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Based on Clarence Perry’s famous Neighborhood Unit, Kaloleni was originally designed in 1927 (while Kenya was still under British colonial rule), to house 3000 bachelors in single-dwellings and duplexes. According to Professor Peter Makachia of the Univeristy of Nairobi, the estate was developed following the recommendations of Sir Charles Mortimer, who chaired the African Housing Committee (AHC).When they were finally completed in 1948, these bungalows were gifted to African soldiers who fought for the British army in WWII. As bachelor accommodations, the houses were appropriately small, with an entry space leading directly into a tiny kitchen and, with a turn, into the main living space. Directly through the living room is a bedroom just wide enough to accommodate a single-bed and small desk. As these bachelors quickly became family men, many residents added lean-tos and sheds to the back of their houses. Even today, the streetscape is exactly the same as its original design, while extensions on the back provide more space for growing families. Because of the heavy materials used in their construction, these homes are well-insulated and comfortable—worlds away from the corrugated steel shanties that characterize most of Nairobi’s low-cost housing stock. Not unsurprisingly, these covetable houses have been passed down from generation to generation, giving this community an unbreakable sense of continuity—and ownership.
Kaloleni was built between 1945-48 by Italian prisoners of war. Although the designs had been around for some time, the Second World War stifled urban development in Nairobi. After the war came to an end, the POWs used imported materials, including roof tiles from India and large red bricks, to construct the well-crafted homes. If you squint, Kaloleni looks exactly the same as it did seventy years ago. And in a city where urban development is almost completely unregulated, that is a huge achievement. This preservation speaks to the planners’ well-thought out design, but equally to the residents’ perception that this neighborhood is something worth preserving.
Historical figures such as nationalist leader Tom Mboya, former Ugandan President Milton Obote and Charles Rubia, the first African mayor of Nairobi, once lived in this neighborhood. Residents recall various historical moments with a mixture of pride and nostalgia: Queen Elizabeth of England opened a clinic in Kaloleni in 1952, and Senator Robert Kennedy gave a speech here in 1969. The community hall was originally used as a center of the independence movement, and later as Kenya’s first parliament building. The anecdotes are endless, and point to Kaloleni’s rich—and largely unknown—cultural history. It’s a history that lives on almost solely in the memories of the residents.
Based on Clarence Perry’s famous Neighborhood Unit, Kaloleni was originally designed in 1927 (while Kenya was still under British colonial rule), to house 3000 bachelors in single-dwellings and duplexes. According to Professor Peter Makachia of the Univeristy of Nairobi, the estate was developed following the recommendations of Sir Charles Mortimer, who chaired the African Housing Committee (AHC).When they were finally completed in 1948, these bungalows were gifted to African soldiers who fought for the British army in WWII. As bachelor accommodations, the houses were appropriately small, with an entry space leading directly into a tiny kitchen and, with a turn, into the main living space. Directly through the living room is a bedroom just wide enough to accommodate a single-bed and small desk. As these bachelors quickly became family men, many residents added lean-tos and sheds to the back of their houses. Even today, the streetscape is exactly the same as its original design, while extensions on the back provide more space for growing families. Because of the heavy materials used in their construction, these homes are well-insulated and comfortable—worlds away from the corrugated steel shanties that characterize most of Nairobi’s low-cost housing stock. Not unsurprisingly, these covetable houses have been passed down from generation to generation, giving this community an unbreakable sense of continuity—and ownership.
Kaloleni was built between 1945-48 by Italian prisoners of war. Although the designs had been around for some time, the Second World War stifled urban development in Nairobi. After the war came to an end, the POWs used imported materials, including roof tiles from India and large red bricks, to construct the well-crafted homes. If you squint, Kaloleni looks exactly the same as it did seventy years ago. And in a city where urban development is almost completely unregulated, that is a huge achievement. This preservation speaks to the planners’ well-thought out design, but equally to the residents’ perception that this neighborhood is something worth preserving.
Historical figures such as nationalist leader Tom Mboya, former Ugandan President Milton Obote and Charles Rubia, the first African mayor of Nairobi, once lived in this neighborhood. Residents recall various historical moments with a mixture of pride and nostalgia: Queen Elizabeth of England opened a clinic in Kaloleni in 1952, and Senator Robert Kennedy gave a speech here in 1969. The community hall was originally used as a center of the independence movement, and later as Kenya’s first parliament building. The anecdotes are endless, and point to Kaloleni’s rich—and largely unknown—cultural history. It’s a history that lives on almost solely in the memories of the residents.
