Impacts Of Urbanization On Land Use Planning, Livelihood And Environment In The Nairobi Rural-Urban Fringe, Kenya

The expansion of the cities into the rural-urban fringes is creating direct and indirect impacts with those living there facing new challenges and opportunities in meeting their life needs and accommodating the by-products of urbanization. Although urbanization in these areas provides opportunities for employment, better housing, education, knowledge and technology transfer, and ready markets for the agricultural products , increase in population places enormous stress on natural resources and existing social services and infrastructure. This paper, using a multiple theoretical framework and qualitative research approach, attempts to describe the positive and adverse effects of urbanization on land use planning, li velihood and environment in rural-urban fringes, using the Town Council of Karuri, within Nairobi rural-urban fringe, Kenya, as a case study.