Drivers of Gated Community Developments in Urban Areas (Case Study: Nairobi, Kenya)

Higher and middle income residents in Nairobi, Kenya have demonstrated a great craving for gated community housing. The phenomenon is manifested in all forms of residential property advertisements and in most new residential developments. The objective of this paper is to establish the drivers of the gated community developments in Nairobi County by identifying and documenting the push factors causing migration of a section of urban dwellers from open to gated neighborhoods. The study results are expected to influence urban housing policy decisions towards developing sustainable urban housing typologies. The researcher reviewed existing literature from local and international scholars in order to understand the variables in the phenomenon before engaging in a field study. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design so as to allow the researcher to relate many different variables at the same time. The target population of gated communities was restricted to only those classified as lifestyle and prestige types that were found to be complete and occupied at the time of study. Eight gated communities were randomly sampled for the study. The main findings that drive GCs were security, lifestyle and location. Further, residents wanted to be involved in the decision making in management of the GCs. The study recommends clear development guidelines, flexible building standards and offer quality public services