Urban green spaces in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic: reflections from Nairobi, Kenya

This paper seeks to examine how the perception and use of Nairobi’s urban green spaces (UGS) have been impacted by the Covid- 19 pandemic. The question of how the current pandemic and the resulting government policies will affect urban green spaces has remained elusive. Similarly, the relationship between public health crises and urban green spaces has not been well integrated in the current literature. This paper identifies a nexus between government response to the Covid-19 pandemic and (Un) sustainability of UGS. The authors further reflect on the potential role UGS could play to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic. Findings of the study show that UGS in Nairobi have not been fully exploited to provide citizens with sufficient access to green spaces yet as the pandemic has shown these spaces could significantly improve physical and mental health for the citizens as well as act as logistical areas for humanitarian activities during a pandemic. The paper therefore concludes with policy recommendations that can give rise to short and long term reforms in the provision and management of UGS.