The shrinking play spaces in Nairobi’s residential apartments

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Most new residential developments have children squeezing into a small play area, taking turns on a slide or running around the little space left between the parking bays and apartment blocks. A few metres away, there are rows of cars that occupy much of the compound, while balconies rise several floors above them.

These developments tick nearly every box for modern urban living: security, a convenient location, a swimming pool, gym, parking and sometimes even a rooftop lounge. But when it comes to one of the simplest needs for a family—space for children to play—the offering can be limited.

David Murugi, an architect, explains that rising land prices have put pressure on developers to maximise the number of saleable units. These spaces, he says, are now competing directly with apartments, parking and other revenue-generating amenities such as gyms and swimming pools.

“In most of the high-density areas, every square metre has an economic value. So any additional space will be viewed by a developer as potential for another apartment block as opposed to a children’s playground,” he says.

The architect argues that children’s spaces were historically incorporated more naturally into estate planning.

“The challenge is that we are designing vertically, but children still need horizontal spaces where they can run, explore and interact.”

Additionally, the architect says the growth in car ownership has also increased pressure on residential developments to provide parking.

The architect observes that children’s needs are currently overlooked in housing decisions.

“These residential developments have been primarily marketed around things adults consider when buying a home like the number of bedrooms, parking, security, swimming pools, gyms, views and finishes. Children’s needs have then become secondary, even though families are among the main occupants.”

The pressure to maximise land use is becoming more pronounced as property values rise in some of Nairobi’s traditionally low-density neighbourhoods. For instance, land prices in Karen and Lang’ata have recorded some of the fastest growth among Nairobi suburbs and satellite towns this year. This follows a policy change that allowed high-rise developments in sections of the estates.

According to HassConsult, a real estate consultancy that tracks rents and property sales, the price of an acre in Karen rose by 10 per cent to Sh79.5 million, while Lang’ata recorded a 9.8 per cent growth to Sh94.7 million.

The consultancy attributed the increase to the Nairobi City County Development Control Policy 2026, which changed zoning rules to allow higher-density residential developments in designated areas.

The shift towards higher-density construction is likely to further intensify the competition for communal space within residential developments, as developers seek to accommodate more units on expensive land.

Ben Okoth, a real estate developer, says the cost aspect determines how much of a site can be dedicated to housing and how much can be set aside for shared amenities.

Depending on zoning regulations, plot size, allowable building height, setbacks, parking requirements and other planning considerations, a single parcel can accommodate dozens or even hundreds of apartments.

“If you take 10 or 20 per cent of a site and dedicate it to a playground, that is land you cannot use for another block or additional units. The question here is not what the playground costs to construct because you also have to consider the opportunity cost of the land. In some locations, that can be important.”

Consequently, Mr Okoth says that in family-oriented developments, children’s facilities can help differentiate a project from competing properties and influence the decisions of buyers and tenants.

“If you are building for families, the presence of a proper children’s play area can be a selling point. What we see in these cases is that parents are also buying the environment in which their children will grow. A development that offers safe and usable outdoor space can have that advantage over one that does not.”

He continues to say that a family buying a three or four-bedroom apartment may attach greater importance to children’s facilities than a young professional buying a one-bedroom unit.

“Not every buyer is willing to pay more simply because a development has a bigger playground. But for a family, the availability of a safe play area can influence the overall value they attach to a property. It can make the difference between choosing one development over another, even if the price is similar.”

At the same time, developers have to prioritise amenities based on what attracts buyers while still considering construction, maintenance and land costs. Parking, for example, can be difficult to reduce because it is closely linked to the functionality of a development.

“Every amenity has to be looked at in terms of the value it creates. The strongest amenities are those that helps the development attract and retain the target buyer.”

“The industry is not saying that children do not need space. The reality is that we are trying to accommodate more people on expensive land. For us the solution is to design recreational spaces intelligently so that they are still useful without making the entire project financially unviable,” Mr Okoth adds.

The developer says that if buyers begin to consistently demonstrate that they are willing to pay a premium for developments with quality children’s facilities, developers will respond to that demand. Ultimately, developers build what the market values, within the limits of planning regulations and project economics.

For Gerry Nyaori, a father of three, finding a home that meets the needs of his family has meant making a compromise on outdoor space for his children.

Mr Nyaori, whose youngest child is five, has lived in Nairobi for years and moved houses a number of times with his family.

He says his previous rental home had a compound, but much of the available outdoor space was taken up by parking, leaving little room for the children to play.

“Last year, we moved to a four-bedroom apartment in Kileleshwa that was sold to us at Sh34 million. The home ticks most of the boxes, especially for my wife. All the four bedrooms are en-suite, the property has a servant’s quarter, parking space for nearly three cars and a backyard,” he says.

However, Mr Nyaori says that the residential development does not have a large playground for children. Although there is a designated children’s area, Mr Nyaori says it is more suited for younger children, particularly those aged four and below.

“My older children need more space for different forms of recreation. Children grow, and they need more space to run around and play. I don’t see how my 12-year-old son would enjoy playing with swings,” he says.

Mr Nyaori adds that this limitation means the family has to incur additional costs to take the children elsewhere for activities, whether to a park or another facility with more room.

“The house had almost everything we wanted. For us as parents, it ticked most of the boxes, so we were not going to give up the house simply because it did not have a bigger children’s play area,” he says.

Reporting originally appeared via Business Daily. Read the full source for additional context.