Deployment of Minimum Standard Strictures in the Kenya Building Regulations:

A Reflection

  • Kigara Kamweru, Arch. University of Nairobi
  • Owiti Abiero K’Akumu, Prof. University of Nairobi
  • Robert Rukwaro, Prof. University of Nairobi
Keywords: Regulation, standards, existential threats, rights

Abstract

The control of development in urban areas raises a tension between the protection of the common good and the need to protect the space for individual action and for innovation. The imposition of minimum standards in the regulation process compels the builders, and by extension the broader society, to commit resources to attain them. In a free society, this would require an anchoring justification that demonstrates public good over individual concerns. This paper examines how the strictures has been reflected in the Kenyan building code and relates it to the fundamental philosophy underlying the code. It concludes that the institution of minimum standards in the building regulations is a protective act. It protects the society and is a critical measure in preventing the vagaries associated with uncoordinated individual actions.

Author Biographies

Kigara Kamweru, Arch., University of Nairobi

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the University of Nairobi and a doctoral studies candidate in the same department.

Owiti Abiero K’Akumu, Prof., University of Nairobi

Associate Professor in the Department of Real Estate, Construction Management and Quantity Surveying in the University of Nairobi

Robert Rukwaro, Prof., University of Nairobi

Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Nairobi

Published
2024-05-15