ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the urban reform is a follow-up to an earlier piece of primary research carried out by Mazingira Institute in Nairobi. Nairobi is in many ways an archetype of the African colonial city, having purely colonial origins which shaped its structure and management at the time of Kenya's transition to independence. The City of Nairobi began less than a hundred years ago when a depot was established there during construction of the Uganda railway. A case study of matatus – the informal mode of public transports in Nairobi – can provide a useful example of the degree to which urban reforms may be necessary. Police harassment continued while the rate of breakdowns and accidents increased, attracting much public and media attention. Meanwhile, the anomaly of the Kenya Bus Service monopoly of public transport continued. The council was British controlled until 1962, one year before Kenya's full independence, when Charles Rubia became the first African mayor.
