6 The Journal of Sustainable Mobility Volume 3 Issue 1 June 2016 © Greenleaf Publishing 2016
Mainstreaming Non-Motorized Transport
(NMT) in Policy and Planning in Nairobi
Institutional Issues and Opportunities
Winnie V. Mitullah and Romanus Otieno Opiyo
University of Nairobi, Kenya
Non-motorized transport (NMT) is a dominant mode of transport in African cities,
and there are a number of institutional issues and emerging opportunities in African
governments in mainstreaming the mode into the overall planning of cities. This
paper relies on previous studies conducted by the Institute for Development Studies
on NMT institutional issues. It acknowledges progress made in mainstreaming of
NMT in planning in Kenya, by appreciating inherent institutional issues and oppor-
tunities using findings on NMT provision in Nairobi stemming from the Sessional
Paper number 2 of 2012 on Integrated National Transport Policy, and Nairobi City
County Government NMT Policy of 2015. These policies are supported by transport
friendly planning initiatives such as the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Author-
ity, project on integrated development master plan for the City County of Nairobi
(NIUPLAN) and the National Urban Transport Improvement Project (NUTRIP). The
paper argues that the two policies and the three initiatives are the first major insti-
tutional framework recognizing NMT as an inclusive mode requiring linkage with
planning policy and a legal framework. Based on discussion of NMT drivers, institu-
tional issues and opportunities, the paper concludes that there is an emerging trend
which bears hope for mainstreaming of NMT in Nairobi. There is emerging struc-
tured awareness among actors of the need to accommodate NMT into existing
modes of transport and planning efforts. However, a number of institutional and
implementation issues need to be addressed, such as inadequate NMT infrastructure
(including for persons living with disability and cyclists), poor coordination of actors,
poor enforcement of regulations, bias towards motorized transport, and poor inter-
modal transfer status, for the NMT users in the city of Nairobi to fully enjoy the fruits
of policies and planning.
O NMT
O Transport
O Policy
O Integrated
O Planning and
Safety
DOI: [10.9774/GLEAF.2350.2016.ju.00003]