Welcome to Kenya’s private city that could offer a glimpse of country’s urban future

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A privately owned development outside the Kenyan capital is attracting residents and businesses with its strict rules and modern infrastructure.

Turn into Tatu City on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and it feels like entering a different world.

Digital content creator Valerie Akoko moved here two years ago. “I have never seen Tatu City dirty,” she says. “The rules state that the estate should be cleaned as regularly as possible. I have been here two years, there has never been an accident in Tatu City…because there are rules.”

Situated on 5,000 acres, Tatu City aspires to be what its name suggests: a city, privately owned, that its designers hope will eventually have a population of 250,000. It already is home to 88 businesses that employ 15,000 people.

In sub-Saharan Africa, champions of the idea hope that new-city developments can address the continent’s urbanization conundrum: While the growth of cities has rolled back poverty elsewhere, this region has largely been an exception.

History suggests that as people move into cities, productivity increases, wages rise, exports grow, and a country gets richer. But in Africa, urbanization has not unleashed such economic transformation. Weak property rights and political tensions can make the problem worse.

Still, the case for building new cities, complete with new infrastructure, seems compelling. The Charter Cities Institute, a Washington-based non-profit, argues that, done properly, such projects could drive growth, create jobs, and “lift tens of millions of people out of poverty.” The institute sees Tatu City as a model.

Tatu may provide clues as to what makes a new city successful.

Experts agree that the private sector must play a role in African urbanization, saying African states are too fiscally constrained to fill the investment gap themselves.

Tatu City also appeals to businesses and residents with its transparent governance structure and services that are often lacking elsewhere in Kenya, including its own water supply and energy grid.

It falls under national law but can set its own rules on matters like traffic and, crucially, what kind of houses can be built, with all plans requiring approval from Tatu’s management.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

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[Business buildings and housing units in Tatu City]

[Apartment units]

[Road signage]

[People walking in Tatu City]

[Speed limit signage and digital speed meter on road]

[Tatu City’s Country Director, Preston Mendenhall, during interview]

Preston Mendenhall (interview): “Tatu City is a 5,000-acre Special Economic Zone (SEZ) right on Nairobi’s door-step, about 30 minutes north of Nairobi. We have got more than 5,000 residents living here today, just a few years ago there was nobody here. So the population is growing very quickly. We have more than 3,000 homes, that is single family homes and apartments, currently at Tatu, housing those 5,000 residents. We have more than 80 companies in our light industrial park, that range from the leading Kenyan brands to multi-national brands.”

[Content creator Valerie Akoko recording video in her home in one of Tatu City’s apartments]

Valerie Akoko (interview): “I feel like Tatu has more law and order than other places. Because you will realise in other estates, there are no rules. I have been here two years, I have never seen Tatu City dirty. The rules state that the estate should be cleaned as regularly as possible. I have been here two years, there has never been an accident in Tatu City, like where a resident or maybe a guest runs over maybe a child or somebody. Because there are rules.”

[Restaurant owner Sylvester Njuguna during a a meeting at his restaurant in Tatu City]

Sylvester Njuguna (interview): “If you look at the infrastructure, if you look at the utilities, if you look at the security, if you look at the controls, it is one of the best. Actually, if you look at Tatu City, it is the largest employer in Kiambu County. That is the main reason why we looked at it, to come to Tatu City.”

[Entertainment venue owned by The Burns Brothers Inc. under construction in Tatu City]

[Will Dos Santos, Head of Operations of The Burns Brothers Inc.]

Will Dos Santos (interview): “We feel that here, in this location, will be essentially a second Nairobi. So we are kind of first to the punch here. We know that all around us there will be more economic development and growth, so from a business perspective and the decisions we made as an executive team, it still made perfect sense for us to come here.”

[Green houses next to water body]

[A cold storage facility]

[An operator moving products inside cold storage facility]

Preston Mendenhall (interview): “All of the Rendeavour developments (the development’s multinational owner) in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), they are demand driven. So, we build what the market needs. We are not putting in all the infrastructure on day one and we are not going to the banks for lending. We are fully funded internally.”

[Athletes training on a nature trail in Tatu City]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.

The related lesson for this video will be published next Tuesday.