Tatu City is a mixed-use environment that will be home to 62 000 residents who will live, work and play within this community and it will host 23 000 visitors every single day.
Background
Nairobi, the largest multicultural city in Kenya, has a population of over three million people. It lies between Kampala and Mombasa, close to the Rift Valley. To the east are the Ngong hills, to the north Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro to the south-east. The Masai Mara and Amboselli game reserves are within easy reach.
Nairobi's airport, Jomo Kenyatta International, is the largest and busiest in East and Central Africa - with over 49 airlines servicing the Kenyan market. The Eastern Bypass highway, currently under construction, will link the airport to Tatu City.
But with the rapid growth of the recent decades Nairobi has suffered the effects of unconstrained urbanization. The city fathers are now faced with one of two challenges:
- Rebuild major parts of the city, with all the disruption this involves, or
- Create a new, modern urban node, as envisaged in the Nairobi Metro 2030 Plan, which encourages relocation of both commercial and residential developments outside of the CBD.
The above challenges are what led the team involved to come up with the idea of 'Tatu City'.
Tatu City is a nodal development – each node contains distinct facilities including open spaces and public environments interconnected by a public transport system as well as pedestrian walkways. The following are the key characteristics:-
- Low Density Residential Neighbourhoods
- Medium to High Density Residential Neighbourhoods
- Primary & Secondary Urban Nodes
- Central Business Spine
- Mixed Use Spine
- Suburban Business Nodes
- Tourism & Conference Facilities
- Light Industrial, Warehousing & Infrastructure
Tatu City promises to offer a first-world support infrastructure incorporating the following:
- Paved Roads & Walkways
- Potable Water Supply System
- First World Sanitation
- Solid Waste Disposal Systems
- Electricity Supply Systems
A total of ten development phases are envisaged - some of these could be developed simultaneously, as demand requires. The starting point of the entire development concept is the environment, with over 35% of the land set aside for natural green belts. A further 15% has been earmarked for world-class infrastructure development.
The primary focus will be Phase 1 A which comprises the development of the Primary Urban Node, the high density residential precinct directly north of the node as well as a portion of the Tourism and Conference Precinct to the south of the east-west arterial.
Phase 1 B, which lies to the west of Phase One A, comprises of the Techno Park as well as a Low Density Residential Neighbourhood.
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