportunity to
guide this response. This can deal with how the prevalent culture of Kisumu
can begin to view women as contributors to the local workforce. To empower
women as the agents of change, this project will emphasize the importance of
the scales and nature of social spaces, support typologies, and constitutional
policies that recognize and emphasize the socioeconomic identity of Manyatta.
Womens expected condition

Work
Personal time
Education
A majority of the local population in Kisumu and Manyatta belong to the Luo
tribe. Traditions of Luo culture designate women to such critical roles as
providing food, sanitation, and drinking water. As a result, formal education
has often been a secondary priority for female Luo children. Women are also
faced with the difficulties of poor health, little access to capital and credit, lack
of access to formal jobs, sustaining households and often having to resort to
degrading and unhealthy methods of exchange for goods. Since 2010, with the
introduction of the new Kenyan Constitution, important strides toward a more
equitable society have occurred. Even though it has only recently entered into
effect, women have been legally granted the right to land ownership, equal
representation, and equal pay for equal work.
While the government at the national level is taking crucial steps forward, local
communities at large are yet to accept these new moves. By creating a more
inclusionary and participatory method, it is anticipated that the gap between
the new constitution and community acceptance will shrink. Critical to the
growing recognition and acceptance of women as contributors and generators
is current data showing that women comprise 75 percent of Kisumus informal
workforce, which in turn contributes 20 percent of the citys GDP. Through our
site studies and research, these working women are key occupants of the open
spaces and streets of Manyatta.
Chores
Family
KEY TO SOCIOECONOMIC
DENSIFICATION OF:
Combining the above facts, we view the women of Manyatta as critical assets
in the citys development. By strengthening the relationship between women
and their occupation of open / social spaces, a socioeconomic densification is
envisioned that will benefit Manyattas development and that of Kisumu as a
whole.
(...)
53
ANALYZING THE EXISTING DYNAMIC
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
ECONOMY
LAND
WOMEN
SCALES OF SPACES TRADITIONALLY OCCUPIED BY WOMEN
Personal
Social
Public
ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY WOMEN
54
Women are individually in charge of daily family

chores
Land supports economic activities but lacks infrastructure to generate value
This research has identified a unique

dynamic between women, land occupation,
and economy. Women nurture and promote
the microeconomy; economic activity
relates to and occurs on various scales; and
the vital and most visible occupants of the
land in Manyatta are its women.
The development of each component
can lead to the development of Kisumu socially, economically, and physically.
The most visible occupants of the various

scales of space in Manyatta are its women.
From the smallest scale, as the interstitial
space between houses, to the larger
commercial spaces on and along the main
road, this research observes firsthand
how their varied occupations like selling,
cooking, and taking care of children, locate
them there.
PROPOSALS
Women occupy 75% of the informal jobs
ASPIRATIONAL OBJECTIVES
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
WORKING COLLECTIVELY
Less tax, more profit
WOMEN ACCOUNT FOR 2/3

OF KISUMUS MARKETS
%
50
Selling elementary products and perishables
DAILY CYCLE
OF THE
BUSINESS
10
Formal
Semi-formal
Informal
Access to credit, by sex
Male
Female
NEW CONSTITUTION
Womens land ownership rights
WOMEN OCCUPY
THE OPEN SPACE
Existing land doesnt have production amenities
Persons
60000
Work
10000
2000
Education
2006
Personal Time
Student enrollment in university, by sex
Chores
Family
WOMEN DONT HAVE

SAME OPPORTUNITIES
EDUCATION
Access to formal jobs
5% of the land in Kenya is owned by women
While women account for control over

two-thirds of the market, they do not have
the facilities to improve or enhance their
businesses. A predominant proportion
of their merchandise is in the form of raw
materials and products which, with limited
or no access to storage, often results in
wasted products and inefficient selling
methods. Womens lack of access to formal
capital and credit is exacerbated by a lack
of widespread collaboration in selling.

Although the women are often found
carrying out their chores in the very same
open spaces, they generally perform their
duties independently, without apparent
interest in sharing or dividing up their many
onerous responsibilities.
55
FOUR STRATEGIES
1| G.I.D.P. - GENDER INCLUSIONARY DEVELOPMENT POLICY
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
TEN PERCENT of the ground floor of new developments is proposed to be owned and maintained by a WOMENS COLLECTIVE.
This policy intends to BRIDGE THE GAP between access to land, economy by women and the new constitution.
2| FORM WOMENS COLLECTIVE

STRATEGIC POSITION
Kondele market catalyst - 2/3 are women
CATALYST
Foster economic collaboration in business process
WOMENS COLLECTIVE
Commercial zone
CREATE WOMENS COLLECTIVE

+
DISSEMINATE INFORMATION
3| LAND TRANSFORMATION Land pool + build infrastructure + connect social spaces

INFRASTRUCTURE, TAX INCENTIVES, INCLUSIONARY POLICY
GOVERNMENT
Enhance public spaces, trigger economic growth, create spaces for infrastructure
10% OF LAND FOR SHARED INFRASTRUCTURE + 10% TO THE WOMENS COLLECTIVE
LANDOWNERS
Loans, infrastructure, legal recognition, increase density

FUNDING
INVESTORS
Interest, property, positive return on investment, increased property values
ADMINISTRATE AND MAINTAIN SPACE, GENERATE INCOME, SOCIAL CAPITAL CREDITS (SOCCS)
COLLECTIVE LAND OWNERSHIP
Public space
EXISTING
56
PROPOSALS
Private open space
Private
Public space
PROPOSED
Semi-public
space
Private open Private

space
ad
s Ro
Kibo
4| CREATE INCLUSIONARY SOCIOECONOMIC ZONE
Kondele
market
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
1 COMMERCIAL AREA (Main road)

Commercial + Production + Support
- Reinforcing the commercial corridor
- Expand infrastructure
- Support social / community institutions
1
2
2 PRODUCTION AREA (Courtyards Secondary road)

Commercial + Production + Support
- Secondary commercial corridor
- Promote production
- Extend commercial zones
n
Ko
a
ut
a
Ro
3 SUPPORT AREA (Interior)

Production + Support
- Interior sites
- Social activities, e.g., day-care and churches
- Integrate economic and social activities
STAKEHOLDERS
Manyatta
market
Private
sector
CORDAID
The
G.I.D.P
(Gender
Inclusionary
Development Policy) is a proposed policy
that guides the development of Manyatta
by strengthening its existing and overlooked
assets. This proposal recognizes the
Womens Collective as a significant
stakeholder, strategically addresses the
needs of the community, and reinforces the
critical involvement of government.
The actors essential for this potential
KIWASCO
National Housing
Corporation
Kisumu County
government
Business people
Landowners
INDIVIDUALS
UN Habitat
KENSUP
Millennium Cities
Initiative
INVESTMENT
AGENCIES
Takataka
Association
Womens
Collective
transformation are women, landowners,

and government. By bringing these
stakeholders together, each party will have
much more to gain collaboratively than they
have to offer individually. Critical actions to
be undertaken are for women to participate
through a Collective that will be formed by
the markets catalyst and will strengthen
their voice as a group. Landowners begin
negotiating their fragmented land together
GOVERNMENT
SELF-HELP
GROUPS
through land-pooling, and the government

invests in the implementation of the
G.I.D.P for the envisioned development
of Manyatta. The larger impact of this
policy will be seen in the formation of
a Inclusionary Socioeconomic Zone.
This zone will be formed by Commercial,
Production, and Support areas according to
their position in relation to the main road,
existing equipment and infrastructure.
57
CATALYST: INDIVIDUAL BENEFIT THROUGH COLLECTIVE IMPACT

MARKET CATALYST
WOMENS COLLECTIVE
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
Kondele market
Who is participating and their benefits
BUILD UP
ASSETS
Shared resources
Governance structure
WOMENS
COLLECTIVE
Collective enterprise
Womens
workforce
Membership
Social capital
Flexibility of activities
TRAINING/
INFORMATION
58
PROPOSALS
Degree of formality
SEEDS
Commercial Zone
TEST SITE
Commercial Zone
FUTURE SCENARIO
Major players
LANDOWNERS WHO AGREE

TO COLLABORATE
POSITIVE GOVERNMENT
INVOLVEMENT
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
TEST SITE
WOMENS COLLECTIVE IS
ESTABLISHED
CONSOLIDATION OF SOCIAL SPACES

Identifying the pattern
Existing
Proposed
Private communal spaces

Semi-private spaces
Public spaces
Access
Paths
The existing markets are utilized as

installation sites for the catalyst. The first
catalyst will be placed in Kondele market.
The catalyst itself is a physical structure
that incorporates training and education
programs for the women. The knowledge
gained by the women in the market is taken
to their work space (commercial corridor)
and facilitates the growth of collective
participation.
The catalyst would emphasize education

and advocate collaboration. An example
of its potential application would be
creating training workshops for business
skills development using their current
mobile banking system, M-pesa. Working
in collaboration and having a virtual bank
allows women to have savings, breaking the
cycle of subsistence living.
59
THE FRAMEWORK: WOMEN AND COMMUNITY CENTRIC FORM-BASED ZONING

Changing the traditional compound
Unit size
Building mass combinations
2.5m
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
Men
60
Family
6m
Expandable
modules: 3m x 3m
PC PUBLIC COURTYARD
CR COMMERCIAL ROAD
DC DOUBLE COMMERCIAL
Shading and sitting areas, commerce and services

on surrounding ground level
Bike lane 1.5m | Sidewalk 5m

Buildings 2m setback
Large mixed-use buildings can have

double frontage
CC COMMERCIAL COURTYARD
SR SECONDARY ROAD
CM SINGLE COMMERCIAL
Courtyard to allow temporary and commercial activities minimum width 15m
Bike lane 1.5m | Sidewalk 3m

Mixed-use expansion to the courtyard;

Shaded arcade facing the streets
LC LARGE COURTYARD
PS PEDESTRIAN STREET
RP RESIDENTIAL PRODUCTION
24-44 family compound courtyard 15%

of building mass area
Sidewalk 3m
Production or support areas

open to the courtyard
SC SMALL COURTYARD
PP PEDESTRIAN PATH
RH RESIDENTIAL COURTYARD
16-24 families courtyard 15%

of building mass area
Space between compounds

4m minimum
Ground level housing units to be

expandable up to 3m
PROPOSALS
FORM-BASED ZONING APPLIED TO THE SITE

SECTION 1 COMMERCIAL COURTYARD
CC + CR + RP
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
2x
SECTION 2 PRODUCTION COURTYARD

SC + SR + RP
SECTION 3 PUBLIC COURTYARD

PP + SR + CR + SC
3x
SECTION 4 INTERNAL COURTYARD

SR + LC + PP + SC
2x
Open space is critical to the way Manyattas

development is envisioned. To achieve
the appropriate variety of social spaces, a
framework of women-centric, form-based
zoning has been proposed.
Social spaces are defined by family sizes
and respond to the density of activity within
them. The proposed building typology
corresponds to the characteristics of
the nearby road. The development of
the ground space responds to activities

and facilities that are twofold, focused
both on the enhancement of economic
productivity and on the full integration with
family activities.
For example, one combination of the
form-based zoning framework which uses
a double commercial + residential
production + large courtyard formula
provides the Collective with spaces to add
value to their raw products. The production

spaces are complemented by support
facilities such as storage spaces and easy
access both to distribution and selling. A
proportion of the ground floor development
also caters to facilities such as daycare
centers or learning spaces for children.
61
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Section of the commercial road
5
1
3
Studios / shops
62
PROPOSALS
Front shop
Walkways / space for vendors
Drainage system
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
Solar panels
Bike lane
Expanding market
Stations for different modes of

transportation
Store fronts and sidewalks shared by

multiple business owners
Facilitating the ground surface
Additional spaces for vendors
Bike lanes for ease of transportation
The existing commercial corridor of

Manyatta is enhanced for increased
visibility of commercial spaces, ease of
access by multiple transport modes, and
institutions concentration.
The design of spaces where women can sell
and work, thus increasing productivity, can
promote a healthier and an economically
strengthened environment for their families
and for the community at large.
63
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
COURTYARD [SUPPORTING SYSTEM]
Section of the production courtyard
Storage
Garbage collection
Drainage system
2
3
4
6
Support facilities
64
PROPOSALS
Shared spaces / spaces for Interaction
Production + Value-added facilities
Water collection tanks
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
Solar panels
Business skills development
Value-added facilities
Sharing domestic responsibilities
Enhanced food processing
Community animal
husbandry and agriculture
Enhancing after-school learning
What was previously identified as a lack of

diversity among the products available in
the market is addressed by creating spaces
that enable value to be added to raw
products, in full collaboration with womens
ongoing daily activities.
Production spaces
65
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
PILOT SITE
ad
Kona Mbuta Ro
Chiefs House
66
Proposed density
Existing important building mass
Lot lines
Existing building mass
New public space
Topography
PROPOSALS
40
80
Meters
REFERENCES
Abbink, Jon and Andr van Dokkum. Dilemmas of development: conflicts of interest and their
resolutions in modernizing Africa. African Studies Centre, Leiden, 2008.
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
African Press International (API). THE LUO: Know Your Tribe Know Your Roots, 2008.
http://africanpress.me/2008/09/25/know-your-tribe-know-your-roots-the-luo
Camlin, Carol S., Zachary A. Kwena, and Shari L. Dworkin. Jaboya vs. Jakambi: Status,
negotiation, and HIV risks among female migrants in the sex for fish economy in Nyanza
province, Kenya, AIDS Education and Prevention 25, No. 3 (2013).
City Council of Kisumu. Background and History, 2012. http://www.citycouncilofkisumu.
or.ke/about/background-and-history.
Dinesen, Isak. Out of Africa. Random House, 1972.
Ellis, Amanda, Jozefina Cutura, Nouma Dione, Ian Gillson, Clare Manuel, and Judy Thongori.
Gender and Economic Growth in Kenya: Unleashing the Power of Women. World Bank,
Washington, D.C., 2007.
Global Giving. Drama, Dance, Music & Sport for Kisumu Youth, 2014. http://www.
globalgiving.org/projects/equip-manyatta/updates.
Gunga, Samson O. The politics of Widowhood and Re-Marriage among the Luo of Kenya,
Thought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK) Vol. 1, No.
1 (June 2009).
Hebinck, Paul and Nelson Mango. Land and embedded rights: An analysis of land conflicts
in Luoland, In Dilemmas of development: conflicts of interest and their resolutions in
modernizing Africa, edited by Abbink, Jon and Andr van Dokkum. African Studies Centre,
Leiden, 2008.
Hendriks, Sally C. M. Sex Work in Kisumu: A livelihood strategy to improve lives or a life that
deteriorates livelihood possibilities? Masters thesis, University of Amsterdam, 2008.
Kibuye Market in Kisumu Mapped! Faces Kenya, October 7, 2013. http://www.faceskenya.org/2013/10/kibuye-market-in-kisumu-mapped.
Maoulidi, Moumi and Ahmed Salim. Gender needs assessment for Kisumu City, Kenya,
Working paper for Millennium Cities Initiative, Columbia University, 2011.
Malo, Shadrak. Luo Customs and Practices. Sciencetech Network, 2003, 23-64.
Ocholla-Ayayo, A. B. C. Traditional Ideology and Ethics among the Southern Luo. Scandinavian
Institute of African Studies, 1976.
Ogot, Bethwell A. History of the Southern Luo, Vol. I: Migration and Settlement, 1500-1900.
East African Publishing House, 1967.
Practical Approaches to Life and Reality. The Luhya of Kenya, 2008. http://orvillejenkins.
com/profiles/luhya.html.
Shipton, Parker MacDonald. Mortgaging the Ancestors: Ideologies of Attachment in Africa.
Yale University Press, 2009.
Soft Kenya. NGOs in Kenya, http://www.softkenya.com/ngo.
United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat). Kisumu City Development
Strategies, 2003. http://ww2.unhabitat.org/programmes/ump/kisumucds.asp.
United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat). Situation analysis of informal
settlements in Kisumu: Cities without Slums, Sub-Regional Programme for Eastern and
Southern Africa, 2005.
67
PLACING A CATALYST IN
KONDELE MARKET
2014
- The first Catalyst will be placed in

Kondele market. The Catalyst plays an
important role in forming the Womens
Collective,
which
strengthens
womens voice as a group.
- The knowledge gained by the women
in the Market Catalyst is taken to
their work space on the commercial
corridor.
CREATING A INCLUSIONARY
SOCIOECONOMIC ZONE
2020
- The larger impact of this Catalyst

will be seen in the formation of a
Socioeconomic Zone.
- This Zone will be formed by retail,
production and support areas. The
first part to be developed is the
Commercial area which is located
along the main World Bank road.
This aims to strengthen existing
commercial corridors and enhance
connections to infrastructure as well
as institutional hubs.
EXPANDING THE SYSTEM
2030
- While the Commercial area is

being consolidated, Production and
Support areas will be developed along
secondary roads.
- The Production area will promote
activities that can add value to the
existing raw products. Supportive
facilities will act as buffers to the
community and the family-based
activities of local women.
- To reach a larger audience, more
Catalysts will be implemented in other
markets within Kisumu.
Planning area
Proposed roadways
Developed roadways
Proposal point
STARTING POINT
This group of four young women was truly passionate about using design as a powerful
tool for social equity, particularly for women who are currently the most disadvantaged
group in Manyatta. This focus is reflected in all their design decisions. Organizing women
is the first important and probably the hardest step, as it takes time and patient work
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
with women who traditionally are not used to collective action. Connecting women to
good roads and subsequently affordable public transportation can connect them to
jobs and business opportunities. The bio centers recently built in Manyatta address the
issue of dignity of women by providing toilets and meeting spaces. Availability of social
services via mobile phones can further help inform women of job opportunities, health
issues, government entitlements, their own rights, and safety issues. Fortunately, there
are good signs of progress in these directions, so we hope that this project can help
expedite the process of womens empowerment. - Geeta Mehta
BIG PICTURE
This project points to the critical importance of government in nurturing efforts begun
by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other local stakeholders. Over time an
established Womens Collective will be able to spread knowledge and outsource to
other similar organizations as well as to small entrepreneurs creating a network. City
government should be ready to collaborate with the private sector and Womens Collective
to bridge the gaps between national and local needs. With all the stakeholders on board
the last step is to expand the network to other areas that share same characteristics
and issues. Thus Kisumus improving economy will result in the provision of investment
toward women who are major economic contributors and generators - being 75 percent
of Kisumus informal workforce which, in turn, constitutes 20 percent of the citys GDP
and could be responsible for socioeconomic changes. - Richard Plunz
Over the past two decades, most development agencies have understood the multiplier
effect of targeting women in their efforts. It is also now understood that ownership of
productive assets is an important step in empowering women. While Kenya has recently
enacted laws to enable women to own land, land ownership or co-ownership is of
particular importance in Manyatta as real estate pressures from the Kisumus growing
central business district could make this an unattainable goal for the poor women in the
near future. Land ownership must also come with financial literacy, knowledge of legal
rights, and a shared vision of womens role in the developed Manyatta of the future.
- Geeta Mehta
Columbia University faculty are asked here to identify the importance of the project method as a starting point
and big picture for implementation in Manyatta.
69
FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION
Manyatta A
GENDER
ECONOMY
ROAD
PUBLIC SPACE
FARM
WASTE
MARKET
INFRASTRUCTURE
TECHNOLOGY
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Land Implementation Timeline
Comments by Kate Orff, Geeta Mehta, Richard Plunz
Drainage path towards Auji River
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
CO-OPERATIVE GROUND
Manyattas Community Water District
Shirley Dolezal, Betty Fan, Kirk Finkel, Juan Guzmn Palacios
Co-operative Ground examines waste and water movement below ground to

provide opportunities for safe multi-level development along the surface.
Existing construction materials are reinvented here to support new growth in
Manyatta A and B, while preserving land for water management and improving
drainage along the Auji River. As a result of new infrastructural investments,
foreign interests, and coastal development pressures, Kisumu County must
improve the carrying capacity of its land and water bodies. The Ground is
reinvented here to support a kind of social glue, binding the value of population
growth with valuable assets already present in the local habitat and ecology.
Auji River
Planning strategies are designed here to provide for growing neighborhoods

along the perimeter of the city, alleviating growth-related pressure and
identifying critical environments for preservation. The proposal embraces
traditional building techniques and cultural practices as ways of organizing
new construction. Familiar materials are incorporated into housing designs to
develop the cooperative management of water, waste, and energy infrastructure.
Present advances in water access and bio-energy will be managed through the
creation of Kisumus third Community Water District: a neighborhood model
organized towards sharing resources and developing cooperative strategies for
using those resources equitably. The word Manyatta in the Maasai language
means a group of houses surrounding a central ground. Manyatta is examined
from this historical context, as the region grew from rural farming practices into
a thriving community seeking more space to expand. Since its construction in
1981, the manmade Auji River has been a critical record for how Kisumu has
grown and is also a resource for how the city expects to grow over the next couple
of decades. Once serving as a city boundary, today the Auji and its environs are
being challenged, as the demand for development continues to expand.
Co-Operative Ground proposes strategies in which Manyatta can re-innovate
its relationship with fragile soils. Houses in this low-lying community are often
flooded and rebuilt nearly seasonally. This local effort is taxing the potential
and health of the communities surrounding the Auji River, while also drawing
in contaminated waters from residential and commercial areas and pushing
them out into the fragile ecosystems of Lake Victoria. Regional trends in water
contamination provide small scale guidelines for healthier local development.
The Auji River is an increasingly critical corridor opening into Kisumus greatest
environmental asset, Lake Victoria and the Winam Gulf. The methods used in
engaging this corridor can serve as models not only for Kisumu, but for Kenya
as a whole, as it strives to mediate between unprecedented growth and the
threats of the natural systems on which the nation and its people rely.
73
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
EXISTING NETWORKS OF BLOCKAGE
Kisumu
Winam Gulf
Lake Victoria
Chlorophyll
Protected area
Migration
Rivers
Population
LAKE VICTORIA
Annual fish yield:
300,000
Net Worth:
USD 600 million
Kenyas growing population (predicted to

double by 2045), coupled with the lack of
adequate infrastructure, has generated
patterns of urban sprawl and pressure
for growth within its cities. Sprawling
urban environments are encroaching
on previously protected ecosystems and
wildlife migration pathways which stretch
along an intricate network across both land
and water bodies.
74
PROPOSALS
Bird habitat
Basin
Resource extraction
KENYA SHORELINE
Length:
550 kilometers
Overlapping regional patterns (shown

above) depict the role of water and its
subsequent impact, affecting the social,
economic, and political shape of Kisumu.
By situating Manyatta within this larger
context, the proposal aims to develop a
strategic plan for density that can provide
for economic growth while maintaining
healthy ecology.
Elephants
MIGRATORY PATHS AND

POLLUTION IN KENYA
TIMING OF WATER
Water residence time:
23 years
Water flushing time:
123 years (cycle)
Co-operative Ground highlights current and

future interruptions to traditional flows,
i.e., oil exploration, population growth in
migratory paths, and protected ecological
areas. The project shows methodologies
that can trigger healthy and sustainable
development in Kisumu, Kenyas second
largest waterfront city.
REGIONAL BLOCKAGES
Kisumu
Manyatta A
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Auji River
Winam Gulf
2014
1973
Sedimentation
levels
SEDIMENTATION IN WINAM GULF

Light reflected line
Greenery
POPULATION EXPANSION
Informal
expansion
rate = 7-12%
per year
Manyatta
Population
+ 88,070
Existing erosion pathways that direct

wastewater through Manyatta contribute
towards a much larger system of
contaminated water bodies. What the
ground soils absorb is becoming part
of the watershed, merging with the Auji
River, which itself is turning into a carrier
of pollutants and physical waste. With an
average of only six meters in depth, the
Winam Gulf is a collector of contaminated
Water hyacinth
Watershed
Rainy season
SPRAWLING WASTE
WATERSHED AND FLOW
Solid Waste Generated in Kisumu City Proper

= 400 metric tonnes daily (60-65% is organic)
Seasonal rainfall highs:
20% managed by city

80% informally disposed
wastewater. Twice every year, seasonal

rains replenish both the Winam Gulf and
Lake Victoria as a whole, accounting for
80 percent of the lakes water. Since 1973,
the United Nations has tracked rising levels
of sediment parallel to high evaporation
rates surrounding Kisumu (800 milimeters
per year and rising, the highest rate in the
region). The overlap of these conditions
has amplified over the last 40 years due to
April ~264 mm
November ~139 mm
informal settlements competing for space

around water routes. The Auji River is one of
these contributors. As Manyattas footprint
continues to grow between seven to 12
percent each year, the boundary of the
Auji River is continuously challenged. If left
untreated, this river could become a symbol
of mismanaged urban growth, alternatively,
the river can be an activator of resources
and constructive growth in Kisumu.
75
AUJI RIVER CONTEXT
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Kanyakwar region hills

1,200 meters
1,185 meters
ta
Jo
at
ny
Ke
y
wa
gh
Hi
oad
Ring R
Winam
Gulf
1,140 meters
Hippo Point
Seasonal creek / Wetland region
The Auji River was channelized in 1981 by

the World Bank. Its concrete shell marked
the then-perimeter of Kisumu but has
since been challenged to absorb a wave
of informal growth caused by a rising
population and accompanying pressures
on the citys water infrastructure. Only 10
percent of the city has access to formal
sewer lines, with the other 90 percent
resting along a lower lying area that is
76
PROPOSALS
prone to flooding and pooling during

the rainy seasons. The city has already
made attempts to offset these threats by
identifying blockages along the river and
eroded pathways that require more formal
strategies for drainage. The Auji River
now runs only at 50 percent of capacity,
due to blockages and overgrowth. Largerscale efforts for addressing water flow
and quality are found in Community Water
Districts, where innovative non-government

organizations (NGOs) and communitybased organizations (CBOs) have provided
resources to build bore wells and to develop
building techniques for localizing waterbased stewardship. This proposal seeks to
develop a Community Water District that
would link Manyatta A with Manyatta B.
The district area is connected by a sloped
topography and patterns of water erosion.
1,170 meters
BLOCKAGE TYPES
oad
ibos R
Blockages
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Overgrowth
Proposed water
community site
Manyatta A & B
Nyamasaria River
Water table 2.5 m
Black cotton soil
Kisumu - Busia Road
Nairobi Road
Encroaching
buildings
i
Auj
er
Riv
Community Water District (growing up with safe

and healthy water sources)
Auji River length :
10.5 km
-.06% slope
2m
Auji outflow into the Winam Gulf
Max 30 m3/s = 50% capacity
This low capacity percentage is due
poor maintenance, overgrowth, and
new building construction along the
perimeter of the Auji River
average 6 m across
77
BUILDING ON TRADITION
TRADITIONAL HOUSING
Maasai:
Kikuyo:
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Son
CONTEMPORARY
Luo:
Vertical growth:
Linear cluster:
Radial cluster:
Wife
Husband
Proposed
drainage
Pooling point
Owned units
Generating common space
Septic tank
Burial ground
Former
head of
household
Rentable units
MANYATTA A
Magadi Primary School
6m
Existing drainage
city / sewer
12 m
12 m
18 m
Proposed building unit types, orienting around a
central common ground
In this proposal, traditional housing types

and clusters serve as a smaller-scale
inspiration to treat open land and to look
at how they interact with their growing
surrounds. Co-operative Ground analyzes
an existing plot of land diagonal to Magadi
Primary School (above). In this example,
central grounds are identified by the
homeowner as sacred common spaces.
Culturally, a sacred space is defined as
78
PROPOSALS
Dr
ai
na
ge
co
rri
do
Lo
y
wa
ath
p
al
both burial ground for family members and

the unoccupied house of the diseased head
of household. Physically, sacred spaces are
defined by pathways generated by seasonal
erosion, water flow, and daily pedestrian
movement within the land plot.
In implementing new growth and new
housing strategies; shared walls are
identified for the installation of water
infrastructure and power lines. These key
walls provide a framework for habitation

and mixed-use units to attach to and to
grow. Both common space and material
infrastructure strategies are sequenced in
the proposed Water Community District,
acting as a support system for new density
as population pressure builds on Kisumu.
+1
5m
JUMPSTART PLOT POOLING
AUJI OVERFLOW
0 90
300
600m
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
5m
+ 10 m
EROSION PATH
PARCEL LINES
Proposed school
MANYATTA B
Bridge International
Academy
Siany Seventh-day
Adventist Church
Secondary
aquifer
MANYA
TTA A
Water ta
ble
Auji River
MANYATTA B
79
Drain corridor
Buffer road
Pooling network
60
%
pr
e
se
rv
at
io
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
5
2 %c
10 0% om
% roa m
se d erc
as tre ia
on a l
al tm
ov en
er t
flo
w
LAND POOLING PATTERNS
2
2. .5%
5% in
pu fra
bl str
ic uc
sp tu
ac re
e
Filtering / retaining
Local path
Pooling point
+ Borewell
+ Bio digester
OP
PR
ED
EN
OS
ES
PR
Contaminated
water table
= 2-5 meters
The proposal analyzes existing property

boundaries and pathways, using the
circulation of both seasonal water (erosion)
and people as rules for guiding new
growth. Existing schools provide a hub of
action as the topography leads down toward
the Auji River. Schools serve as pilot sites,
outlets for exhibiting new infrastructure and
for raising awareness of the need to respect
ecological systems. Schools and churches
80
PROPOSALS
Healthy
water table
= 5-10 meters
in Manyatta are platforms for learning

about new energy sources such as biodigesters and for pressurized wells that can
deliver consistently clean and accessible
water. Property line edges determine
mutually owned land on which a borewell
and bio-digester might be installed. The
projected site map (right) shows the
seasonal expansion of the Auji as it swells
to accommodate the increased rainfall. The
proposal envisages the construction of a

new sequence of pre-primary to secondary
schools. New educational resources will
not only act as triggers for ecological
interventions, but will also respond to a
great demand for schooling in Manyatta
and will be positioned to prevent further
encroachment toward the Auji River.
AUJI DENSITY PLAN
0 90
300
600m
FILTRATION / RETENTION POCKETS
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Drainage flow organizes

planted edges designed to
slow and redirect waterflow
down to the Auji River.
RIPARIAN BUFFER
Agriculture / Forestry
COMM
ERCIA
Auji River Primary School

+ Pre - primary
+ Secondary
MANYA
TTA A
Secondary aq
uifer
Water ta
b
le
L COR
RIDOR
School grounds serve as both

buffers (for the Auji River) and
educators of local ecologies.
Auji River
MANYATTA B
81
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
Pedestrian path
Pedestrian path
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Radial cluster
Open space
Water runoff
Linear cluster
Water runoff
Ventilation
To bio-digester
Filtration / retention Pocket

Residential sewage
ROOF DETAIL
Corrugated steel and bamboo
Proposed foundation
WALL AND FOOTING DETAIL

Exterior
Corrugated steel
Bamboo truss
Papyrus screen
Interior
Column 20 cm
Signage
Structure
Planting device
Bamboo connection
Porous pavement
Soil aggregate
Black cotton soil
Plumbing
Wire mesh
Rebar
This scenario of densification in Manyatta

reinforces collaborative efforts among
Manyattas community, using site-based
material and techniques as a tool for growth.
This proposal integrates local construction
techniques, reinvented to support higher
densities and infrastructural capacities. The
most common soil type found in Manyatta
is black cotton, a soft, easily saturatedsoil type the use of which typically restricts
82
PROPOSALS
the height of buildings to a single story. To

cope with this problem, builders can layer
multiple aggregates into the buildings
foundation. This layering can strengthen the
structural footing below, enabling the safe
building of two to three levels above. The
construction of housing and public space
together with the supporting infrastructure
is conceived as a collaborative action
involving community participation, NGOs,
and government. In addition to this focus

on public-private partnership, the project
emphasizes local capacity-building as it
celebrates and preserves local building
techniques, supporting a gradual transition
from high building density in Manyatta A to
lower density in Manyatta B.
COMMON GROUND
Waste collection point
Open market
Bioswales
Ground floor commercial

Tuk tuk stop
Black cotton soil
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Borewell
Drainage path
Kigelia Africana
Deep rooted tree
Bio digester
Water table
10 meters deep well
BIO DIGESTER SYSTEM

Daily gas production :
0.8-1.6 cubic meters
Water required everyday: 20-40 liters

Zebu Cow
Waste inlet
Extra waste outlet
Fertilizer
Manure required everyday: 20-40 kilograms

Hard stone
Brick
Capacity of plant: 4 cubic meters
Service five plots: 1500 people
The image above depicts a transitional

scenario between higher density and
mid-density. The housing units and the
smaller walkways open into a common
ground area that contains social as
well as infrastructural resources. This
neighborhood infrastructure can serve as
a retention point for water (i.e., borewell,
retention, and filtration pockets) and waste
(i.e., a bio-digester and communal waste
Cinder block
collection point), consolidating all the

water and waste infrastructure to a single
point so as to enhance the space for social
gathering (e.g., communal space, workshop
space, market, or general livelihood space).
The services and activities undertaken in
these areas are economically valuable and
can be strengthened by a strong community
network of recurring large and small-scale
economies. The bio-digester is a valuable
symbol of cyclical resources wherein biogas

fuel can be used for cooking and output
slurry waste from the digester can be
recycled as fertilizer. The waste generated
by goats and cows used in tilling land can
become the fuel for generating biogas and
the cycle repeats.
83
FLEXIBLE ECOLOGIES
Auji Primary School

Production field
Sacred and medicinal vegetation

Kigelia africana
Auji Secondary School

Reforestation
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Migratory bird
Mycteria ibis
Roof material
Cyperus papyrus
Tire geogrid
Sediment catchment
Harvesting plants
DRAINAGE CORRIDOR
SEDIMENT CATCHMENT
Mosquito repellent
Cymbopogon
Harvesting plants
Zea mays
Recycled tire
Sand
Mixed aggregate
Drain
Black cotton soil
The Auji River serves as a link to Lake

Victoria, providing corridors for animal
migration and using its natural resources
for agriculture and recreation. For
these habitats to develop and mature,
the proposed strategies integrate new
technologies capable of rehabilitating the
polluted river by designing for clean water
and doubling the capacity of water run-off
during flooding seasons. Three types of
84
Auji River post storm
PROPOSALS
Habitat corridor
Hippo Point ~2 miles
Hippo grass
Echinochloa stagnina
FILTRATION & RETENTION POCKET

Evapotranspiration
Mimosa pudica
Infiltration
Black cotton soil
Infiltration
Recycled tire
hard and soft infrastructure are introduced:

1) Drainage paths are placed along
existing and proposed roads, providing
a remediation process through layers of
vegetation, leading to drainage pipes and,
lastly, into the Auji River; 2) Major erosion
lines after the flooding season serve
as guidelines for installing filtration and
retention pockets with aggregated recycled
tires. This recycled infrastructure slows and
Infiltration
Black cotton soil
Hard rock
Recycled tire
filters the pace of water toward the Auji

River; and 3) Along open spaces, sediment
catchment technologies using recycled tires
are placed on the surface of the landscape,
decreasing the amount of sediment
passing into bodies of water and instead
creating new accessible landscapes.
PARTICIPATORY IMPACT
Hippo Point
Habitat corridor
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
Nyamasaria River
Nairobi Road
Winam Gulf
/ Lake Victoria
Sediment catchment
Filtration / retention pockets
Auji Canal
MANYATTA
KISUMU CITY
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
Local actors and implementors
Citywide partners
National and international supporters
Millennium Cities Initiative [Outreach]

CORDAID [Relief planning]
Resident association
RMFLF [Road / Maintenance]

KIWASCO [water management]
One Acre Fund [Education]
SIDA [Waste Management]
Kenyan Government
SANA [Waste and water aid]
UN Environmental Program
Embassies of USA / France / China
TULLOW [Irish oil company]
The Auji River provides a valuable new

opportunity for Kisumus connection
with Lake Victoria. Co-operative Ground
proposes a new Community Water District
for Manyatta A and B, planning large and
small-scale growth with respect to a demand
for growth and a demand for preservation.
Organizations that have successfully
completed projects in this region would
hopefully be involved in this larger planning
effort. The Road Maintenance Fuel Levy

Fund (RMFLF) was nominated by the UN
and the Dutch NGO CORDAID (Catholic
Organisation for Relief and Development
Aid) for alleviating blockages through road
maintenance and bridge repair. Kisumu
Water and Sewage Company (KIWASCO)
provides clean water and management.
The model of a Community Water
District is critical to the improvement and
development of Kisumus growth. It is an

opportunity to establish innovative planning
management that fosters new collaborative
efforts along with existing initiatives.
Co-operative Ground proposes strategies
providing infrastructure and housing that
strengthen existing communities and
provide support for future generations in
Manyatta.
85
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
PILOT SITE
Siany Seventh-day
Adventist Church
(School)
ji
Au
86
Proposed density
Lot lines
New public space
Topography
PROPOSALS
40
80
er
Riv
Meters
REFERENCES
Delhi Master Plan 2021. Land Pooling Policy, 2013. http://delhi-masterplan. com/landpooling-policy.
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
DDA Approves Land Pooling Policy, The Economic Times, 26 July 2013. http:// articles.
economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-07-26/news/40815006_1_dda-delhidevelopmentauthority-land-records.
Gendrano, Jose Carmelo M. Gendrano. How to Build a Low-cost Ferrocement Biogas
Digester, Philippine Center for Water and Sanitation. http://www.wsscc.org/sites/default/
files/ferrocement_biogas_digester.pdf.
Guyana Energy Agency. Bio-digester Information and Construction Manual for Small Farmers,
2011. http://www.gea.gov.gy/downloads/Biodigester-Manual.pdf.
Hojnacki, Angela, Luyao Li, Nancy Kim, Claire Markgraf, and Drew Pierson. Biodigester
Global Case Studies, Report of Massachusetts Institute of Technology D-Lab Waste, Fall
2011.
http://web.mit.edu/colab/pdf/papers/D_Lab_Waste_Biodigester_Case_Studies_
Report.pdf.
Kokwaro, John O. and Timonthy Johns. Luo Biological Dictorionary. East African Educational
Publishers, 1998.
Maoulidi, Moumi. A Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment for Kisumu City, Kenya,
Working paper for Millennium Cities Initiative, Columbia University, 2010. http://mci.
ei.columbia.edu/files/2012/12/Kisumu-Water-Sanitation-Needs-Assessment.pdf.
National Biodigester Programme, Cambodia. Farmers Friend Biodigester Model Construction
Manual. SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, 2005.
Rono, Marion. Dissemination of Low-cost Building Materials and Technology in Kenya,
Report for Department of Housing, Ministry of Roads & Public Works, Kenya.
Speet, F. Storm Water Management: A situational analysis of Manyatta Informal Settlement
in Kisumu city, Kenya, Paper for University of Twente, 2012.
Tenywa, Gerald. Lake Victoria drying up, says a UN report New Vision, 8 July 2008.
87
SCHOOLS AS SEEDS
2014
- Existing schools serve as pilot sites,

outlets for exhibiting new infrastructure
and for raising awareness of the need
to respect ecological systems.
- They act as platforms for learning
about new integrated energy
sources such as bio-digesters and
for pressurized wells that can deliver
consistently clean and accessible
water.
WATER COMMUNITY DISTRICT
2020
- A community where NGOs and CBOs

are organized to provide jumpstart
resources such as building bore wells
and developing building techniques
for localizing water-based stewardship.
This proposal seeks to develop a
Water Community District that would
link Manyatta A with Manyatta B.
GROWING ALONG THE AUJI
2030
- The Auji River provides a valuable

new opportunity for Kisumus
connection with Lake Victoria. The
Water Community District model
would have the ability to expand
alongside adjacent Auji communities,
supporting population growth with
respect towards a demand for
resource preservation.
Planning area
Proposed roadways
Developed roadways
Proposal point
STARTING POINT
Co-operative Ground integrates concepts of environmental and economic health
and rebuilds ecosystems in tandem with the community structures that depend on
them. By working from the ground up literally from restoring local soil productivity
and water purity and innovating within Manyatta traditional building techniques, this
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
project, while extremely site specific, provides a window into a broader direction for
Kisumus development. It articulates an ecosystem approach to urban design where
Manyattas connection to the Auji River and Kisumus connection to Lake Victoria and
the surrounding countryside are stewarded and seen as vital to long term prosperity,
environmental health and well being, and economic opportunity. - Kate Orff
BIG PICTURE
In Manyatta, land is an invaluable resource and intricately connected with water.
Nearly all property here has been passed down directly from generation to generation
and subdivided as families expand. Room for communal resources is strained as a
result of this steady densification. In this proposal, land pooling is implemented as a
comprehensive strategy used to moderate density and to maximize the efficiency of onsite resources. Co-operative Ground pays close attention to Manyattas high water table,
an under-examined resource which makes water readily available but also threatens
water-well cleanliness and the stability of contemporary concrete / brick building. In
order to absorb the density Manyatta is expected to encounter over the next decade, it
must first maximize the potential of the Auji River. The channelized river is draining 50
percent of what it is designed to manage. As a result, water, waste, and pollutants are
saturating the same soils used in everyday drinking water and in construction material.
Piloting a new Community Water District around Manyattas Auji River creates a critical
spotlight on Kisumus most underutilized asset. Local primary and secondary schools
along the Auji enhance this spotlight, using education to engage and preserve land
quality around the citys newfound edge. - Richard Plunz
HOUSE.LAND.WATER looks at the interrelation of various natural systems and the
repercussions of inappropriate human interventions in these elegant but fragile systems.
Poverty has turned out to be the biggest threat to such ecological systems, as people
cannot be expected to respect and nurture ecological systems when they struggle to
survive themselves. As such, systems of remediation and sustenance of the natural
ecologies only can be effective when they also have the element of food procurement
and / or job creation built into them. Promoting farming of micronutrient rich plants in
threatened ecologies is a good strategy for this reason. - Geeta Mehta
89
SCHOOL CHILDREN COLLECTING WATER

Lacking proper water access Manyatta
GENDER
HOUSE
ROAD
LAND
FARM
WASTE
MARKET
INFRASTRUCTURE
TECHNOLOGY
Public Space Implementation Timeline
Comments by Petra Kempf, Geeta Mehta, Michael Conard
he water that floods Manyatta B comes from this

upper side of Manyatta, which is Manyatta A.
Therefore if a solution is to be found you have to
come up with a strategy that would harvest the rain
that is coming from this upper side.
*Ochieng Alphias
Resident of Manyatta
DRAIN WATER
STORE WATER
DENSIFIED WATERWAYS
Harvesting Water for Growth
Olivia Gibbeson, Yu-Hsuan Lin, Dimitra Papageorgiou, Grace Pelletier
Seizing upon the natural flow of water and existing topography to alleviate the
threat of flooding can be a major driver for urbanization in Manyatta. To prevent
flooding, the project aims to harvest, drain, filter, and store water in Manyatta as
a way of directing development and driving the areas economy. Providing new
water infrastructure will allow for a network of public spaces to grow, which will
act as a catalyst for improving urban conditions.
HARVEST WATER
Situated in the lowlands of Kisumu, Manyatta occupies the citys natural

floodplain and lies in the path of its natural watershed. With two rainy seasons
each year, Manyatta, lacking almost any water infrastructure, suffers greatly
from flash flooding, causing the erosion of roadways, damage to property,
and pools of standing water that can become a breeding ground for malaria
and other diseases. These vulnerabilities are not unique to Manyatta, and, as
in many informal settlements around the world, dealing with flooding is also
combined with clean water scarcity. Flooding and access to clean water are
conditions marking a social divide among Kisumus residents.
This project aims to address both of these issues directly through a combined
strategy: harvesting and draining water. Using the natural waterways, it proposes
a series of draining greenways that safely direct floodwaters out of Manyatta
toward the Auji River, which will then drain water toward Lake Victoria. Along the
way, these greenways store and filter rainwater while providing public spaces
that will allow a water-related economy to grow. In the denser areas and along
the roads, rainwater is harvested from rooftops. Capturing this water reduces
the overflow from heavy rains and has the potential to provide improved access
to clean water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning.
By strategically programming water-related spaces, the project can be flexible
and can grow incrementally. Starting with a series of simple actions directing
the water, digging, and fortifying the streams with stormwater the community
can implement its own public space around small-scale farming and soilretaining trees. As the neighborhood is progressively relieved of the threat of
flooding, the local economy can grow around roads providing safer infrastructure
for commerce, circulation and, inside the blocks, for manufacturing activities.
Interventions shift in scale and program; while harvesting and commerce are
the focus in the denser part of Manyatta, retention ponds are expanded in more
rural areas to become a filtration wetland and a source of irrigation water for
farming. Expanding this system across Manyatta, the waterways perform as a
network of micro-infrastructure that both frees the people in this community
from the economic and social burden of flooding and introduces a new source
of fresh water through rooftop water-harvesting. Controlling rainwater adds
value to the land while enabling Manyatta to grow.
93
FLOOD THREAT
MUMBAI, INDIA
DHAKA, BANGLADESH
INDORE, INDIA
Flood zone
Informal settlements
MANYATTA FLOODED
Lake Victoria
Manyatta
Kisumu
Auji Canal
Annual rainfall, Kenya
Water is the critical issue in Manyatta today.

Manyatta is located in a floodplain and
suffers the damage of flash flooding year
round, particularly in the rainy seasons.
Poor drainage means property damage,
erosion of infrastructure and stagnant
water that helps spread diseases. Flood
risks are compounded by a lack of access
to clean, potable water for the residents.
Engaging with these issues directly, this
94
PROPOSALS
Flood damage
project both drains and harvests rainwater

for the economic and social benefit of
Manyatta. Following the natural flow of
water, this project proposes a series of
waterways parallel to pedestrian paths
that drain stormwater out of Manyatta
and toward the Auji River. Harnessing the
potential of rainwater, this project also
proposes a system of rainwater harvesting,
to alleviate flooding by reducing runoff and
Polluted water
to provide clean water and spur economic

growth.
The initial project site is a critical section of
Manyatta A, with a major drainage stream
cutting between the Bypass and the Auji
River that can have a significant impact
on downstream flooding. Abutting one of
the few east-west connections to Kisumu,
this site is also a strong foundation for
economic growth and further densification.
EXISTING WATER CONDITIONS
FLOOD RISK ZONES
WATER AS AN OPPORTUNITY
GRADIENT OF DENSITY
Flooded area
Inside lots
High density
Existing stream project focus
Adjacent to secondary road
Medium density
Existing stream
Adjacent to main road
Low density
ji C
Au
l
a
an
MANYATTA CONTROLLED FLOOD
Main Road
Bypas
SITE: UPPER STREAM OF MANYATTA,
A CRITICAL CONNECTION POINT
FOCUS POINT:
A DENSIFIED WATERWAY
The intersection of the road and the
waterway is a critical juncture that
provides the testing ground for water
strategies
Annual rainfall
366 X 109 m3
Evaporation
80%
20% Renewable water

source
Kenya
Surface water
30.2 X 109 m3
Safe groundwater 3.5 X 109 m3
Kenya
8.7% 2.7 X 109 m3
79% Irrigation
17% Domestic
4% Industry
28%
26%
24%
19%
Shared / public tap

Water vendor
Individual connection
Pond / spring / lake
3%
Roof catchment
Discharge to water cycle

Untreated
40% runoff
60%
Water treatment
plant
POTENTIAL OF RAINWATER HARVESTING
95
WATERWAY STAKEHOLDERS
1_MARKET PLATFORM: Road improvement and waste management
Kisumu Solid Waste Management
Gasiapoa Waste Management Services
Manyatta Solid Waste
Ministry of Transport
United Nations Environment Program
Maseno University
International Roads Assessment Program
Manyatta Business Improvement District
2_MANUFACTURING PLAZA: Water infrastructure
Catholic Organisation for Relief and

Development Aid (CORDAID)
Community Shareholders
Kisumu Water and Sewage Company
(KIWASCO)
SANA International
Ministry of Water and Irrigation
3_COMMUNITY COURTYARD: Stormwater management
Government
Rufford Small Foundation
Ecofinder
Center for Rural Empowerment and the
Environment (CREE)
Primary school
Residents association
This new water management strategy is

a layered system that starts with three
micro-infrastructure interventions. Able
to be implemented by the community in
partnership with private businesses, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and
government, this new infrastructure is
tailored to the local context. At the main
road, situated on a high point and where
the buildings are the most dense, water
96
PROPOSALS
is collected and harvested for economic

use. Moving further along the stream,
the water is slowed down, collected for
irrigation and directed by a series of
retaining walls toward a larger pond that
occupies the lowest point of the site. This
pond allows for overflow during floods and
starts filtrating with wetland plants. A public
space is layered with this infrastructure
that will service the community and is
NETWORK OF STAKEHOLDERS FOR

INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT:
Funding the project
Training teams on site
Providing labor
1_ MARKET PLATFORM
2_MANUFACTURING PLAZA
3_COMMUNITY COURTYARD
Flood safe platform for trading

Access by paved road
Stewardship: Market workers union
Local businesses for production

Access by service road
Stewardship: Industrial workers union
Water park for collective management

Access by pathways
Stewardship: Group of landowners
New three story

houses
Local shops
A DENSIFIED WATERWAY
Workers union
house
Waste collection
point
to Corner
Community
kitchen
Market platform
Mbuta
Chiefs House
to Bypass
Kosawo Primary School

Manufacture plaza
Health center
Laundry
Mu
Community courtyard
rra
Vegetable garden
Ro
a
Wetlands
Stewards of the community courtyard / Storage and filtration wetland
Stewards of the market platform / Harvesting and drainage
Land-pooled parcels
Paved road / Open drainage, piped water, piped sewage
Murram road / Open drainage, piped water, piped sewage
maintained by neighboring stakeholders.

This micro-infrastructure is combined to
form a pedestrian greenway that takes
water and people from the commercial
main road to an interior of less dense
residential lots. Responding to this context,
the greenway infrastructure forms three
distinct public spaces: the market platform,
manufacturing plaza, and community
courtyard. At the main road, close to
Community center
existing economic activity, water is paired

with commerce to create a platform for the
development of existing market activities.
Here, a platform of permeable pavers allows
for water absorption and drainage, while
market shelters collect rainwater for use
in community businesses. Accessible by
secondary roads, the manufacturing plaza
utilizes harvested water for the irrigation
of new agroforestry crops, manufacturing
and production. Occupying low areas in the

center of the lots, collection ponds allow for
stormwater overflow, cleaning and filtering
runoff, before the water passes into the
Auji River. The ponds form a community
courtyard, providing recreation space for
the nearby school, Kosawo Primary School,
as well as gathering space for community
meetings and events.
97
INCREMENTAL GROWTH
PHASE 1
PHASE 2
Direct
Extend
Cut and fill
Manufacturing plaza
Market
Food processing
manufacturing
Agroforestry
Kosawo Primary
School
Harvest
Market space
S
BYPA
Storing pond
S
Circulate
Community
Center
98
PHASE 1 Connecting infrastructure to

public space: Create a soft infrastructure in
the critical low points of the site in order to
drain rainwater and provide public space.
PHASE 3 Economic growth generating

densification: The economic benefit of the
intervention incentivizes land cooperation
triggered by land-pooling.
PHASE 2 Using public space as an

economic driver: The roads currently lined
with markets extend to become public
spaces, providing amenities and space for
manufacturing.
PHASE 4 Densifying network of waterways :

Network of micro-infrastructure that frees
the people from the economic and social
burden of flooding and introduces a new
source of fresh water.
PROPOSALS
MARKET PLATFORM
Flood safe platform for trading
MANUFACTURE INFILL
Plug-in for production
AGROFORESTRY SPILL
Managing rainwater for irrigation
NETWORK OF WATERWAYS
PHASE 3
Shared space
Land-pooling
Density
Selling point
Education
center
Communal
space
Filtering
pond
Storing
pond
Filter
Irrigation
Manufacturing
open space
Small scale
agriculture
Retention
pond
Filter
Store
Store
99
COMMUNITY COURTYARD AFTER THE STORM

COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP
WATER STORAGE
EDUCATION
Community maintains the storing pond.

Trees provide shade for collective activities such as
basketry, community meetings, etc.
Stormwater management to control flood.

Stormwater cleaned by filtration pond.
Trees help with soil retention, soil enrichment, and
water conservation.
Kosawo Primary School maintains the pond and

grows a vegetable garden
Trees provide shade for outdoor classes and playgrounds
Basketry
Filtration wetland
Acacia xanthophloea
Public path
bike path
Gathering
steps
Water tank
biosand filter
Outdoor classes
Kosawo
primary school
Vegetable
garden
Ficus sycomorus
Phoenix reclinata
Filtration wetland
Basketry
Flood season level

Miscanthus
Soil-compost mixture
Typha domingensis
Retaining wall
PROPOSALS
Natural soil
Cyperus immensus
The intervention can start from small

actions involving the local community:
directing the water, extending the stream
bed, digging, and building up the edge of
the stream. In less dense areas, filtration
ponds form collective public spaces for the
surrounding community. The pond stores
and filters the water, while supporting
the ecological system along with plants
that can be used, consumed or further
100
Washed gravel
transformed into products that can then

be sold in the local market. Those plants,
along with the depth and steps of the pond,
also prevent mosquito breeding. Built by
local residents with basic techniques and
with materials from the local market, steps
around each pond serve as a gathering
place for the community. Here, the pond will
be managed by the Kosawo Primary School,
together with a group of local residents. The
school can utilize the area next to the pond

to hold outdoor classes when the weather
is suitable. School children will use filtrated
water from the pond to manage a common
vegetable garden, in order to learn about
and benefit from fresh produce. Along
the waterway, a pedestrian and bike path
will lead to the public space provided to
accommodate the manufacturing plaza.
WATER-DRIVEN ECONOMY
WATER DRAINAGE
AGROFORESTRY
Rainwater is harvested for laundry and food-processing business

Business owners maintain the greenway
Stormwater is directed by gabion walls

Flow is directed so that the wall catches solid waste
Steps provide access to water
Stormwater is collected for urban agriculture

Interactive benefits from combining trees and crops
are used to increase productivity
MANUFACTURING PLAZA AFTER THE RAIN SEASON
WOOD
1
FRUITS
4
Biogas stove
Gabion wall stream

MEDICINAL
PLANTS
Bakery with
biogas stove
Market shelter
Communal
bathrooms
Mango tree
Avocado tree
Pathway
Flood season level
Performative ground
Septic tank
Acacia xanthoploea
Ficus sycomorous
Eucalyptus spp
Avocado
Grafted mango
Tomato tree
Warbuzia ugandensis
Mmoringa oleifera
Vegetables
Retaining/ Gabion wall
Adjacent to the main road, the public

spaces along the waterway will develop
a more economical function, using water
harvested from the roof for manufacturing
activities. A more constructed waterway will
be formed to control the water flow coming
from the road. Once the space is no longer
threatened by flooding, the value of the land
will increase, and new public amenities can
be installed. The manufacturing businesses
will then have better opportunities to grow.

Small businesses, such as bakeries or
laundries, will utilize the water collected
from the roof and cleaned by the biosand
filter. The stormwater from the waterway
can be used to irrigate the agroforestry
plantations. Those plants can be consumed
by the residents or sold in the market. The
trees will help in retaining the soil and will
prevent destructive erosion.
101
MARKET PLATFORM
Natural ventilation
Local sellers
1
Plaza for trade
Ground floors of buildings

adjacent to the market
can be used for retail or
storage
Permeable paving
Drainage toward
stream
Biosand Filter
1 PERFORMATIVE PLATFORM
Controlled flooding areas with permeable paving that
shed water to streams, providing a clean and robust
surface for trading.
102
PROPOSALS
Underground
rainwater tank
2 WATER HARVESTING
Rainwater is collected from roofs for use in public
bathrooms and new industries.
Water Tank
3 FORMAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Establishing a main road for freight allows for financial growth in the area, financed by the government
and connecting Manyatta to the rest of Kisumu.
Table banking
meeting
Recycling pick up
point
Market shelter materials:

Adobe sun baked bricks,
reeds, and metal
Brick Manufacturing
Curved road:
stormwater runoff
toward the edge
of the street
Sewage
Road drainage
On the intersection of the sites stream

and the main road, a robust platform
is built that can become a springboard
for economic growth in Manyatta. The
interstitial spaces along the main road host
markets and other commercial endeavors.
Harvesting rainwater from the market
shelters allows for the development of local
economies related to water and organizes
existing trading activities. Growing from a
neighborhood involvement to a community

development supported by the government,
the waterways as an infrastructure and
a public space will free the people of
Manyatta from the burden of flooding and
will add value to the land for the benefit of
Manyattas growth.
103
PILOT SITE
Chiefs House
oad
fs R
Chie
104
Proposed density
Lot lines
New public space
Topography
PROPOSALS
40
80
Meters
REFERENCES
Carsan, Susan, Geroge Wesonga, and Miriam Wambugu. Promoting the Integration of
Agroforestry in Urban and Periurban Kisumu, Urban Agriculture Magazine No. 13, 2004.
City of Cape Town Development Service. Stormwater Management Planning and Design
Guidelines for New Developments, Catchment, Stormwater and River Management Branch,
2002.
http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/CSRM/Documents/SW_Plan_Guidelines_new_
develop.pdf.
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Stormwater management, Guidelines
for Human Settlement Planning and Design, Ch. 6, 2000.
CSIR Building and Construction Technology, Stormwater management. In Guidelines for
human settlement planning and design, 2000.
Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations. Country Fact Sheet, Kenya,
Aquastat: globaly information system on water and agriculture, 2013. http://www. fao.org/
nr/water/aquastat/data/cf/readPdf.html?f=KEN-CF_eng.pdf.
Frediani, Alexandre Apsan, Julian Walker, and Stephanie Butcher, editors. Participatory
Informal Settlement Upgrading and Well-Being in Kisumu, Kenya. Development Planning
Unit, The Bartlett, University College London, 2013. https://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/
documents/SDP_Kisumu_report.
Owuor, Samuel O. and Dick W. J. Foeken. Water Reforms and Interventions in Urban Kenya:
Institutional set-up, emerging impact and challenges, ASC Working Paper 83/2009, African
Studies Centre, Leiden. https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/13764/
ASC-074138723-277-01.pdf?sequence=2.
Parikh, Himanshu. Slum Networking of Indore City, Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 1998.
http://www.akdn.org/architecture/pdf/1826_Ind.pdf.
Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Making Water a Part of Economic
Development: The Economic Benefits of Improved Water Management and Services,
2005. http://www.siwi.org/documents/Resources/Reports/CSD_Making_water_part_of_
economic_development_2005.pdf.
Wagah, George G., George M. Onyango, and Jacob K. Kibwage. Accessibility of water
services in Kisumu municipality, Kenya, Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, Vol.
3(4) (2010), 114-125. http://academicjournals.org/article/article1381151719_Wagah%20
et%20al.pdf.
The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP). Citizens Report Card on Urban Water, Sanitation
and Solid Waste Service in Kenya: Summary of results from Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa
2007.
http://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/712200745708_Citizens_
Report_Card_-_Summary_Kenya.pdf.
105
CONNECTING INFRASTRUCTURE
TO PUBLIC SPACE
2014
- A network of soft infrastructure is

developed along critical low points
of the site, supporting drainage of
rainwater and providing for public
spaces.
EXTENDING ROADS TO BECOME

PUBLIC SPACES
2020
- The roadways currently aligned with

markets extend to become public
spaces, providing amenities and
spaces for small-scale manufacturing.
- Land pooling supports localized
economic benefits through sharing of
resources.
INTRODUCING NEW SOURCES

OF FRESH WATER
2030
- Waterways perform as a network

of micro-infrastructure that frees
the people of Manyatta from the
economic and social burden of
seasonal flooding. Harvesting rooftop
rainwater also provides a new sources
of potable water.
- Controlling water flow adds value
to land and facilities in Manyatta,
and supports densification in the
neighborhood as a whole.
Planning area
Proposed roadways
Developed roadways
Proposal point
STARTING POINT
By identifying water as an element with great potential to empower a community, this
proposal introduces a new network of waterways to control flooding and to stimulate
new social connections and local economies in Manyatta. As the water infrastructure
is implemented, new grounds for public space will arise. This project not only hands
the land back to its people, it also opens up the opportunity to connect Manyatta back
to the city. By Introducing flexible and incremental growth, according to availability of
funds and arising demands (rather than simply providing an overarching masterplan),
this project gives much needed flexibility, particular in an economic environment that is
not yet stabilized. Water is not only a great necessity; it could also become a great asset
to strengthen community life. This group thoughtfully identified the potential of this overlooked stretch of land by introducing a water infrastructure that will allow the community
to activate its public realm to link it back to the city, both through economic and ecologic
interventions. - Petra Kempf
BIG PICTURE
This project deals with the problem of flooding and the related social and economic
costs. This is a perfect example of a problem that cannot be solved by an individual
homeowner, who must rely either on government or social capital to reduce the social
and economic cost of annual flooding. While the infrastructure in this proposal is
expected to be built by the government, community participation and social capital is
needed to implement and sustain the project through rainwater harvesting and tending
of the delicate water network. - Geeta Mehta
One frame for this project is the influence of economic class on urban redevelopment
strategy.
These were marginal lands in Kisumu, now consolidated. If Manyatta had
been middle class, engineering a solution to the waste and stormwater problem would
have been straightforward and may have happened long ago. Since this community is
not, any solution becomes more difficult to implement and sustain. New strategies such
as those presented here are very much needed. - Michael Conard
This scheme provides a good illustration of the potential of infrastructural development
to inform public space. It intervenes in the classic evolution of sewage disposal from
ditch, to pipe, to road, to automobile. Theirs is a new insight into the morphologies of
slow growth. - Richard Plunz
107
EXTERIOR OF MANYATTA PEACE MARKET

Manyatta lacks resources for proper waste disposal
GENDER
HOUSE
ECONOMY
ROAD
LAND
PUBLIC SPACE
MARKET
INFRASTRUCTURE
TECHNOLOGY
FARM.WASTE.WATER
Comments by Viren Brahmbhatt, Geeta Mehta, Michael Conard
MANYATTA
Community bio-center
PHASE 1
CLEAN AUJI
Mainstream economy
Income generation
Tourism
Auji River
Market
Aquaculture
Ecotourism
Restaurant
PHASE 3
GENERATE BUSINESS
FARM.WASTE.WATER
GENERATIVE POOLING
Turning Risks into Opportunities
Fan Guo, Nijia Ji, Jihan Lew, Yu Zhang
Waster collection
Biogas generation
Social Capital Credits
Social amenities
PHASE 2
TREAT WATER
Constructed wetlands
Manyatta is one of the largest slums in Kisumu, a city where slum dwellers make
up more than 60 percent of the population. While Kisumu goes through rapid
population growth, the residents of Manyatta continue to face limited financial
opportunity and an environmental health crisis, amplified by impacts from
seasonal flood damage due to the areas poor drainage. Generative Pooling
challenges the negative association between Manyatta and its hydrological
environment by addressing the flooding, limited sanitation infrastructure,
and a deficient economy within Manyatta. Progressive sanitary and ecological
interventions are proposed to improve water quality and alleviate flood risk from
the Auji River, and we anticipate long-term economic benefits that will follow the
clean and controlled water management. The project will involve and energize
the Manyatta community, as well as the public and private sectors of Kisumu,
to support a healthier lifestyle and an improved economy.
Flooding is an urgent issue posing such serious health risks to Manyatta
residents as malaria and other waterborne diseases. With Generative Pooling,
the existing perception of water as a threat is challenged instead as an
economic resource. The Auji River, the main drainage channel that cuts through
Manyatta, is currently filled with solid and human waste, resulting in serious
blockage and contamination. The first phase of the project proposes to remedy
this situation with new waste collection and sanitation infrastructure. This
system, in the form of bio-community centers (already being implemented in
a few Manyatta locations), will include a new socioeconomic methodology that
rewards the community for actively participating in proper waste composting,
offering Social Capital Credits (SoCCs), a new community currency that can be
exchanged for hygienic programs or products, skill enhancement classes, and
other community activities.
Water filtration
Flood prevention
Eco-habitat
The communitys effort in waste reallocation and water quality improvement

will prepare the large patch of marshland at the southwest tip of Manyatta for a
constructed wetland to be implemented. The new wetland will further improve
the water quality by introducing natural filtration, preventing mosquito breeding
with special plants and creatures, and by containing stormwater within a
retaining fish pool. Filtered water will help sustain large-scale aquaculture,
which is expected to become a major income source for Manyatta residents.
This new productive landscape will supply fish and processed products to onand off-site markets and restaurants, which will contribute to the local economy
as well. Exploiting in addition the adjacency to other city facilities such as
Nakumatt, Moi Stadium, the decommissioning landfill site, and the highway,
the sites development will also act as an anchor capable of attracting tourists
and of bonding the Manyatta community more closely to Kisumus mainstream
economy.
111
PHASE 1: CLEAN AUJI, PROMOTE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Unregulated Waste
Disposal
FARM.WASTE.WATER
Major
dump-sites
Total waste generation
> 400 tons per day
Collection efficiency
20% (80 tons per day)
Manyatta A
Seasonal Flooding
Kachok
dump-site
Unoccupied Wetland
Intersection as proposed site
Auj
i
Lake Victoria Runoff

Stormwater runoff
is a cause for Water
Hyacinth breakout
Manyatta B
Riv
er
Direction of Runoff
Minor
Moderate
Major
Blockage
Kisumu Sewage Waste

Recycling Plant
Presently not functional
recycling plant built by
Tianjin University and KCM
Manyatta A + B
Population expanding
7-12% annually
Development is inhibited by the lack of

proper waste collection infrastructure,
sanitation problems, and flood risk. The
regional ecological landscape is also
adversely impacted by persistent waste
disposal in the Auji River. This phasing
strategy begins with Manyattas effort to
clean the Auji River by incorporating Social
Capital Credits, which can also be set
up to reward such social responsibilities
112
PROPOSALS
Waste Types
9.9% Metals
10.2% Glass
12.3% Plastics

Bio-community center sites
63.1% Organic
as collecting and recycling waste. To

encourage responsible waste disposal
within the community, a series of biocommunity centers are proposed in the
unused open spaces along the Auji River
that will act as waste disposal stations,
rewarding people who bring sorted waste
or who help in composting and recycling
with services such as showers, fresh water,
and access to skills-building classes and
1,400 ft =
5 minute
walking
distance
Auji River
Secondary drainage
Storm water flow
social spaces. The bio-community centers

operate on a biogas harvesting system
that turns organic and human waste into
sufficient energy to sustain itself. The biocommunity centers will be placed so as to
enable access for most of Manyatta B in
fewer than 10 minutes. Together, the biocenters will gradually reduce waste in the
Auji River, providing better water flow and
quality.
FARM.WASTE.WATER
Second Floor
Skills-building classes
Community spaces
Ground Floor
Showers and water closet
Potable water sources
Cleaning Auji
Reallocation of waste
promotes Social Capital Credits
Powered by Community
Electricity through biogas allows
nighttime activities.
113
PHASE 2: TREAT WATER, TURN FLOODING INTO AN OPPORTUNITY

Major Drainage in South Manyatta
FARM.WASTE.WATER
Stormwater Scenario
Inflow
Outflow
33 m3/s
30 m3/s
Bypass
Storage needed:
24,840 m3
every 3 hours
1.2 m
198 m
91 m
i
Auj
er
Riv
Hydrology and Landform for

Constructed Wetland
LONG SECTION
Storm water
catchment
SHORT SECTION
about 2%
Outlet
CUT AND FILL
Raising marsh dams
Slowing / filtering
flood water
Building on existing topography and the

easier flow of the Auji River, the next phase
proposes to transform the southern tip of
Manyatta from an unused marshland to a
constructed wetlands. Topographically, this
site is ideal for natural water filtration, while
containing a bowl-like condition suitable
for water storage. Currently, the seasonal
rainfall in Kisumu between the months of
March and May creates an inflow condition
114
PROPOSALS
in the Auji River that surpasses the outflow,

creating a threat of heavy flooding. The
constructed wetlands slow the water flow
and retain stormwater. The construction of
the wetlands will utilize a cut and fill strategy
that uses the excess soil to create a higher
base for the next phase of development.
The alternation between dry and wet
seasons will create a distinct character
BOWL CONDITION
Building storage for
flood water
Creating foundations
for building
for lower Manyatta, making a productive

landscape during the dry season and a
natural catchment system during the wet
season. The wetland system will retain more
than 21,000 cubic meters of water which,
according to calculations, can alleviate
local flooding. During dryer seasons, the
wetland water will be utilized for offshore
fishing and income generation.
FARM.WASTE.WATER
Lav
and
ul
Eng a ang
lish usti
Lav folia
end
er
llum
Rig deme
id H r su
orn m
wor
t
Cer
ato
phy
Pis
tia
Wa strat
io
ter
Let tes
t uc
e
Nym
pha
e
Gia a giga
nt W nte
ate a
rlily
PERFORMATIVE LANDSCAPE
Anti-mosquito plants
er p
Wat
cati
urifi
on
CONSTRUCTED WETLAND SPACE

Future markets
115
PHASE 3: GENERATE BUSINESS, CREATE JOBS, TRANSFORM MANYATTA INTO ECONOMIC ANCHOR
POTENTIAL OF FISH INDUSTRY IN KISUMU
Monthly fish yield

(June)
Kisumu Polytechnic
Kisumu Municipal Market
Yield: 79,237 kg
Retail: 12% Wholesale: 88%
300 KSh
Retail price
Wholesale price
Manyatta A
100 KSh
Omena
Clarias
Nile Perch
Tilapia
Nakumatt
Marine Drive
FARM.WASTE.WATER
EXISTING FISH-BASED BUSINESSES AND EDUCATION
Retail sale can be enhanced for ~ 30-60 KSh per kg
Manyatta B
SITE
Approximately 60% of Western Kenyan households

depend on fish as a source of food or income.
CURRENT LIVING CONDITION IN KISUMU

30%
Unemployed
52%
Informal jobs
About 60 percent of western Kenyan

households depend on fish as a source
of food or income. However, only around
12 percent of fish produced locally is
sold as retail. The Ministry of Fisheries,
which has spearheaded several initiatives
to boost fish production and sales in
Kenya, has offered Kisumu residents
the opportunity to create an economic
anchor revolving around a system of
116
PROPOSALS
60%
Informal settlement
35%
Unprotected water
commercial fish production, retail markets,

and value addition that can help turn the
site into a productive landscape capable
of creating jobs and generating revenue.
This proposed modular fish cage system
can create fish-processing businesses and
an on-site market, generating a magnet
for additional economic undertakings
such as restaurants, hotels, and other
informal activities. The core programs, in
53%
Below poverty line
combination, will turn the site into a local

attraction. The proposed building typologies
are constructed with excess local clay and
pitched roofs for water collection. The
market is designed to operate flexibly in dry
and rainy seasons, with operable screens.
Proposed market programs are expected to
create jobs and business opportunities for
the people of Manyatta.
Market jobs
280 stalls
FARM.WASTE.WATER
Market earnings
40% increase from
average income
PROGRAM INTEGRATION STRATEGY
Utility + Storage
Hotel
Market
Fishery
300 units
harvesting
= 1,000 kg / day
Fish cages
Museum
Revenue
= ~ 400,000 KSh
per pond per year
Restaurant
NEW MANYATTA COMMUNITY SPACE
117
RESPONDING TO A NEED FOR SOCIAL SPACES

1
4
FARM.WASTE.WATER
I have unused land. I

hope we can better use
our land with things like
agriculture and
bio-generators.
We want a
soccer field!
Parking
Enhance circulation by providing alternative routes
I make crafts to support

the family. I wish there
were more places close by
to sell my crafts and make
some money.
In response to on-site interviews, the

project will create spaces for workshops,
job training, and recreational space
within the site.
Commercial
Public activity
Community center
Infrastructure
Generate interaction by
integrating site uses
Pedestrian path
1. Market
2 Education center
3. Museum
4. Hostel
5. Fish restaurant
6. Education
7 Storage
8. Fish farming
9. Micro-pool Stormwater storage
Creating a network by connecting local attractions
8
7
118
PROPOSALS
SOCIAL CAPITAL CREDITS (SOCCs)
VIRTUAL MONEY TO INCENTIVIZE SOCIAL GOOD
Credit program: Recognize and honor

individual for participating in community involvement; in return, the
individual will be able to exchange
this virtual currency for other goods
or services they need.
Community with largest number

of SoCCs could get priority in
services provided by larger government-based projects.
Shower Room
FARM.WASTE.WATER
Individual
Maintenance
Shuttle Bus
Street Light
Community
Space
Garbage
Truck
Waste Collection
Earn
Spend
Telephone
Bathroom
Workshop /
Training
Booth
Storage
SoCCs Identification Card
Community
Tom Opiyo
TRANSFERRING SoCCs TO MONETARY INCOME AROUND THE POOL

Tom Opiyos daily routine in Manyatta
= 1 identical account
* 3,723
* 19
*5
*1
8:00 - Market
selling fresh fish
12:00
Eating lunch
17:00
Cleaning booth
Waste truck picks up organic

waster twice per week and recycled waste once per week
Free shuttle bus to run every 20

mins at peak hours and every
hour at non-peak hours
= 1 SoCC Card
7:00 - Walking
to dump waste
20:00 - Shower
At community center
19:00 Skills workshop
7:30 Bus to center
18:30 - Bus to
community center
*peak hours: 6:30 - 8:30

17:30 - 19:30
119
FUTURE EXPANSIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS
FARM.WASTE.WATER
LAKE VICTORIA
/ WINAM GULF
AUJI DISCHARGE
IMPALA PARK
DUNGA BEACH
NYALENDA
AUJI RIVER
NEW TEST SITES
The strategy can be replicated across

communities within the slum belt of
Kisumu. Implementation of the proposed
strategies along the Auji River can
progressively filter the water going into Lake
Victoria, benefiting the larger ecology of the
East African community.
120
PROPOSALS
OXIDATI
REVITAL
COMMUNITY BIO CENTERS
ION POOL
LIZATION
NAIROBI ROAD (5 HOURS TO

NAIROBI)
NAKUMATT
DECOMMISSIONING
LANDFILL
MOI STADIUM
FARM.WASTE.WATER
KISUMU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

(50 MINUTES TO NAIROBI)
KISUMU BYPASS
(4.5 HOURS TO KAMPALA)
MANYATTA A
GENERATIVE
POOLING
MANYATTA B
PARTNERSHIP
PROJECT SITE
121
ByPass
FARM.WASTE.WATER
PILOT SITE
122
Proposed density
Lot lines
New public space
Topography
PROPOSALS
40
80
Meters
REFERENCES
Anyumba, Godfrey. Kisumu Town: History of the Built Form, Planning And Environment:
1890-1990. Delft University Press, 1995.
FARM.WASTE.WATER
Balirwa, John. Lake Victoria Wetlands and the Ecology of the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis
niloticus Linn, Doctoral dissertation, Wageningen Agricultural University, International
Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, 1998.
City Council of Kisumu. Ten Year Integrated Solid Waste Management Strategy for Municipal
Council of Kisumu, Kenya, 2010-2011. http://www.citycouncilofkisumu.or.ke/sites/default/
files/KISWAMP%20STRATEGY%2010_20_0.pdf.
KPMG LLP. Kisumu, Kenya: Potential Opportunities for Investors, May 2008, Transaction
Services
Advisory.
http://mci.ei.columbia.edu/files/2012/12/Kisumu-InvestmentOpportunities_kpmg.pdf.
Munala, Gerryshom. The Challenge of Solid Waste Management in Kisumu, Kenya: Need for
a Paradigm Shift. Paper presented at International Solid Waste Association and Portuguese
Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering 2009 World Congress, 2009. http://
www.iswa.org/uploads/tx_iswaknowledgebase/10-370_FP.pdf.
Oloo, Rebecca Debora Atieno. Fish Farming As A Means Of Boosting The Economy Of
Kisumu County, Kenya, Masters dissertation, Edinburgh Napier University, 2011. http://
www.master-iped.com/downloads/REBECCA%20D%20A%20OLOO%20DISSERTATION%20
DECEMBER%202011.pdf.
Practical Action. Fish Cages. http://practicalaction.org/fish-cage.
Spataro, Salvatore, editor. NEEDS. LetteraVentidue Edizioni, 2013.
Speet, F. Storm Water Management: A situational analysis of Manyatta Informal Settlement
in Kisumu city, Kenya, Paper for University of Twente, 2012.
Tran, Mark. Kenya Puts Its Faith in Fish Farming, The Guardian, 1 September, 2011. http://
www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/sep/01/kenya-small-scale-fish-farming.
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). Kisumu Urban Sector Profile,
2006.
123
CLEANING THE AUJI
2014
- Social Capital Credits are organized

to reward social responsibilities such
as collecting and recycling waste. To
encourage stewardship, a series of
bio-community centers in the unused
open spaces along the Auji River
will act as waste disposal stations,
rewarding people who bring sorted
waste or who help in composting
and recycling with services such as
showers, fresh water, and access
to skills-building classes and social
spaces.
INLAND FISH FARM
2020
- A modular fish cage system can

create fish-processing businesses
and an on-site market, generating
a magnet for additional economic
undertakings such as restaurants,
hotels and other informal activities.
The core programs, in combination,
will turn the site into a local attraction.
ALONG THE AUJI
2030
- The strategy can be replicated across

communities within the slum belt
of Kisumu. Implementation of the
proposed strategies along the Auji
River can progressively filter the water
going into Lake Victoria, benefiting
the larger ecology of the East African
community.
Planning area
Proposed roadways
Developed roadways
Proposal point
STARTING POINT
Identifying water and sanitation along with flooding as the main issues that negatively
impact the lives of residents of Manyatta; this project proposes to turn risks into
resources. Through strategically placed community bio-centers which also act as waste
collection nodes along Auji River, and productively pooling resources of water in the low-
FARM.WASTE.WATER
lying areas of Manyatta, the project constructs a performative landscape. It aims to

mitigate the effects of flooding while providing access to safe drinking water, sanitation,
and solid waste management in Kisumu, and generating economic activities and income
for the community while providing much needed community space and employment.
Frequent floods and lack of access to safe drinking water and waste management are
critical issues for Manyatta due to associated health risks and waterborne diseases. This
project puts forth solutions that may be dovetailed with recent Civil Society Organizations
(CSO) network initiatives with support from SANA International and funding from Catholic
Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID). - Viren Brahmbhatt
BIG PICTURE
Farm.WASTE.Water has proposed that bio-community centers, some of which have
already been built in a few Manyatta locations, offer Social Capital Credits (SoCCs), a
community currency that can be earned for waste management by communities and
exchanged for hygienic programs or products, skill enhancement classes, and other
community benefits. Since only 20 percent of the 400 tons of solid waste generated
in Kisumu daily is being managed by the city, this proposal can become a model of
community participation. - Geeta Mehta
A frame for this project is how traditional cultural norms will evolve as the community
urbanizes. The project uses densification and open space reconfiguration to address
severe storm- and wastewater issues. Yet in addition to improving environmental
conditions and providing economic opportunity, water and open space design will
more importantly be the likely vehicle for cultivating and directing the evolution of this
communitys varied cultures and traditions. - Michael Conard
This is a critically important site that is vulnerable to the same kind of generic periurban development represented by the Nakumatt big box and parking area nearby. The
approach demonstrates an alternative that can evolve to a higher level enterprise that
also addresses the potentials of local ecology. - Richard Plunz
125
KISUMU BYPASS CONSTRUCTION

Workers and pedestrian crossing paths
GENDER
HOUSE
LAND
PUBLIC SPACE
WATER
FARM
WASTE
MARKET
TECHNOLOGY
Comments by Michael Conard, Kate Orff, Geeta Mehta
Manyatta Way
Bypass
Manyatta Square
MANYATTA WAY [ MULTI-USE SPINE ]
Connecting to future prosperity
Faisal Almogren, Kenneth Lang Mata, Du Young Yoon, Cheng Zhou
Driven by existing conditions, this project aims to improve connectivity between

Manyatta and the rest of Kisumu by establishing transportation links that
can be triggered by communal activities and public spaces along a proposed
Manyatta Way - a pedestrian-oriented boulevard that runs through Manyatta A
and B and connects different points of activities. The project aims to address
the issue of the informal growth of Manyatta, which was not originally included
as a part of the formal Kisumu development grid in the 1930s, leading to this
informal pattern of expansion that suffers from inadequate infrastructure, poor
living conditions, seasonal flooding, insecurity, and high economic inactivity.
In addition, an international highway, currently under construction, will pass
through this neighborhood, resulting in further division between the city and
Manyattas informal areas in physical, social, and economic terms.
Through a community incentives program, this project proposes a collective
approach towards redrawing existing property boundaries, providing room for
essential infrastructural elements (e.g., roads, drainage, solid waste alleviation).
These essential tools will initiate a reliable foundation on which it will be
possible to augment connectivity with the rest of the city and to strengthen the
local economy.
This proposal designs new rules for infrastructure, serving as the foundation for
Manyattas expected population growth. Kisumu receives more than 150 mm of
rain per year on average, and most of the Manyatta area floods up to heights of
more than 1 meter. Addressing and incorporating guidelines to alleviate areas
from the stresses of water runoff benefit the community as a whole. A drainage
pond, trash-collecting incentives, street infrastructure, and public transport are
some of the networking tools implemented in this project to help support new
growth.
Manyatta Ways programs and potential businesses are core triggers for new
development. By evaluating the size and required financial input of different
types of programming, Manyatta Way generates a sequence of new programs
designed to benefit local neighborhoods. Some programs need financial support
from the city or a large and capable agency such as the World Bank, while
smaller-scale elements could begin immediately, as they only require smaller
scale support.
129
ADDRESSING MANYATTAS DEVELOPMENT EXCLUSION
1 Manyatta Way as a trigger
2 Main activity nodes as a destination
Kisum
ad
uBu
gh
wa
y
Manyatta
Way
Auji
Channel
Hi
ad
Jo
BYPASS
mo
Ke
ny
at
ta
Jo
CBD
sia Ro
CBD
Kaloleni
Manyatta knowledge
BYPASS
sia Ro
Kondele
gh
wa
y
uBu
Obunga
Hi
Kisum
Kondele
mo
Ke
ny
at
ta
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
Obunga
Manyatta Square
Kaloleni
Nyamasaria
Nyamasaria
Na
iro
bi
Na
iro
Ro
a
bi
Ro
a
2012
Founded as Port
Florence; a terminus
for the Ugandan Railway
and Port Victoria.
1898
Proposed Bypass will

promote a negative
division between inner
city and outer slum belt
BLOCK
B
BYPASS
HISTORY OF MANYATTAS GROWTH
BLOCK
C
1908
Zoning of
residential
areas into block
A,B and C
bi
iro
Na
ad
Ro
BLOCK
A
130
PROPOSALS
1930
Town boundary
excludes settlements in
Block C and beyond.
BLOCK
B
BLOCK
C
Kaloleni
Formal growth
Manyatta
Informal growth
PROJECT CONCEPT
4 Expanding to the city
Obunga
uBu
Obunga
Kisum
uBu
sia Ro
sia Ro
CBD
Hi
mo
Ke
ny
at
ta
Jo
BYPASS
Jo
mo
Ke
ny
at
ta
Hi
gh
wa
y
ad
gh
wa
y
ad
Kondele
BYPASS
Kisum
Kondele
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
3 Connecting to create flow
Crossconnection
CBD
Kaloleni
Kaloleni
Tran
s
port
Nyamasaria
Future expansion
atio
n ne
twor
k
Nyamasaria
Na
iro
bi
Na
iro
Ro
a
BYPASS CONNECTION
bi
Ro
a
No formal
entrance
ess
Gradual slope acc
EXISTING
Kaloleni
Improved
+ connection
Manyatta
Direct access between two areas
Manyatta Way
Proposal zone
PROPOSED
Kaloleni
Kisumu was founded as a main inland

terminal for the Uganda Railway in 1901.
It was then quickly divided into three
residential blocks in 1908. However, the
1930s new plan excluded Block C, where
Manyatta is located. This resulted in
decades of informal development within
the Manyatta area. The informal settlement
brings no clear benefit to the city. Instead,
it acts as a barrier that has actually limited
Manyatta
the citys healthy expansion. Therefore,

the new bypass between the Kaloleni grid
of aligned housing estates and the belt of
informal settlements becomes crucial to
this area and to the city as a whole.
The intervention starts by creating
Manyatta Way, a multi-use spine that
goes through Manyatta with different
moments of activities. This spine will act
as a trigger to increase the flow of people
and to establish Manyatta as a destination.

Beyond this relationship of Manyatta Way
and its different nodes, to the bypass and
beyond, our proposal would also provide
an array of linkages with varying modes of
transportation. Expanding to the east by
virtue of the same strategies and linking to
the city through a larger-scale transportation
plan would be the final steps.
131
PHASING STRATEGIES
De-parcelization
Re-parcelization
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
PHASE 1
Parcelization
Public institutions
Commercial use
Collective parcel
Consolidated lots
Land agreement
Land incentives
PHASE 2
Education
Services
Manyatta
Square
Rezoning and
infrastructure
Solid waste
Water management
Roads
Public space
Playing fields
PHASE 3
Manyatta
Way
New Programs
Public spaces
Markets
Playing fields
Health institutes
PHASE 4
Expansion
n
ithi
gw
din nyatta
n
a
Ma
Exp
l co
tra
n
Ce
Extension to
Central Kisumu
ion
ct
ne
Rezoning
Infrastructure
Roads
Programs
CBD
PHASE 5
Roads
Transportation
Drawing property lines (or parcel lines) is

the first phase of an intervention strategy,
as the trigger for introducing infrastructure.
After designated properties consolidate
a portion of their land area for a utility
easement, these properties are then
classified to receive a yearly incentive from
the city to be derived from the revenues
of microeconomic activities implemented
along the road. In addition, a collective
132
PROPOSALS
drainage pond is built that can be easily

implemented by community block members
to provide them with water runoff alleviation
and the ability to reuse this same water to
meet other needs. Based on the property
size of each allocated area, a collective
land agreement is implemented,to
incentivize lot owners to participate as long
as they maintain the aesthetic and needed
communal drainage lines of their respective
parcel edges. These new rules will promote

a sense of ownership and place-making
within the community. After property lines
are formally drawn, new programs are
located between Manyatta Square and
nodes of education, services, and public
space, and near the Bypass and Manyatta
Way. This will attract people from outside of
Kisumu and will create a connective flow to
and from Manyatta.
BEFORE
AFTER
Utility easement implementation
Sizing free space for use
Affected parcels by easement
Areas for services / incentive program
Areas larger than 190 m2
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
PHASE 1 - PARCELIZATION
Areas smaller than 190 m2
3
3
4
5
New Road / Sidewalk Types

1 Bypass + 1.8 m sidewalks
2 5 Two way + 1.8 m sidewalks
Waste collection points / drainage ponds

3 4 One way + 1.8 m sidewalks
6 Manyatta way + 5.4 m sidewalks
Communal drainage pond
Solid waste collection points
133
PHASE 2 - ZONING AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Proposed Rezoning
Way
yatta
Man
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
Proposed Waste and Drain System
Site for
Manyatta
Square
Services Point
Commercial Zone
Communal Facilities
Residential
Communal Cisterns
To open drainage
Trash collection
Health center
Matatu stop
Communal cistern
Restaurants
Food markets
Amenities
Grocery stores
Playgrounds
Churches
Community centers
Public spaces
The adjacent landowners will be responsible

for maintaining the drainage ponds;
landowners will maintain drainage lines
during rainy seasons. Solid waste collection
points would be allocated where drainage
lines connect to the proposed drainage
areas along Manyatta Way. Here the city
would need to address the great amount of
solid waste accumulation that continuously
clogs the current drainage ways and to
134
PROPOSALS
Located at lowest
area of each block
increase access to sanitation services in

the area. The solid waste collecting program
provides free bus ride tickets to work from
ticket booths in exchange for collection and
delivery of household waste. Here, residents
pick up new garbage bags. Transportation
would be paired up with a garbage drop off
service. A discounted garbage and public
transport service economically empowers
the community.
Trash Collection
To trash route
Located along the outer
edge of each block for easy
accessibility
Primary Drainage
Collecting water from secondary drainage
Secondary Drainage
Water flow according to topography
Proposed Quadrant Infrastructure

6.7 ac = 2 CDP
9 ac = 3 CDP
14 ac = 5 CDP
927kl
Communal Drainage
Pond (CDP)
1442 kl
473 kl
Drainage
network
4.6 ac = 2 CDP
1133 kl
Solid waste
collecting
11 ac = 4 CDP
25 mm = 102,774 liters
of rainwater fall within
one acre of land
7.8 ac = 3 CDP
803 kl
1854 kl
18 ac = 5 CDP
Solid Waste Collection Strategy
Communal Water Collection Strategy
Water
tank
Housing
Solid waste collecting point
2 Drop off
Ticket booth
1 Pick up
garbage
Bus stop
Earn free
3 ticket
4
Free ride
to work
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
Communal
cistern
690 kl
Gives piece of
land for tank
3 Receives free
clean water
to drink
2 Maintains the
tank in good shape
5 Pick up new garbage bag

on the way home
Communal Drainage Pond Detail
Norwesco brand
underground tank
Native plant species for

runoff water absorption
Surface Area Water Catchment
25 mm = 102,774 liters of rainwater / 1 acre of land
Perforated / underground
water tanks
Kisumu has about 150 mm of average yearly rainfall,

thus the potential to collect 617,022 liters of runoff
2 m water table
760 mm max
(4) 2500 gallons =

37,854 liters, capacity of runoff collection
Mosquito repellent plants

Phytoremediation
460-610 mm max
135
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
PHASE 2 - ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION
Manyatta Square
1
National Bypass
2 Cross-connection
Bus stop
3
Manyatta Way
Solid waste collecting point

Local water collector
Kaloleni
7.5 meters
New commercial district

36 m 16 m
4m
Access Hierarchy Plan

Path / Road /
Connection / Way
136
PROPOSALS
20 m
Pedestrian path
4m
Cross road
Minor connection
16 m Matatu / Tuk Tuk / Bicycle pathway
Manyatta Way
20 m
Obunga
Kisum
u Bu
Kondele
ad
Kaloleni
Manyatta
Way
Jo
m
o
Hi Ke
gh ny
wa at
y ta
sia Ro
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
Access
route
Winam
Gulf
Access
route
Traffic Types
Connecting to Central
Kisumu
Nair
obi
Roa
d
Building on
Intersection types
Pedestrian
movement
Tuk Tuk Routes

Establish roads in good condition to support Tuk Tuk
movement
Matatu Main Line

A main line that connects Manyatta, recognizing it as
a more formal part of Kisumu city
Boda Boda Network

Identifying streets for expansion
Street Treatment Before
Street Treatment After
Reinforcing
existing
drains
Permeable gravel
and pavement
Central
water drain
Permeable
pavement
Potable
water piping
137
PHASE 3 - PROGRAMS AND TYPOLOGIES
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
Roof
Corrugated metal sheeting
Metal rebar for structure
Trusses for roof and brick support
UV coated for durable lifespan
Rainwater drainage
Polycrystalline silicon solar cells
Wall
Laterite brick, on site production
using local found material
Rain water drainage from roof to
barrel
Passive Design
Cross ventilation
Natural daylighting
Trees for shading
Construction
These techniques support employment of local labor, inexpensive materials and enable
workshops for construction education.
Foundation
Impervious granite stone
/ concrete aggregate
Sandbags for perimeter of walls to
alleviate seasonal flood damage
RESIDENTIAL
Retrofitting
existing
138
PROPOSALS
New
single story
PUBLIC SPACES
New
multistory
Communal
building
SERVICES
MARKETS
Kiosk
Market
Market
Public
space
Services
Parking
Bus Stop
Clinic
Community
center
Offices
Market
Market
Public
space
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
Public
space
SERVICES
LEFT: As a part of the property line drawing

process, a housing catalogue was created
to help the local community understand
basic frameworks for different types of
buildings. These include solar and water
collecting, passive design, utilizing local
material, and employing local workers. This
catalogue is not a detailed explanation
for building a new house, but it provides
essential guidance to the community as to
PUBLIC SPACES
how to go about building a better home.

ABOVE: Our proposal includes the creation
of a number of activity hubs at the
intersections of the newly improved roads in
Manyatta. These activities zones consist
of: A) A commercial hub at the bypass, to
attract international and national visitors;
B) An educational hub, providing skill
training services to the city and the region
to increase the overall education level while
MARKETS
reducing the unemployment rate; and C)

A community hub, consisting of market,
office space, a trash collection point, and
community center. Together, these hubs will
form a larger network that can attract both
people and money flows and can stimulate
economic and social vitality for Manyatta,
creating a destination for the entire area.
139
PILOT SITE
Way
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
yatta
Man
World
Bank
Road
140
Proposed density
Lot lines
New public space
Topography
PROPOSALS
40
80
Meters
REFERENCES
African Development Bank Group. State of Infrastructure in East Africa, http://www.
afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/Economic_Brief_-_State_of_
Infrastructure_in_East_Africa.pdf.
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
Ewald, Jonas, Anders Nilsson, Anders Nrman, and Patrick Stlgren. Lake Victoria Region.
Strategic Conflict Analysis. Sida, 2004.
Invest in Kenya: Focus Kisumu. Columbia University, 2007.
Kenya Open Data. https://www.opendata.go.ke.
Kr Architecture. Primary school / Gando / Burkina Faso, http://www.kerearchitecture.
com/projects/primary-school-gando.
Kisumu 2013: Housing on the Agenda, CORDAID Urban Matters program, 2014.
Luk, Lefever and Wouters Sofie. Investigative Design, bypassing the city edge: An analysis of
Kisumu, Kenya, Masters thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2008.
Onyango, George M., George G. Wagah, Lillian A. Omondi, and Bernard O. Obera. Market
Places: Experiences from Kisumu City. Maseno University Press, 2013.
Pamoja Trust. Manyatta, Kisumu, http://www.pamojatrust.org/index.php?option=com_
k2&view=item&id=6:manyatta-kisumu&Itemid=304.
Physical Planning Act. Laws of Kenya, Chapter 286 (2012).
Practical Action. Smoke indoor air pollution, http://practicalaction.org/smoke-indoor-airpollution.
Pragmatic Urbanism, http:// tomorrowspaper.wordpress.com/category/cities.
Watkin, John R. The Evolution of Ecotourism in East Africa: From an idea to an industry,
Paper presented at the East African Conference on Ecotourism, 2002.
141
MAPPING PROPERTY LINES
2014
- New property lines (or parcel lines)

introduces new shared space for
infrastructure. Properties consolidate
a portion of their land area for a utility
easement, these properties are then
classified to receive a yearly incentive
from the city to be derived from the
revenues of microeconomic activities
to be implemented along a newly
proposed road: Manyatta Way.
CONNECTING WASTE AND WORK
2020
- The solid waste collecting program

provides free bus ride tickets to
work from ticket booth locations, in
exchange for collection and delivery of
recyclable household waste.
- Transportation would be paired
up with a garbage drop off service.
A discounted garbage and public
transport service aims to economically
empower the local community.
BRIDGING MANYATTA
2030
- Together, the proposed connections,

programs, and hubs will form a larger
network that can attract both people
and under explored value. The network
is designed to stimulate economic and
social vitality for Manyatta. The Way
will generate a sustainable connection
and a destination for the entire city.
Planning area
Proposed roadways
Developed roadways
Proposal point
STARTING POINT
Manyatta Way understands that the relationship between infrastructure and social
determinism is correlative and begins the process of change by introducing a physical
ROAD.INFRA.ECONOMY
and economic roadmap for consolidating the interests of this locale. Manyatta is no
different than many other challenged informal urban communities whose residents
are displaced during urban expansion and road / infrastructure improvements. This
design team introduces a new process that contributes to the expansion of Kisumu
and suggests how an informal community can contribute to the future city and benefit
from that change. The team understands that urban transformation must have a tempo
appropriate to the community and suggests a methodology whose key attributes are its
temporal and spatial measure. This measure provides the pre-figural starting point for
strategic, local scale, open space, and fabric densification projects, allowing them to
seed multi-scaled road, infrastructure, spatial, and system change. - Michael Conard
BIG PICTURE
This project starts with a clear question: how can a road serve to develop a community,
and provide much needed access without destroying its character, scale, safety, and
landscape quality? Through a strategic phasing strategy that slowly puts new segments
of a road within the community online, by carefully modulating its surface textures,
porosity, vegetation and edges, this project will enable waste collection by trucks within
the community and set up a gradual framework for redevelopment that empowers local
landowners. By designing a multi-use corridor rather than a thruway, Manyatta Way
charts a path to develop not destroy the community. - Kate Orff
This project addresses the stark social inequities in Kisumu. Poor communities are
located in a belt that wraps around the west and southern edge of Kisumu, unable
to have a strong enough voice to demand social and physical infrastructure that other
parts of the city have. The new bypass road threatens to worsen this situation. Isolating
the rich and the poor in a city leads to social unrest and violence. The links the project
proposes can not only connect Manyatta residents to opportunities in the rest of Kisumu,
but also bring in businesses and employers to take advantage of the lower land prices
and human resources in Manyatta. However, political will is needed to ensure that the
Manyatta residents benefit from the development and are not pushed aside. - Geeta
Mehta
143
MANYATTA PEACE MARKET

Local vendors retreiving water and selling goods
GENDER
HOUSE
ROAD
LAND
PUBLIC SPACE
WATER
FARM
WASTE
INFRASTRUCTURE
Comments by Michael Conard, Kate Orff, Geeta Mehta
Kondele market
Kibuye market
World Bank funded market
Manyatta market
Kasawino matket
Nyamasaria matket
THREADS: BIG BOX

SUPERMARKETS
EMPOWERING LOCAL
TRADERS WITH SKILLS
AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Transportation
Shelter
Electricity
Information
Waste
collection
INFRASTRUCTURE PLUG-IN EMPOWERS DENSIFICATION
Financing
Lake Victoria
Oile market
OPEN MARKET ECONOMY
Markets as Catalysts for Densification
Ku Hun Chung, Crystal Ng, Wagdy Atef Moussa, Yue Zhao
Nakumatt matket
The Open Market Economy project empowers informal vendors through the
implementation of core infrastructure systems that facilitate entrepreneurship
and bring development throughout Manyatta. Currently, informal vendors are
being displaced throughout Kisumu due to development projects such as the
Kondele Bypass and to commercial pressure from large supermarket chains.
Municipal and international donor market projects, such as the Manyatta
Peace Market, sit empty and underutilized, even as vendors operate in vibrant
roadside markets outside with very few amenities. This lack of infrastructure
increases the cost of doing business and reduces vendors profits. It is believed
that strengthening the marketplace for the informal economy will positively
impact 70 percent of the Manyatta community, providing a more sustainable
economy than the larger Kisumu supermarkets, which do not promote local
industries and which drain profits from communities.
Currently, Manyatta lacks such basic infrastructure as solid waste management
and affordable electricity. This project seeks to serve vendors and residents
need to create symbiotic relationships between the market and the community.
The proposed market strategy can serve as a trigger in facilitating critical
upgrades of neighborhood infrastructure. The project proposes three options
depending on site conditions and identifies a toolkit for the core infrastructure
required for business operation. The development of this infrastructure is based
on the idea of incremental expansion and small infrastructural investments
that can have the largest impact on the market, as well as on the surrounding
neighborhood. The first proposed intervention is in existing markets. While
the Peace Market is relatively better served and connected than the rest of
Manyatta, essential infrastructure is still needed both to meet sellers needs
and to address the reason for the markets prior failure.
THREADS: BIG BOX

SUPERMARKETS
This project proposes to convert the empty market interior into an infrastructure
hub where vendors can access market information, skill enhancement, and
financing. The community will also be able to utilize on-site solar energy
and waste collection systems. The initial waste sorting site could develop
into a community cooker that utilizes waste as fuel. For Site Condition 2,
the project proposes expansion of the market into secondary roads, where
the agglomeration of commercial activities can trigger the upgrade of road
infrastructure and the neighborhood, so as to support additional commercial
activity. Site Condition 3 anticipates future density and less open space. It is
proposed that mobile markets borrow institutional spaces on weekends or in the
evening for commercial activity, providing social and educational opportunities
for the neighborhood. Infrastructure inputs at these locations will benefit the
host space and the market simultaneously.
Informal sector in Kisumu, Kenya
147
THREATS, RISKS, OPPORTUNITIES

RISKS
THREATS
Displacement of the informal market through development
Commercial development in the form of big box stores
KONDELE 2004
Robust market
KONDELE 2009
Bypass construction
KONDELE 2014
Permanent loss of
trading space
Money leaves Kisumu
Nakumatt market; Kisumu

Mega blocks disruption on existing city fabric
Low wage jobs
OPPORTUNITIES
Intrinsic principals of informal markets
FORM ECOLOGIES
Public space design
for mutual benefits
148
PROPOSALS
BE TACTICAL
Innovate alternative
uses exploit untapped
resources
THINK MICRO
Small infrastructure
initiatives offer agilities
and responsiveness
SHARE
Equitable benefit of
resources
ECONOMY OF MANYATTA
PREVALENCE OF THE INFORMAL ECONOMY
98%
25%
of all new business
No municipal waste
collection
No refrigeration loss
of produce
No storage High
transportation costs
No / unreliable electricity
limited work hours
No sewage or
stormwater management
Pollution
Bribery
Rent + Utilities
Expenditure
Missing result
of national GDP
70%
of Manyatta workforce
in informal sector
High taxes
MONEY FLOW BY MARKETING TYPES
30 KSh / day
Nakumatt
Profits
Shareholders
32.5 KSh / day

30 KSh / day
3000-4000
KSh / Month
Nakumatt Market
BORROW
Temporal occupation
of space, agreement
between lender and
borrower
Municipal market
PROGRAM TEMPORALLY
Activating the citys 24
hour, 7 days cycle.
Roadside market
UNBUILT TO BUILD
As mode of densification,
if density does not suffice
MAKE DO
Something from
nothing, improvisation with resources
DEPLOY
Agile distribution
and mobility
149
MARKETS AS ACTIVATORS IN KISUMU

KISUMU ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Traders from Uganda / Rural

Nyanza Province
WORLD BANK
MARKET
Traders from Rural Nyanza
Province
KIBUYE
MARKET
Lake Victoria
Bus
station
Manyatta
MANYATTA
MARKET
OLIE
MARKET
Kisumu Central
Business District
Train
station
KASAWINO
MARKET
Formal markets
Informal markets
Supermarkets
Mobile traders
100
400m
KISUMU MARKET ACTIVITIES: DAY AND NIGHTTIME POPULATION
MORNING MARKET
(Dunga Beach /
Fish market)
6am
MORNING
150
PROPOSALS
OILE PARK MARKET
Roadside stalls
MANYATTA MARKET
Formal pavilion
12pm
Informal shelters
AFTER SCHOOL
KIBUYE MARKET
Bypass traders
6pm
EVENING
NAKUMATT MARKET
12am
MARKET LIMITS AND NEEDS

TYPE OF MARKETS
INFRASTRUCTURAL NEEDS OF BUSINESS

TYPOLOGY OF INFRASTRUCTURE PLUG-IN
INFRASTRUCTURE
TYPE OF SELLERS
Market
FINANCING
Produce
Meat
Home
WASTE
COLLECTION
Household
Home addition
Manyatta
Restaurant
INFORMATION
Tailer
Roadside
ELECTRICITY
Salon
Stalls
POTENTIAL SITES
Repair
SHELTER
Mobile
Furniture
Improve
TRANSPORTATION
Strategically located next to Lake Victoria

and bordering Tanzania and Uganda,
Kisumu has historically been a trading
post. Markets in Kisumu range from onestop-shop supermarkets and bustling city
markets with traders from neighboring
countries, to individual mobile sellers on
boda boda, motorcycles, each operating
on its own mobile and temporal patterns.
The informal sector is highly flexible and
Banking
adaptable, and operates on minimum

infrastructure. These projects seek to
develop systems in which microfinancing
and trade can thrive and become a
springboard for community development.
Through an analysis of vendors needs,
the minimum necessary essential
infrastructure was identified as financing,
waste
management,
informational
technology, electrification, shelter, and
Expand
Density multifunctional
transportation. Electricity and roads are

unreliable in Kisumu, leading to reduced
productivity. Information technology is also
limited, hindering Manyatta from entering
larger retail markets. Waste management
is a problem that can turn into a proposed
market opportunity for the community.
From the existing markets built density,
potential sites have been identified for
retrofitting emerging commercial areas.
151
CO-OPERATIVE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS AND PLAYERS
Institutions
Community
Infrastructure
SMALL INVESTMENT
Financing
Vendors Fee
IMPROVE MARKETS
Waste
collection
Community
table banking
Information
EXPAND MARKETS
Traders Union
Electricity
Shelter
HUGE EFFECT
Transportation
DENSIFY MARKETS
DEVELOPING POSITIVE GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP

TAX
TAX COLLECTION
Collectors roam markets daily
30 KSh daily or 500 KSh monthly
Money for space

Money for
resources
LACK OF PUBLIC FORUM

Low involvement of citizens
Participation in government
GOVERNANCE
The identified infrastructure is organized into

a toolkit that describes the infrastructure
needs of particular sites. Site Condition 1
is an underutilized market. The Manyatta
Peace Market lies empty on the inside, while
active trading happens on the outside with
no discernible amenities, due to the high
rental costs of interior space. This project
proposes to allow commercial activity
to happen outside by placing necessary
152
PROPOSALS
MARKET
infrastructure inside the market. Traders

would then pay to use the infrastructure,
which can be financed incrementally
through the Traders Association, with help
from local government and institutions.
Site Condition 2 consists of roadside
markets. Here, financial programs involving
a community bank can offer loans to
renovate private residences that agree to
share infrastructure (e.g., exterior lighting)
with market activity. Under Site Condition

3, where there are no permanent spaces
for markets, the temporary occupation of
institutional spaces can be set up to have
mutual benefits. Markets can bring wi-fi
connections that will allow vendors to trade
and will benefit users within the host space.
Training will also be a vital part of market
expansion, with host institutions playing a
role by providing space for classes.
IMPLEMENTATION IN PILOT SITE

RETROFIT FRAMEWORK FOR DIFFERENT SITE CONDITIONS
CONDITION ONE
Improve existing markets to
create market networks
CONDITION TWO
Develop market expansion and
roadside markets
A Initiative investment
CONDITION THREE
Develop shared infrastructure
for temporary markets
Market expansion
Densification
B Spontaneous development
PILOT SITE: MANYATTA MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE INPUT
World Bank Market
Kibuye Market
Storage
Wifi
Roadside
Shelter
Manyatta Market
Market network thru it
Lantern
Charge
Micro grid
Collection
Point
Street
light
Kondele Market
Table
Banking
Boda Boda
Commerce
Waste
Storing
Paved
Road
Training
Funding
Smart
Board
Kasawino Market
153
EMPTY MARKET TO INFRASTRUCTURE / SOCIAL HUB

INFRASTRUCTURE INPUT
7
2
1
10
5
4
8
6
11
9
Manyatta Road
Vendor stall
Infrastructure input
1. Soil retention pedestrian surface

2. Wi-fi Information Board
PROMOTING NEW BUSINESS

10. Training area with shared
equipment
TURNING WASTE TO BUSINESS

11. Waste sorter / Community
cooker
3. Table banking
4. Charging station from solar energy
Combustible
5. Refrigeration
6. Refrigeration stalls
7. Expendable market stalls
8. Storage
9. Paved road with sewage channel
Skill training, e.g. electricians

class for solar micro-grid installation
Waste to energy cooker

Recycling sold to local
manufacturing
MARKET ACTIVITY
154
PROPOSALS
UTILIZATION OF FLEXIBLE MARKET SPACES

DAY TO NIGHT ACTIVATION
Market waste collection

points keeps environment
clean for the neighborhood
Community space
for table banking activities
Storage allows vendor
to spend less on
transport
Landscape reduces erosion

during rainy season
8
4
Solar power provides

for extended work hours
Wi-fi enables community board for

market prices and community events
7
3
155
IMPACTS OF INFRASTRUCTURE
TEMPORARY
FABRIC ROOF
Shared shelter
STORAGE
Plug-in for sellers
SMART BOARD
Announcement for market users
EXPANDABLE MARKET STALL
Plug-in for sellers
Reduce transportation cost
Reduce illegal dumps sites

Finance market wast collection
NEIGHBORHOOD
Connection to regional and global market
Storage
Market prices (wi-fi)
Community spaces
Community center
Street light
New paved road
Catalogue of infrastructure
Extended work hours
Traders
Cheaper shared
energy
Tailor
Salon
In conclusion, this project believes

that the marketplace and individual
entrepreneurship are the bases from
which it is possible to galvanize an
economically sustainable development
model for Manyatta. Infrastructure that
supports local businesses, such as a
reliable solar power micro-grid, will be more
likely to be supported and maintained
by the community. Such infrastructure
156
PROPOSALS
Power for
refrigeration
Butcher
Charge lantern
for study
Night time
recreation
Students
Free energy
Institutions
not only addresses the most basic needs

of residents and businesses alike, it
furnishes the community with additional
jobs and training opportunities. With the
displacement of informal traders from
all around Kisumu, the retrofit of existing
market space with essential infrastructure
is crucial to maintaining the economic
vibrancy of Manyatta and the entire city.
This project provides a framework through
Electrical and mechanical training
Sell extra energy to

neighborhood
Training
which public and private sector investment

can input the necessary resources required
for commercial activity. Based on these
principles, we envision a retrofit of the
Peace Market that can ensure its future as
a vital commercial hub and energetic public
space for Manyatta and the city as a whole.
IMPACTS OF MARKET
SOLAR ENERGY
Dependable energy
OPEN MARKET
Retractable fabric roof
WI-FI ACCESS
Connecting markets
with resources
TRAINING
Hands on education
WASTE COLLECTION
Open Space improvement
Micro-grid
Existing
Education
Share Wi-fi
Infrastructure input
Technology classes
Solar energy
Thriving market
157
PILOT SITE
Manyatta Market
158
Proposed density
Lot lines
New public space
Topography
PROPOSALS
40
80
Meters
REFERENCES
Briceo-Garmendia, Cecilia M. and Maria Shkaratan. Kenyas Infrastructure: A Continental
Perspective, Policy Research Working Paper 5596. The World Bank, 2011.
Frediani, Alexandre Apsan, Julian Walker, and Stephanie Butcher, editors. Participatory
Informal Settlement Upgrading and Well-Being in Kisumu, Kenya. Development Planning
Unit, The Bartlett, University College London, 2013. https://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/
documents/SDP_Kisumu_report.
Karanja, Irene. An enumeration and mapping of informal settlements in Kisumu, Kenya,
implemented by their inhabitants, Environment & Urbanization, Vol. 22(10) 2010,
International Institute for Environment and Development.
Karugia, Joseph T., Stephen K. Wambugu, and Willis Oluoch-Kosura. The Role of
Infrastructure and Government Policies in Determining the Efficiency of Kenyas Maize
Marketing System in the Post-Liberalization Era, Report submitted to the International Food
Policy Research Institute 2020 Vision Network for East Africa, 2003.
Kong, Thomas. Interpretations and Perception of Zero, Zero Project, 2014.
KPMG LLP. Kisumu, Kenya: Potential Opportunities for Investors, May 2008, Transaction
Services
Advisory.
http://mci.ei.columbia.edu/files/2012/12/Kisumu-InvestmentOpportunities_kpmg.pdf.
Mortenbock Peter, and Helga Mooshammer. Networked cultures: Parallel Architectures and
the Politics of Space. NAi Publishers, 2008.
Mutiso, W. and R. Behrens. Boda Boda Bicycle taxis and their role in Urban Transport
systems: Case studies of Kisumu and Nakuru, Kenya, Paper presented at Southern African
Transport Conference, 2011.
Onyango, George M., George G. Wagah, Lillian A. Omondi, and Bernard O. Obera. Market
Places: Experiences from Kisumu City. Maseno University Press, 2013.
Wilson, S.K. and W.S.K. Wasike. Road Infrastructure Policies in Kenya: Historical Trends
and Current Challenges, Paper prepared for Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and
Analysis, 2001.
United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat). Streets as Public spaces and
drivers of Urban prosperity, 2013.
159
IMPROVING EXISTING MARKETS
2014
- Sites of emerging markets are

identified for potential growth and
commercial value.
- This project proposes outdoor
commercial by placing necessary
market oriented infrastructure. Traders
would pay to use the infrastructure,
which can be financed incrementally
through the Traders Association,
with help from local government and
institutions.
EXPANDING EXISTING AND

NEW MARKETS
2020
- After consolidating existing markets,

this project aims to develop market
expansion and roadside opportunities.
This initiative is supported by the
creation of financial programs involving
a community bank that would offer
loans to renovate private residences
that agree to share infrastructure with
street markets.
DEVELOPING TEMPORARY
MARKETS
2030
- Temporary occupation of institutional

spaces will be set up to have mutual
benefits.
- Training will be a vital part of market
expansion, with host institutions
playing a role by providing space for
workshops and classes.
Planning area
Proposed roadways
Developed roadways
Proposal point
STARTING POINT
This project aims to empower residents and the informal market sector in Manyatta by
creating synergies with existing underutilized institutions that will generate economic
resources for needed basic infrastructural systems. The project proposes three
implementation strategies, that consist of converting the existing Peace Market into
an infrastructure hub where vendors can access market information, financing, and
skill enhancement, expansion of the Market into adjacent roads that could induce
infrastructure upgrades through concentrated commercial activity and borrowing of
institutional spaces in Manyatta on weekends and evenings for commercial use. The
strategies of empowering and organizing Manyatta residents and their informal markets
through technology will create a sustainable economic critical mass that will become an
asset for the city of Kisumu as a whole. This asset will create additional tax revenues that
provide robust, desperately need public infrastructure such as better roads, electricity,
solid waste, and drainage management systems. - Victor Body-Lawson
BIG PICTURE
Many cities and towns around the world have traditionally evolved and densified around
market crossroads. This project takes cues from existing lively and successful markets as
to where to begin the development process. Intersections are mapped and identified as
points of beginning, where investment into the urban landscape in the form of physical
infrastructure, surfaces, lighting, and waste removal, and economic infrastructure
investments in community banking and trading associations will together trigger new
forms of development. - Kate Orff
Markets have historically resulted in formation of merchant clubs and other social
infrastructure that is likely to result in enhancement of social capital. - Geeta Mehta
With this proposal we have a well-developed perspective on how formal and informal
economies can reinforce each other. It recognizes the need for flexibility that comes
with expanding local commercial nodes in correlation with infrastructural investments
and accompanying densification. It lets the evolution of public space follow the
money in terms of location and quality; and it connects residents with micro-economic
development opportunities. While this strategy does not conform to orthodox planning
principles, it reflects convincingly on the change processes already in place in Manyatta.
- Richard Plunz
161

Due to be complete by 2015, the Bypass will provide
for valuable economic ties but will also threaten
Manyattas connection with Kisumu city as a whole
NEXT STEPS
The Thirty-Year Plan: Addressing the challenges of new density
through a pilot planning network
By Priscila Coli and Kirk Finkel
THE THIRTY-YEAR PLAN

Addressing the challenges of new density through a pilot
planning network
Priscila Coli and Kirk Finkel
Priscila Coli is an architect and urban designer trained in Rio de Janeiro, Paris,
and New York, where she recently earned a Masters degree in architecture
and urban design from Columbia University. She pulls from her interdisciplinary
training to create urban connections from building infrastructure to the
metropolitan scale. Coli works as a research associate for the Urban Design
Lab at Columbias Earth Institute and she is also part of the research group
Urban Design Teaching: Theory and Methodology at the Federal University of
Rio de Janeiro.
Kirk Finkel is an urban designer and artist. He earned a Masters degree in
architecture and urban design from Columbia University and a Bachelors degree
in architecture from Cornell University. His work focuses on environmentally
and socially collaborative design across a broad scope of master-planning and
artistic projects. Finkel has exhibited in Berlin, Copenhagen, Milan, and Turin
under the collective name Hither Yon. He currently practices as a designer
at Cooper Robertson & Partners in New York City.
KISUMU CHILDREN
Overlooking hills and Lake Victoria
Manyatta A and B are poised for a tremendous shift in density over the coming decade.
Beginning with a census in 1999, combined neighborhood populations have grown from
62,937 to a projected 98,508 by 2015. Kisumus youth population in particular has
been a major factor in population growth citywide, with an estimated youth population of
over 50 percent and rising. A new generation has arrived at a critical moment while local
resources have been unable to maintain a similar pace in social service delivery. It has
been 30 years since this community was first exposed to large-scale planning investments
by the World Banks Sites and Services program, most notably the paved central road
of Manyatta A and the channelized Auji River, located along Kisumus agricultural border.
In the coming 30 years, Kisumus economy is expected to experience unprecedented
NEXT.STEPS
growth alongside advances in trade connectivity, infrastructure, technology, and

international pressure on local resources. Manyatta must implement short - and longterm strategies to plan for nearly 10,000 new residents every five years. The proposals
in this publication have highlighted the value of strategic planning in concert with six
themes: GENDER, LAND, WATER, WASTE, INFRASTRUCTURE, and ECONOMY.
Incorporating the role of time as a design guideline will be critical for sustainable growth
in Manyatta. As the region strategizes for new development, a single-phase project will
not carry the same long-lasting influence as a comprehensive approach that can be
implemented in a series of stages. Proposed upgrades and interventions in the Manyatta
neighborhood must be timed and the community itself must be introduced appropriately
to the recommended strategies of development. The following proposals use time as a
tool, understanding how valuable community awareness and maturity can be in creating
a foundation of sustainable and adaptable planning.
The following timelines organize each project in a series of three time periods, outlining
the proposals starting points and their potential growth over the course of 30 years.
Land, roads, and intervention points are highlighted as key moments of this pilot
planning guideline. These six projects observe the value of a particular theme, but also
work in tandem with site-specific issues. The goal of this composite strategy is to curate
not a traditional master plan, but a contemporary pilot plan (Figure 24).
BUILDING ON STRENGTHS
Addressing short-term goals is critical for new growth in Manyatta. Immediate steps can
build upon an already diverse network of community groups and leaders within each
neighborhood. Developing this network, partnerships between private and public sectors
should be given room to grow and greater opportunity to connect with one another. There
is a rich and rare sense of stewardship in Manyatta, a valuable asset that has enormous
potential to redefine this neighborhoods role at a regional level. These projects speak to
167
NEXT.STEPS
168
GENDER
LAND
PUBLIC SPACE
2014
2014
2014
2020
2020
2020
2030
2030
2030
CONCLUSION
ECONOMY
INFRASTRUCTURE
2014
2014
2014
2020
2020
2020
2030
2030
2030
NEXT.STEPS
WASTE
169
the greater Kisumu city region, each with the intention of benefiting social and economic
development that reaches well beyond Manyatta A and B.
POLICY
As Kisumus economy continues to strengthen and develop, so should the policies
that regulate and encourage change. Lawmakers must seek stronger co-beneficiary
strategies to empower local and regional investments. Infrastructure projects such as
the Kisumu Kisian Bypass are modern connectors between local and international
interests in trade and transportation. In order to maximize the potential of large-scale
NEXT.STEPS
infrastructure projects such as the Bypass, both local and regional interests must be
kept in mind. Lawmakers are also jump-starters and are called upon in these design
projects to take an increasingly active role in rezoning land and allocating government
subsidies for present and future development. It is hoped that Kisumus improving
economic status will result in the provision of services that aim to bridge the gaps
between national and local needs.
NETWORK OF EMPOWERMENT
The plan proposed here envisages developing strong communities through long-term
growth in Manyatta. Highlighted in red and grey are areas that play key roles in multiple
design proposals. These are special zones with concentrated potential to transform the
entire neighborhood of Manyatta A and B. The roads and pathways connecting these
areas drive a citywide network of empowerment with the World Bank Road functioning
as its central spine. This network harnesses the strengths of existing social landmarks
such as Kondele Market along the Kisumu Bypass, Nyamasaria, Manyatta, Oile, and
Kibuye Market. The Auji River has also been highlighted as a critical resource that has
been underutilized in the past, given its potential economic and environmental value.
Many untapped resources already existing in Manyatta can be mobilized through
awareness and existing educational networks, such as pre-existing churches, primary,
and secondary schools.
The Thirty-Year Plan is a framework designed to absorb the potentially damaging stresses
of densification from a community poised for massive growth in the coming decades.
This long-term plan supports a network of spatial strategies, a framework designed
specifically for sustainable growth across Manyatta.
170
CONCLUSION
Oile Market
ad
s Ro
Kibo
Kondele Market
Jo
Manyatta Primary School
Auji River
Ke
ny
at
ta
Hi
gh
wa
y
Chiefs House
Kibuye Market
Manyatta Market
Auji Intersection
Nyamasaria Market
24 NETWORK OF EMPOWERMENT
Key players and locations
Ko n
but
a M
oad
a R
MA NYAT TA A
MA N YAT TA B
Auj
iv
i R
er
23 MANYATTA NEIGHBORHOOD FABRIC

Entrance of Manyatta A - Kodele
APPENDIX
List of photographs, figures, and illustrations.
All material was produced by the Spring 2014 Urban Design Studio, unless
otherwise noted.
COVER
PROJECT AERIAL PERSPECTIVE OF KISUMU

Illustration by Urban Design Lab, 2014.
1
FIGURE 01 KISUMU OUTLOOK

FIGURE 02 AERIAL VIEW OF MANYATTA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
BENJA PORK AND M-PESA

Photograph by Victor Body-Lawson.
WHY.KISUMU.NOW
KISUMU COUNTY BOUNDARIES

OLIE MARKETPLACE
Photograph by Kirk Finkel.
10
FIGURE 03 EAST AFRICAN ENERGY AND TRADE

Illustration by Urban Design Lab, 2014. Source data:
Pipeline poker: East Africa is in danger of throwing away part of its new-found
oil wealth, The Economist, 2013. http://www.economist.com/news/middleeast-and-africa/21578402-east-africa-danger-throwing-away-part-its-newfound-oil.
10
FIGURE 04 LAKE VICTORIA REGION

10
FIGURE 05 KISUMU COUNTY BOUNDARIES

11
FIGURE 06 PORT FLORENCE AND KISUMU DEVELOPMENT MAPS

Anyumba, Godfrey. Kisumu Town: History of the Built Form, Planning And
Environment: 1890-1990. Delft University Press, 1995.
13
KIWASCO OUTLET
14
FIGURE 07 MANYATTA A / B MAP

16
FIGURE 08 NEIGHBORHOOD MAP

Sori, Negera Dinsa. Identifying and Classifying Slum Development Stages
from Spatial Data, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and
Earth Observation, 2012.
16
FIGURE 09 ROADS WITH WATER ACCESS

Wagah, George G., Onyango, George M., Onyango, and Kibwage, Jacob K.
Accessibility of water services in Kisumu municipality, Kenya. Journal of
Geography and Regional Planning Vol. 3, 2010, 114-125.
APPENDIX
176
APPENDIX
16
FIGURE 10 BUILDING DENSITY IN MANYATTA

16
FIGURE 11 SCHOOLS IN MANYATTA A / B

Maoulidi, Moumi. Education Needs Assessment for Kisumu City,
Kenya, Millennium Cities Initiative, Columbia University, 2008. http://
academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:125896.
17
FIGURE 12 DIVIDING LAND

Illustration by Urban Design Lab, 2014. Quotation source:
Okonyo, Edwin Wamukaya. Customary tenure: opportunity or obstacle to
urban land development, International Institute for Geo-Information Science
and Earth Observation, 2008.
18
BUILDING AND ROAD EROSION DETAILS

Photographs by Kirk Finkel.
19
FIGURE 13 HOUSING CONSTRUCTION

Sori, Negera Dinsa. Identifying and Classifying Slum Development Stages
from Spatial Data, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and
Earth Observation, 2012.
19
FIGURE 14 WATER IN MANYATTA

Maoulidi, Moumi. A Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment for Kisumu
City, Kenya, Working paper for Millennium Cities Initiative, Columbia
University, 2010. http://mci.ei.columbia.edu/files/2012/12/Kisumu-WaterSanitation-Needs-Assessment.pdf.
20
MCI WORKSHOPS AND PROGRAMS

Photograph source: Blaustein, Susan M. Increasing Access to Health Care
Using a Community-Based Approach,
State of the Planet, Millennium Cities Initiative, Columbia University, 2011.
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/11/15/increasing-access-to-health-careusing-a-community-based-approach/.
22
RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Photographs by Kirk Finkel.
23
FIGURE 15 AWARENESS
Dunga Beach Cooperative, 2012. http://www.dungakenya.nl/en/projectentot-eind-2012/.
23
FIGURE 16 SELF-INVESTING
25
KISUMU BYPASS
27
HOUSING TYPOLOGIES
28
LAKE VICTORIA DISCUSSION

30
FIGURE 17 HOUSING TYPOLOGIES

Illustrations edited by Urban Design Lab from graphics produced by a
Participatory Housing Visioning program hosted by Maseno University, 2012.
31
MANYATTA COMMUNITY CENTER

32
MASENO UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP

Photograph by Priscila Coli.
34
KISUMU RAILWAY
36
FIGURE 18 URBAN MORPHOLOGY

Integrated Strategic Urban Development Plan (ISUD-Plan) developed by
NODALIS Conseil, 2012.
37
FIGURE 19 PRELIMINARY STRATEGIC OPTIONS

37
FIGURE 20 KISUMU INTEGRATED URBAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN

38
FIGURE 21 OCCUPATION PATTERNS

39
FIGURE 22 SPECIAL PLANNING AREA 3

41
PROJECT TIMELINE MATRIX

42
MASENO UNIVERSITY
45
FIGURE 23 PROJECT AERIAL PERSPECTIVE OF KISUMU

47
PUBLIC MEETING AND PRESENTATION

APPENDIX

Participatory Housing Visioning program hosted by Maseno University, 2012.
177
APPENDIX
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
48
CHILDREN OF MANYATTA
50
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER

51
ROAD.GENDER.LAND
52-67
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
68
PROJECT TIMELINE
70
FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION IN MANYATTA

71
HOUSE.LAND.WATER
72-87
PROJECT TIMELINE
90
SCHOOL CHILDREN COLLECTING WATER

91
PROJECT TIMELINE
108
EXTERIOR OF MANYATTA PEACE MARKET

109
FARM.WASTE.WATER
124
APPENDIX
DENSIFIED WATERWAYS
Illustrations and photographs by Olivia Gibbeson, Yu-Hsuan Lin, Dimitra
Papageorgiou, and Grace Pelletier.
106
110-123
178
CO-OPERATIVE GROUND
Illustrations and photographs by Shirley Dolezal, Betty Fan, Kirk Finkel, and
Juan Guzmn Palacios.
88
92-105
FARM.WASTE.WATER
WOMEN-CENTRIC DEVELOPMENT
Illustrations and photographs by Juliana Azem Ribeiro de Almeida, Nasim
Amini, Priscila Coli, and Sunjana Thirumala Sridhar.
GENERATIVE POOLING
Illustrations and photographs by Fan Guo, Nijia Ji, Jihan Lew, and Yu Zhang.
PROJECT TIMELINE
NEXT.STEPS

127
128-141
MANYATTA WAY [MULTI-USE SPINE]

Illustrations and photographs by Faisal Almogren, Kenneth Lang Mata, Du
Young Yoon, and Cheng Zhou.
142
PROJECT TIMELINE
144
MANYATTA PEACE MARKET

145
146-159
OPEN MARKET ECONOMY

Illustrations and photographs by Ku Hun Chung, Crystal Ng, Wagdy Atef
Moussa, and Yue Zhao.
160
PROJECT TIMELINE
163

165
COMPOSITE PILOT PLAN

166
KISUMU CHILDREN
168-169
APPENDIX
126
PILOT PROJECT TIMELINE SEQUENCE

171
FIGURE 24 PILOT PLANNING NETWORK

173
FIGURE 25 MANYATTA NEIGHBORHOOD FABRIC

181
MANYATTA DESIGN TEAM

179
MANYATTA DESIGN TEAM

Overlooking Kisumu city and Lake Victoria

Spatial Strategies For Manyatta

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Spatial Strategies For Manyatta

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DESIGNING FOR GROWTH

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

MASENO UNIVERSITY - KISUMU CITY CAMPUS

CATHOLIC ORGANISATION FOR RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT AID (CORDAID)

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

MASENO UNIVERSITY - KISUMU CITY CAMPUS

CATHOLIC ORGANIZATION FOR RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT AID

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS AND GUEST CRITICS

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

02 AERIAL VIEW OF MANYATTA

BENJA PORK AND M-PESA

Seeding Success in Manyatta: Transforming Kisumu

Growing a Self-Investing Manyatta

CORDAID Strategic Planning

Collaborative Thinking: Addressing Contemporary Challenges

Kisumu Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Plan

Engaging Pilot Planning for Manyatta

through a pilot planning network

Growing a Self-Investing Manyatta

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

EAST AFRICAN ENERGY AND TRADE

This region is facing international pressure to extract

LAKE VICTORIA REGION

A valuable resource shared by three countries, the

Trade port city

KISUMU COUNTY BOUNDARIES

Kisumu city district map with growth footprint.

1972 city limit

PORT FLORENCE, FOUNDED 1901

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

Jom o Keny atta

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

ROADS WITH WATER ACCESS

BUILDING DENSITY IN MANYATTA

Pre-primary schools are large in number but are

Division of land ownership over time

Divisions make regulating ownership and

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

Building materials decay seasonally. Poor drainage

Water resources become frequently mixed with

The drainage system in Manyatta, particularly in Manyatta B, is poor, resulting in

Waste water from home often spill into the street.

Wooden framework contains

A family bathing, collecting,

Kisumu residents within 200

Kisumu residents with formally

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

Health specialist Beldina Opiyo-Omolo addresses

Workshop discussions at Millennium Cities Initiatives

Group Savings & Loans Training Program, 2014

SPATIAL STRATEGIES FOR MANYATTA

The Dunga Beach Cooperative is a strong example of

Raising participatory awareness is a key issue when

Public buildings host both community discussions

Fibers from water hyacinth are harvested at Dunga

The Dunga Beach Cooperative

Project for Microcredit program

Dunga Primary School founded

Water hyacinth is an invasive

Group Savings &

Table Banking meeting