Recreational utilization of open spaces in Nairobi city, Kenya

Abstract

There is mountlng research on the general process of urbanlsatlon ln the less developed countr1es (LOCS). However 11ttle attentlon has been paid to the role of recreat10n ln thelr urban centres. Research on urban recreation has been conducted , almost entirely in the more developed countries (MOCS) urban centres. Here recreation is recognised as an important element in the lives of urban inhabitants hence 1ts inclusion as a major land use. On the contrary ,most of the LOCs often give recreation low priority in the spatial planning of the urban areas. Nairobi as the capital Clty of Kenya lacks adequate recreational facillties compounded by the lack of exposure of the urban residents to the different recreatlonal opportunities available. One such form of recreation is the use of open spaces which are available for recreation purposes. These open spaces are faclng competition from the more economically challenging urban land uses such as residential, industrial, commercial, transportation among others. This study examines the availability of these recreational facilities, their role and the factors influenclng their utilization. Factors such as their location and spatial distributlon eyercise a signlficant influence in the use of these fac111tles. Agaln the propenslty to partlclpate ln outdoor recreat10 lS also lnfluenced by the soclal characterlstlcs of the populatlon such as age, sex, level of educatlon, marital status. occupatlon, ,ncome, car ownershlp among others. The fleldwork for this research was done durlng the months of o ember and December 1988 and January of 1989. The questlonnalre, key lnformants, available records and personal field observations were the main dat~ gathering tools. Four parks were selected for questionnalre administration to park visitors at random sampl1ng. The data was assembled and analysed with the use of a computer.Hypothesis were formulated concerning the association between patterns of park visit (Y)and a number of independent variables (X) which incllrledage, education, mobility, income and other variables.The statistical tests used to determine the degree and dlrection of the relationships among the variables were the partial correlations, regression analysis using multiple and llnear regressions and cross- tabulations. Use was made of the 't' and 'F' tests to test the signiflcance of the results.s. In the characteristics of the particlpants showed the that findings, people from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds had different propensities to participate in outdoor recreation activities. The parks had different attraction rates with some having more visitors than others for different reasons. Passive recreation dominated in the parks whlle the major mode of travel to the parks was by foot.Par~ Y1S1t 1S also lnfluenced by factors such as the a ailable le1sure tlme, weather cond1t10ns, tlme/dlstances lnvol ed, the problems of accesslbll,ty and exceSS1ve demand. The demand for outdoor recreatlon facllltles ln the Clty of Nairobi (CON) cannot be overestlmated especially as of now where these facllitles are underprovided and there ;s a backlog of latent demand wa1tlng to be satisfied. Participation in outdoor recreatlon is expected to rlse as the impact of urbanizatlon lncreases,which will lnfluence changes in peoples attitudes and lnterest,and brings about higher education and lncome, increased car ownership which may affect future recreational preferences considerably. In Vlew of such conclusions, it is recommended that the present recreational facilities should be expanded and their quality improved. Cost sharing should be introduced to improve the management and maintenance of these parks, through introduction of chargeable activities in the parks.Spatial imbalances of the distributlon of the parks should be adjusted by locating the new parks in areas where there are more concentratlons of population such as the low income residential areas. It 1S lmportant to maximise the utilisation of the existing recreational facilities wlthin the study area and at the same time create new parks for example, along the Nalrobi River, on the waterfronts such as the Nairobi dam and also explolt the forests (Karura and Ngong) for thelr potential as recreational resources. Recreational spaces need to be well planned ahead of the e·pa s en c~ the Clty of alrobl and lt 1S reeom ended that appropriate polley gUldellnes and researc wor~ be underta~en to necessltate pro lSlon of adequate and well managed recreat onal areas. This will go a long way in not only providlng essentlal serVlce to the urban populatlon but also good urban enVlronment and retalnlng the status of thlS most ensurlng a the 'Green Clty' ln the sun. To aclrieve th;s,reqUlreS a more pragmatlc approach amongst the planners, the POllCY makers, the polltlclans and the publlC of City of Nairobl.

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