Ngara, Nairobi

Ngara is a commercial and residential suburb of Nairobi. Located within the larger Starehe Sub-county, it is approximately 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) northeast of Nairobi's central business district along Muranga Road.

Ngara
Ngara Location of Ngara in Kenya
Coordinates: 01°16′29″S 36°49′44″E
Country	Kenya
County	Nairobi City
Sub-county	Starehe
Area
• Total	2.6 km2 (1.0 sq mi)
Population  (2019)[1]
• Total	31,132
• Density	11,860/km2 (30,700/sq mi)

Location

Ngara is located approximately 1.7 kilometres (1 mi) northeast of Nairobi's central business district, within the sub-county of Starehe. It is divided into Ngara East and Ngara West. Murang'a Road divides the two. It is located south of Parklands; west of Pangani; north of Kariokor.

Overview

In the early 20th century, Ngara and the southern parts of Parklands were the formal settlement for the Asian community that came to British East Africa to assist in the railway construction.^[2] However, Ngara especially Ngara East, has changed over the years and it's become ethnically diverse, with affordable housing for the low-middle to low-income earners, especially students.^[3]

Ngara has transformed into a high-density suburb with a number of high-rise flats coming up as well the national and city government launching affordable housing in the area. Ngara Civil Servant Housing, Ngara Housing Project, as well as the neighbouring suburb's Pangani Housing Project.^[4][5] The government is demolishing low-rise structures and replacing with the taller structures that can hold more housing units, an effort to curb the housing deficit in the city.^[6]

Points of interest

1. The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), along Desai Road, off Murang'a Road.
2. The National Museums of Kenya, a state corporation that manages museums, sites and monuments in Kenya, along Kipande Road.
3. The Ngara Girls' High School, a boarding secondary education institution.

References

1. "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume I: Population by County and Sub-County". KNBS. p. 250. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
2. "Nairobi suburb that oozes Asian architecture". Nairobi News. Nairobi. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
3. Murunga, Godwin Rapando (1 August 2012). "The cosmopolitan tradition and fissures in segregationist town planning in Nairobi, 1915–23". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 6 (3): 463–486. doi:10.1080/17531055.2012.696896. ISSN 1753-1055.
4. Omulo, Collins (2 December 2020). "Newly-completed housing units in Ngara up for grabs". Nation. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
5. "Civil Servants Housing Ngara". Housing and Urban. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
6. Ndunda, Joseph (15 November 2016). "County to demolish old houses next week, build modern flats". The Star. Retrieved 12 November 2022.