Bungoma Town is the capital ofBungoma County and deserves a planthat provides policy and strategy mixon what, how, who, when to invest foreconomic success, provision of housingservices, investment in metropolis centres,provision of high quality education, healthand community services; re-engineering ourdesign and heritage, investing in resilienttransport, water systems, open spaces,environmental quality and infrastructuredelivery models.Viable urban areas promise endlessopportunities for investors and businessesespecially for the unfulfilled potential of lowincome neighbourhoods. Meanwhile,changing socioeconomic, demographic, andland-use trends have shifted some demandfor real estate from the suburbs to existingurban areas, as well as reshaping suburbandevelopment patterns to make them moreurban-like.Urban investment is no longer strictly limitedto Central Business Municipality. It includesa wide range of investment and developmentopportunities awaiting those with an eye ondeveloping, redeveloping, or repositioningproperties in urban and high-densitysuburbanThe urban story is a simple one - Densitydrives demand. The high population densitiesof urban neighbourhoods (and increasingly,those in the suburbs) create significantaggregate demand for goods, services, worksand housing. This is true even in areas withthe lowest income levels. The smart growthmovement and the growing desire for theurban living experience have played asimportant a role in re-defining oururbanization trends.The two trends are working to increasepopulation densities not only in existingurban and suburban areas within BungomaMunicipality, but also in new communitiesbeing built along the suburban fringes. Smartgrowth emphasizes the efficient use andreuse of land and existing infrastructure.Examples include developing mixed-incomehousing near major employment centresKibabii University, Ranjee, Mufutu, Mandizini,Makutano; redeveloping main and backstreet parking lot or an obsolete officebuilding or land fill sites into mixed-useprojects featuring; retail shops, office space,and high-density housing; building a mix ofcommercial and residential space around apublic-transit station in a well-establishedsuburb; and developing a master-plannedcommunity that features a variety of highdensity commercial and residential land usesin an emerging suburb.These and many other smart developmentinitiatives will be pursued more aggressivelyboth in the medium and long-term. Wepromise to deliver quality urban services andwelcome all stakeholders to support ourMunicipalityCPA GABRIEL WEKESA KIBIRITIMANAGER,BUNGOMA MUNICIPALITYB

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