NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 18-China once faced the same dilemma Nairobi grapples with today: crowded pavements, hawkers clashing with city enforcers, and gridlocked traffic.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Beijing’s sidewalks looked much like Tom Mboya Street at dusk. But instead of relying on endless crackdowns, Chinese cities such as Guiyang reimagined urban space — moving traders into pedestrian underpasses and subway tunnels, issuing licences, installing lighting and security, and tapping into natural commuter flows. The result: clear roads above ground and vibrant, legal markets below.
Nairobi, by contrast, is still stuck in the cycle China broke decades ago. As dusk falls over the Kenyan capital, the city’s pavements transform into sprawling marketplaces. Shoes spill across worn sacks, roasted maize smokes at street corners, and hawkers wave mobile phone accessories at hurried commuters. Crowds overflow into the roads, pushing pedestrians into the paths of matatus and boda bodas already battling the evening gridlock.
For decades, authorities have tried — and largely failed — to control this sprawl. From the old City Council to today’s Nairobi City County, hawkers have been chased, arrested and dispersed in endless cat-and-mouse chases with askaris. Attempts at relocation have also faltered: Wakulima and Mwariro markets, as well as the more recent Green Park Bus Terminal, were designed to absorb traders but have not succeeded in pulling business away from the CBD.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), more than 1.8 million people work in informal retail trade nationwide. County officials estimate that at least 100,000 hawkers flood Nairobi’s city centre daily. Informal trade accounts for 83 per cent of Kenya’s employment, making hawkers not just a nuisance to city planners but a livelihood lifeline for thousands of families. The same tension plays out in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret, where pavements are impassable, traffic jams worsen and daily skirmishes have become routine.
China’s Underground Markets Show Another Way
In Guiyang, Guizhou Province, underpasses now double as buzzing marketplaces, with stalls neatly lined along the walls selling everything from clothes to dumplings and phone chargers. Above ground, pavements remain uncluttered, easing congestion and improving safety.
“We have been given an opportunity to sell our wares in this tunnel and the good thing about it is there’s good traffic as people move from one town to the other,” says Chen Mei, a beadwork seller in Guiyang.
By integrating hawkers into urban planning rather than fighting them, Chinese municipalities created stability for traders — no more harassment or sudden evictions, just modest fees and legal operations. City governments gained new revenue streams, while residents found shopping more convenient as part of their daily commute.
Applying the Model to Nairobi
Kenya already has pedestrian underpasses and footbridges along Thika Road, Mombasa Road and Waiyaki Way. With targeted investment, these could be redesigned as structured hawking zones equipped with lighting, sanitation and security.
Instead of relying on endless crackdowns, county governments could work with hawker associations to establish licensed, affordable stalls in high-footfall areas such as bus stops, commuter rail stations and underpasses. This would restore order to streets while safeguarding livelihoods.
For hawkers like Mary Wanjiku, who has sold socks on Tom Mboya Street for more than a decade, such a plan would be welcome:
“We only want a place where customers can find us and where askaris will not scatter our goods,” she says.
Urban economists argue that integrating hawkers into city planning would also boost the economy. Informal trade in Nairobi alone is estimated to generate billions of shillings annually — money that currently circulates with minimal county revenue capture.
A Simple but Powerful Lesson
China’s underground markets offer a simple but powerful lesson: Kenya too can balance order with opportunity, keeping streets above ground clear while livelihoods thrive just below.