His choice was however criticised by officials within the Protectorate government who felt the site was too flat, poorly drained and relatively infertile. During the pre-colonial era, the people of Kenya lived in villages amongst their tribes and cultures where they had rulers within their communities rather than a president and lived in that manner. In 1898, Arthur Church was commissioned to design the first town layout for the railway depot.
The city is popularly referred to as the Green City in the Sun. Nairobi was founded in 1899 by the colonial authorities in British East Africa, as a rail depot on the Uganda Railway.
The railway arrived at Nairobi on 30 May 1899, and soon Nairobi replaced Machakos as the headquarters of the provincial administration for Ukamba province.
In the early 1900s, Bazaar Street (now Biashara Street) was completely rebuilt after an outbreak of plague and the burning of the original town. Between 1902 and 1910, the town's population rose from 5,000 to 16,000 and grew around administration and tourism, initially in the form of big game hunting.
In the early 1900s, Bazaar Street (now Biashara Street) was completely rebuilt after an outbreak of plague and the burning of the original town. Between 1902 and 1910, the town's population rose from 5,000 to 16,000 and grew around administration and tourism, initially in the form of big game hunting.
The town quickly grew to replace Mombasa as the capital of Kenya in 1907.
In 1907, Nairobi replaced Mombasa as the capital of the East Africa Protectorate.
In 1908, a further outbreak of the plague led to Europeans concluding that the cause was unhygienic conditions in the Indian Bazaar.
In the early 1900s, Bazaar Street (now Biashara Street) was completely rebuilt after an outbreak of plague and the burning of the original town. Between 1902 and 1910, the town's population rose from 5,000 to 16,000 and grew around administration and tourism, initially in the form of big game hunting.
In 1919, Nairobi was declared to be a municipality. ===Growth=== In 1921, Nairobi had 24,000 residents, of which 12,000 were native Africans.
In 1919, Nairobi was declared to be a municipality. ===Growth=== In 1921, Nairobi had 24,000 residents, of which 12,000 were native Africans.
In February 1926, colonial officer Eric Dutton passed through Nairobi on his way to Mount Kenya, and said of the city: After World War II, continuous expansion of the city angered both the Maasai and Kikuyu.
Other notable open spaces include Jeevanjee Gardens, City Park, 7 August Memorial Park, and Nairobi Arboretum. The colonial 1948 Master Plan for Nairobi still acts as the governing mechanism when it comes to making decisions related to urban planning.
This led to the Mau Mau Uprising in the 1950s, and the Lancaster House Conferences, which initiated a transition to Kenyan independence in 1963. ===Post independence=== Nairobi remained capital of Kenya after independence, and its continued rapid growth put pressure on the city's infrastructure.
After independence in 1963, Nairobi became the capital of the Republic of Kenya.
This led to the Mau Mau Uprising in the 1950s, and the Lancaster House Conferences, which initiated a transition to Kenyan independence in 1963. ===Post independence=== Nairobi remained capital of Kenya after independence, and its continued rapid growth put pressure on the city's infrastructure.
Power cuts and water shortages were a common occurrence. On 11 September 1973, the Kenyatta International Conference Centre KICC was open to the public.
On 14 March 1978, construction of the terminal building was completed on the other side of the airport's single runway and opened by President Jomo Kenyatta less than five months before his death.
City Park, the only natural park in Nairobi, for example, was originally , but has since lost approximately of land to private development through squatting and illegal alienation which began in the 1980s. ==Political divisions== The City of Nairobi enjoys the status of a full administrative County. The Nairobi province differs in several ways from other Kenyan regions.
However, the park was saved following a campaign by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. Central Park is adjacent to Uhuru Park, and includes a memorial for Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya, and the Moi Monument, built in 1988 to commemorate the second president's first decade in power.
The airport was renamed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in memory of its first president. The United States Embassy, then located in downtown Nairobi, was bombed in August 1998 by Al-Qaeda, as one of a series of US embassy bombings.
Nairobi Province was not divided into "districts" until 2007, when three districts were created.
This mega-project of Kenya started in 2009 and ended in 2011.
In 2010, along with the new constitution, Nairobi was renamed a county. Nairobi County has 17 constituencies.
This mega-project of Kenya started in 2009 and ended in 2011.
It is now the site of a memorial park. ===21st century=== On 9 November 2012, President Mwai Kibaki opened the KES 31 billion Thika Superhighway.
The total cost of the project was more than US$29 million (US$111.8 million in 2013 dollars).
The 50.4-kilometre road was built in three phases: Uhuru Highway to Muthaiga Roundabout; Muthaiga Roundabout to Kenyatta University and; Kenyatta University to Thika Town. On 31 May 2017, the current president Uhuru Kenyatta inaugurated the Standard Gauge Railway which runs from Nairobi to Mombasa and vice versa.
The city proper had a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census, while the metropolitan area has a population of 9,354,580.
The city lies in the south central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . According to the 2019 census, in the administrative area of Nairobi, 4,397,073 inhabitants lived within . Home to thousands of Kenyan businesses and over 100 major international companies and organizations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), Nairobi is an established hub for business and culture.
A second phase is also being built which will link Naivasha to the existing route and also the Uganda border. On 11 August 2020, Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi resigned.On 21 December 2020, recently-elected Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Benson Mutura was sworn in as acting Nairobi Governor four days after the previous Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was impeached and removed from office.
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