Thousands of acres of Kenyan farmland turned into satellite cities

On the outskirts of Nairobi, vast tracts of agricultural land are seeing a new type of growth, as steel rods and concrete pillars set into the red earth reach into the Kenyan sky. More than 17,000 acres (6,900 hectares) of farmland that was home to coffee bushes and cattle is being turned into satellite cities as developers eye the nation’s growing middle-class. Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, is home to about 4 million people, but – said urban development agency UN-Habitat – decades of unplanned growth amid rapid urbanisation mean more than half of its residents live in slums. Satellite cities Tilisi, Tatu City and Northlands City offer an alternative, say developers, and will provide homes, offices, schools and recreational facilities for half a million people.