Re-imagining our City: What Would It Take To Get The Public Spaces We Want?
- Public Space Network
- Mar 16
- 3 min read
By Jonathan Kass - Board Member, Public Space Network
In the Public Space Network, we share a common belief that high-quality public spaces are an essential part of healthy and equitable communities. This is where communities connect, where children can build independence, and where residents enjoy public life and build their collective values. Public spaces include pathways, plazas, parks, and even roads.
What are the chances that Nairobi County or the national government will deliver and maintain high quality Nairobi public spaces in our lifetimes? We must work for such government capacity, but we must not wait for it. That is why PSN is exploring how we can deliver better public spaces without relying on our county or national government. In our research, we have learned that hundreds of cities across the globe have created local institutions called Business Improvement Districts -- sometimes called Community Benefit Districts or City Improvement Districts -- to develop and maintain high-quality public spaces. PSN is exploring how this model could apply in Nairobi.
What are Business Improvement Districts?
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) bring together businesses, property owners, and residents to prioritize action, raise funds, and act collectively to create safer, more attractive, and more accessible public spaces. As a rule, BIDs take action that the government would not otherwise do. For example, they may plan and deliver landscape improvements and extra cleaning along pathways, hire additional security, or develop a marketing program for the commercial district. They do not invest in major infrastructure such as road construction, repaving, or sewer and water utilities.
With big malls becoming the predominant places where middle-class Nairobians go for business, shopping, and entertainment, BIDS are an important tool to help traditional local business districts continue to exist. Traditional urban commercial districts offer benefits that are worth preserving, for example:
Spaces that are accessible by walking, public transit, and other sustainable modes.
A higher proportion of local businesses that keep profits within the community rather than some foreign headquarters.
True public spaces, oriented not only around shopping, but also community engagement, cultural events, and a sense of belonging among residents.
“Market Stalls After” : Ring Road Kilimani near China Square
How do communities form BIDs?
Typically, a group of businesses, property owners, and residents follow a specific process approved by the local government to vote on whether to create a BID. This requires proposing boundaries for the BID, a fee structure, and a detailed plan for how stakeholders will be represented in the leadership. After a successful vote, the resulting BID establishes a representative board of directors, hires a director, and establishes a budget and action plan. In this process, a BID is approved only for a specific period – say 5 years – and then can be renewed by a vote only if the membership is satisfied with the performance.
Where do BIDs Exist Today?
While North American cities host most existing BIDs, there are examples from countries around the world, including South Africa, with several dozen BIDs in Cape Town and Johannesburg. (Read more about South African BIDS here.)
Even PSN has informally experimented with this concept, organizing a system to collect voluntary weekly fees of 50 KSh from small merchants in a single street in Dandora Phase II to fund a team of local youth that helped clean up trash around the commercial district.
What Can PSN Do?
PSN can help Nairobians envision what is possible. PSN recently led a partnership with the Architectural Association of Kenya and the Kilimani Project Foundation to sponsor a student competition. Students designed and illustrated fantastic, community-oriented public spaces along Ring Road Kilimani to demonstrate the types of spaces that could exist if only we had institutions capable of designing and maintaining them. PSN plans to host a workshop to consider the BID concept, inspired by these student designs.
PSN can also inspire residents and businesses to think about public space in their own community. PSN is planning a social media campaign that will contrast images of various commercial corridors in their current state with images showing basic public space improvements. We will ask the public what sort of institution is necessary to deliver such transformations. (A BID, perhaps?)
Finally, PSN can foster champions. PSN will be looking for specific business areas where there is an interest among business leaders and community members in developing a BID, so that we can begin working through details for a specific area.
Is this a viable solution for Nairobi? Send us your comments on our socials or via email to: jonathon.kass@gmail.com
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