By Urban & Regional Planning Lead, Lead Physical & Spatial Planner (KIP Member) · February 10, 2026 · 6 min read
- Rapid urbanization in Kenyan municipalities demands integrated physical development plans rather than piecemeal ad-hoc solutions.
- Regularizing market and settlement tenure unlocks commercial credit, reduces fire and sanitation hazards, and prevents land grabbing.
- Participatory GIS (PGIS) bridges communication between municipal administrators and informal sector business associations.
- Delglobe’s Daraja Mbili Market assignment established an actionable blueprint for municipal market modernization in Western Kenya.
The Challenge of Rapid Urban Growth in Western Kenya
Secondary cities and municipalities across Kenya—such as Kisii, Kisumu, Eldoret, and Kakamega—are experiencing unprecedented demographic growth. However, this expansion often outpaces formal planning, leading to congested trading centers, overlapping informal boundaries, and infrastructure bottlenecks.
Under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (PLUPA 2019), urban authorities are mandated to implement Integrated Urban Development Plans (IUDPs) that harmonize land tenure, transport circulation, and environmental sustainability.
Case in Point: The Daraja Mbili Market Tenure Regularization
Daraja Mbili Market is one of Kenya’s largest fresh produce trading hubs, attracting thousands of traders from across East Africa twice weekly. Over decades of organic growth, boundaries became blurred, access lanes were built over, and permanent land tenure remained uncertain.
Delglobe Consultants Limited was engaged to spearhead the comprehensive cadastral survey and tenure regularization of the market. Here is how our interdisciplinary team addressed the challenge:
- Stakeholder Engagement & Participatory Mapping: Rather than imposing top-down boundaries, our planners and surveyors conducted open consultations with market stall committees, neighboring freehold owners, and municipal officers.
- High-Accuracy Geodetic Control Network: Deployed RTK GNSS to establish permanent benchmark controls around the market perimeter, tying the enclave directly to the national trigonometric grid.
- Internal Circulation & Zoning Realignment: Designed functional zoning plans separating wholesale bulk agricultural offloading, retail dry stalls, perishable produce sections, and dedicated solid waste handling zones.
- Resolution of Disputed Boundaries: Fixed the definitive perimeter boundary, eliminating long-standing boundary encroachment disputes with adjacent private properties.
The resulting approved survey plans provided the municipal government with legal certainty to invest in multi-storey modern market sheds, drainage systems, and formal trader licensing.
Need licensed survey, valuation or planning advice?
Talk to the Delglobe Consultants team on +254 721 790 907.